State Ballet of Georgia, London Coliseum
Unseasonable although it may be for such Christmas staples as Swan Lake, all dance fans will endure the shake up of schedule for the State Ballet of Georgia’s first trip to London. Flashing their spin on the big-bird-based-bash.
By now I think we all know the “plot” of pool of swans, from either the 1875 ballet or slightly more recently Natalie Portman vs Mila Kunis’s 2010 film Black Swan. Does it make sense? Not really. Evil magician Rothbart (Marcelo Soares) possesses an undefined hatred for the local aristocracy especially Prince Siegfried (Oleg Lihai) and local maidens alike. Cursing them (the maidens) and the especially beguiling Odette (Nino Samadashvili) to turn into swans from daybreak to midnight (specific I know). Various star-crossed-lovers-Cinderella-Shrek-fairytale shenanigans follow spiced up by Rothbart’s evil sister Odile (also played by Samadashvili) stalking into the palace to steal the prince away from the poor sweet nocturnal-waterfowl Odette.
Samadashvili strains her avian neck, hands flutter skittishly as our heroine, shoulders high and tight, muscles wing-like, head darting around this way and that in perfect bird-like panic. Her transformation into the villainous Odile however doesn’t have as much of the stark contrast expected for ballet’s best muti-roling option for prima ballerinas. Lihai as Siegfried is a tower of a man, with swishing medieval haircut, leaps stratospheric but characterisation rather flat. Pure verve must go to Soares as Rothbart, looking very much like a drag queen mixed with a crow he menacingly flaps around the stage talons pointed, eyes wide, really enjoying the pure camy-evil of sorcerer.
The swelling scene of the corps de ballet as the flock of swans, and the famous Dance of the Little Swans has all the technical ability, bouncing music and coy feathered beak dipping we are all looking forward to in the ballet. However the later Hungarian Dance, Danse Espagnole, Danse Napolitaine and Mazurka are where fumbles begin, feet and arms rarely but noticeably out of place. Which is even more confusing considering Georgia’s ancient and technically difficult folk dance history. The frigid blue waters of the lake are by far the most impressive within this production where the gliding dancers seem to transcend their human realities.
Set amongst the Coliseum’s cream and gold wedding cake decor the ballet is visually as ever, at home. Vyacheslav Okunev’s Slavic/Teutonic landscape billows before us, the gloomy lake, ruined castle, tangled forrest and opulent palace. Nino Sukhishvili’s costume have all the studded jewels, but the distinctive feathery tutus are plain and look a little like ones you would see at your very well-heeled local ballet school’s end of year production.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s music is superlative as ever, but perhaps the lack of fluttering snow (or pelting rain in our case) work against the production. The piece is a robust interpretation but with a happy ending (shocking) and rigid traditional focus (including the odd Georgian concept of breaking every millisecond for applause) I doubt this production will be added to London’s Christmas booking lineup anytime soon.
There still time to snatch a ticket or two, click HERE!
