So this weekend was the weekend of the ballet. I went to see the Russian State Ballet of Siberia twice in three days, going to their productions of Giselle and Swan Lake. And I can tell you that it was fantastic! I have never seen a ballet live before and it was a magical experience. The dancers really connected to the audience and I actually managed to follow the story through the dance. (This might not seem like a big deal but I was really worried that I would not understand what was going on!)
The costumes were absolutely beautiful, the one small point I would say is that the sets sometimes wobbled. I think that this was more dependent on the fact that the stage was particularly small, smaller than they may have been used to, and their dancing was not choreographed to cope with it. There were also a few slightly humorous moments where they bumped in to the backdrop, and the spell of the dance were broken.
Anna Aulle was spectacular as the leading ballerina, and really shone out against those in the corp. All in all I think I preferred Giselle as a ballet, but perhaps this is due to choreography being less cluttered, and therefore it came across better on the smaller stage that the more complicated production of Swan Lake. All in all, it was a fabulous experience, and I would really recommend this company as a define ‘go see’.
I am fascinated by ballet. I used to want to do it myself, but I quit lessons by the time I was 8 and never went back. Oh, well. At least I can still appreciate the beauty of it when I see it!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Every time I see ballet I always regret quitting lessons. But on the other side, I guess having done it gives me more of an appreciation of just how painful it is to stand on point for extended periods! So i'm even more amazed by the dancers skill. Ros xxx
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