Lukács / Lidberg / Duato (Première): March 4th, 2020 (Vienna State Ballet)

Mar 5

Mar 5 Lukács / Lidberg / Duato (Première): March 4th, 2020 (Vienna State Ballet)

Another Première with three short Ballets (and two long intermission breaks).

During Dominique Meyer's end of his last period of direction at the Vienna State Opera, the „Marketing Machinery“ seems not to be working that effectively as it used to. There were many empty seats (somebody told me that there were more than 70 empty seats on the level of the orchestra stalls) and this is amazingly surprising on a Première. Anyway. Also, the Ballet „programme“ of this last season was not quite what one would have expected of a „Farewell“ one. Many „revivals“ and too many „Sylvia“ performances – a ballet that is worth seeing. Once. That is the reason why I, during the last months, have been reporting so little about the Vienna State Ballet.

I was quite excited about last Night's Première but I must honestly divide this excitement into two fractions: Enthusiasm and Disappointment.

The evening began beautifully: András Lukács's „Movements to Stravinsky“ (which had been seen before at the Volksopera) had, at last, the very well deserved Première on the (much bigger) stage of the State Opera.

Copyright: Vienna State Ballet / Ashley Taylor

Mr András Lukács “Movements to Stravinsky” is a joy. Pure joy. Poetry to lovely music. And this in all its aspects: Choreography, Sets, beautiful Costumes, Light and Rehearsals – all done by Mr Lukács himself. A work of a very talented man. A work which is full of „Finesse“ done by a Gentleman.
His language is consistent. His constant use of turns (even if only the arms are being „turned“) implies a kind of effect that I might call „from the outside looking in“. Fascinating.
If I am not mistaken some work has been done to the piece, to reach this state of „perfection“. I do believe that there were originally 6 pairs of dancers. Now there are 4 pairs, one solo and a Trio.

All dancers extremely well-rehearsed, precisely together, in perfect unison technically and emotionally either as a pair (Alice Firenze/Masayu Kimoto, Natascha Mair/James Stephens, Nikisha Fogo/Richard Szabó and Erika Kovácová/Zsolt Török), solo (Iliana Chivarova), trio (Céline Janou Weder – totally in her element, „projecting“ herself up till the gallery! - and Gaetano Signorelli & Arne Vandervelde) or as a group altogether.

The casting is simply brilliant. Each one of the dancers possesses a profound technique and a special, unique stage presence. They are not the least alike but this “mélange” on stage was extremely well succeeded. Mr Lukács sense for casting is also to be applauded.

This work has a certain quality that could be only described for me this way: when you look quite intensely at a piece of good china, you realize how fragile and fine it is. And this is the way I will always feel about this most enchanting work.

After the first intermission, we were presented to Pontu's Lidberg's World Première of „Between Dogs and Wolves“. A work that surprised me.
When the scene opened, I thought. „another ballet blanc“? But no... That was just a short misleading.

During the performance, I caught myself somehow thinking about Charles Chaplin and Bertolt Brecht. „What do these two men have in common?“, you might ask. A comedian and a dramaturg? Yes, both men were extreme exponents of the „Rule of three“ (The well-known „Triad“):
For example, Do something funny once, it is funny. Do it for a second time and it is even funnier. Do it a third time and it is simply hilarious. But when you repeat it for a fourth, fifth, sixth time it begins to be unsufferably boring. And that is exactly what happened to Mr Lidberg's work last evening. Not only his use of videos and the huge screen bored us but also his choreography was extremely repetitious.

Chapeau to every single dancer who danced this work beautifully and professionally. Especially to Nikisha Fogo (who, by the way, danced in the three pieces of this Première), Nina Poláková, Ioanna Avraam, Madison Young, Fionna McGee, Marie Breuilles, Davide Dato, Jakob Feferlik, Leonardo Basílio, Tristan Ridel, Navrin Turnbull, Arne Vandervelde and Andrés Garcia Torres.

But another highlight was still to come: Nacho Duato's „White Darkness“.
I am a big follower and admirer of Mr Duato's work.
Having met for the last time just about two years ago in Brno, we remembered that our first meeting was „some years“ before that. At the “Remanso’s Première Party“ in 1997, during which he was honoured alongside Twyla Tharp and Jerome Robbins! What an evening at City Center!

This work keeps „flowing and flowing“ all the time. The „motion“ never stops. That is dancing. No question about that. None of the little „steps“ business and too many people on stage. Just Space and Bodies and emotions that are free in this space. To MOVE. Admirable.

All pairs did quite a job on stage (Fiona McGee/Arne Vandervelde, Sveva Gargiulo/Davide Dato, Nikisha Foho/Masayu Kimoto and Kiyoka Hashimoto/Géraud Wielick, who is getting stronger and stronger as Dancer in every performance. Fascinating!).

Special praise to the sensibility, technique and stage presence of Jakob Feyferlik and incredible Madison Young.

And to those unbelievable effects with “the salt”!

Now I know much more about it. Nacho told me it all: Ibiza, Salinas… but that is another story. Someday!

Yes, two enthusiastic parts of a review and a disappointing one.

This still turns this programme (or „combination“ of three contemporary choreographers) into a delightful evening, which is worth visiting.

Ricardo Leitner