NZSD Graduation Season 2011
November 18, 2011 at 8:46 am | Posted in Ballet Review, Dance Review, Recital Review, Show Review | Leave a commentTags: Andrews Sisters, August Bournonville, Ballet, Company B, Contemporary Dance, Dance, Emeralds, Gareth Okan, George Balanchine, Graduation Season, Jason Carter, Jesse Scales, Napoli Divertissements, New Zealand School of Dance, Paul Taylor, Pennsylvania Polka, Rebekha Duncan, Recent Bedroom, Rum and Cola, Sum, Te Whaea, Whispers from Pandora' Box
I went to the second night of the New Zealand School of Dance’s 2011 Graduation Season.
The programme was varied and rich; two classical ballet pieces, from choreographers who have a big influence of the Royal New Zealand Ballet; and some cutting edge contemporary dance pieces.
There were two classical pieces: Napoli Divertissements and Emeralds. The former was choreographed by August Bournonville, the latter by George Balanchine; a rare opportunity to see exemplars of two differing classical styles – fast foot movements and a quick tempo versus something lyrical.
The third ballet piece was Company B a contemporary ballet by Paul Taylor. That used classical technique to provide an alternative perspective of the times that spawned the music of the Andrews Sisters. The dead bodies and solemn marching in the background really drove home that young men were dying behind the facade of cheer and longing. Jesse Scales and Jason Carter did a delightful pas de deux to Pennsylvania Polka. Rebekha Duncan danced a memorable saucy solo to Rum and Cola.
The three contemporary dance pieces – Whispers from Pandora’ Box, Recent Bedroom, and Sum – really pushed the boundaries: what is dance ? how much communication is possible in the performance alone (without the context of a title and commentary) ? All of the dancers put their bodies into their performance. In the last two pieces, Gareth Okan really stood out.
The programme alternated the ballet with the contemporary; starting with Bournonville and finishing with Taylor. I found it mentally and emotionally exhausting.
Another well produced production with high technical standards.
Insight
October 8, 2011 at 9:06 pm | Posted in Ballet Review, Dance Review | Leave a commentTags: Andrews Sisters, Ballet, Caue Frias, Christopher Gerty, Company B, Contemporary Dance, Lee Jia Xi, New Zealand School of Dance
I went to a studio performance at the New Zealand School of Dance. This is really a chance for the School to promote its end of year performance and give the show’s participants a rehearsal opportunity with a bit more bite.
There were 16 pieces shown: a mixture of classical ballet, ‘modern’ ballet, and contemporary dance. Four pieces stayed in my mind:
- La Bayadere Act 2
- Spring and Fall
- Prince’s solo from The Nutcracker Act II
- Excerpts from Company B
Lee Jia Xi, in the La Bayadere excerpt, impressed me with her leaps and jumps that at times terminated with an arabesque.
Spring and Fall, was an interesting piece – being a lyrical solo for a male dancer. Caue Frias’ long limbs fitted well with the choreography.
The prince’s solo was a wonderful show piece for Christopher Gerty’s talents – in a minute and a half or so, there were powerful jumps and well controlled pirouettes. It started with a slight slip, but Gerty retained his composure and delivered a fine performance; so I was surprised when he felt the need to repeated the whole piece.
The music of the Andrews Sisters is always appealing with its cheer and warm voices, so Company B was very attractive. I was particularly interested to see that it was classical ballet vocabulary used in new ways.
The end of year performance looks well worth going to.
WOW 2011
August 24, 2011 at 7:30 pm | Posted in Dance Review, Show Review | Leave a commentTags: Aivale Cole, Ben Makisi, Billy Idol, Footnote Dance, Ginette McDonald, John Rowles, New Zealand School of Dance, Opera, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Wellington, WOW
I went to the 2011 Bancroft Estate World of Wearableart Awards Show (‘WOW’) last night.
Fantastic ! Worth trying to get some of the remaining tickets.
Warning: spoilers !
In a two hour dance and wow spectacular there were many highlights, but one of them was the Royal New Zealand Ballet dancing (classical) while partnered with life opera (Aivale Cole and Ben Makisi). Another was staging a dancing on a wall. There were four dance companies involve in this year’s production: the Royal New Zealand Ballet; New Zealand School of Dance; Footnote Dance; and the WOW Dance Troupe! Needless to say there was lots of movement – the models can all dance too !
The Children’s section was its usual youthful bright energetic display.
The UV section left me with a sense of Dance Macabre: dis-embodied legs, skeletons, and eyes.
The Microscope section cleverly created a microscopic world with chains of helium balloons – form a mass of cell like air mass. There were lots of wacky looking microscopic life form inspired garments.
The section changes was very cleverly done. The audience’s attention was dramatically shifted by lighting and staging a little segue piece at the ‘back’ of the auditorium – while on stage, in the dark, stage crew made the necessary changes.
The Open section was chock full of interesting and spectacular; all while dancers stood statute-like on stacked up chairs discarding what seemed like an endless supply of wraps from their bodies!
The Man Unleashed section opened with a large group brides and Billy Idol’s White Wedding! I think this section struck a cord with the ladies in the audience!
The Avante Garde section was just great. I feared that I was in danger of watching too much of the dancing (ballet with live opera), but WOW and anticipated this problem, and had cleverly set the choreography to not clash with the garments.
The ‘Kiwi Icon’ section hit the spot: with the surprise appearance of an iconic comedienne (Ginette McDonald), iconic New Zealander, and an iconic kiwi singer (John Rowles); all to kiwi music. Apparently the iconic New Zealander will change every night; on this night it was Tim Shadbolt.
Well worth the ticket price.
NZSD Graduation Season 2010: KYLIAN
November 25, 2010 at 11:10 pm | Posted in Ballet Review, Dance Review | Leave a commentTags: 2010, Arlette van Boven, Ballet, Evening Songs, Graduation Season, Jiri Kylian, Ken Ossala, Kylian, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Modern Ballet, Neoclassical Ballet, New Zealand School of Dance, Songs of a Wayfarer, Stoolgame, Un Ballo
Last night, I went to the New Zealand School of Dance Graduation Season 2010: Kylian Programme. I had gone to see the Kiwi Programme last week and was really looking forward to an evening showcasing the School’s ballet students. I was also looking to see the choreography of the much heralded Jiri Kylian.
There were four pieces: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), Evening Songs, Un Ballo, and Stoolgame.
The production standards are very high; probably as high as a professional company. I wonder what the NZ Ballet would make of it – I would really like to see them do some of these pieces. My thought when watching Un Ballo, was: “Why not take this on tour?” Then I answered myself with: “Because the students leave in a few weeks?”
The dancers and repetiteurs (Arlette van Boven and Ken Ossala) are to be congratulated for doing a fantasic job.
I found the use of the classical vocabulary in new ways both facinating yet reassuring – particularly with the first three pieces. The first three pieces were quite fluid and the music lovely. There was sufficient balletic structure that I did not feel uncomfortable (or lost!), yet sufficent modern and neo and abstract that I was challenged.
The lack of music in Stoolgame must have made it very challenging for the seven dancers who would have had to maintain a group rhythm without an external source. Still, their execution was excellent. The lack of music also made it a challenge for me; I did not realise how much I relied on the music to engage with a dance.
Not your traditional tutus, pointe shoes, and grande jetes evening; but worth a look if you want something different – the work that went into this and the sharpness of execution should be rewarded by having an audience watch it.
Studio Showing – NZ School of Dance
October 22, 2010 at 3:13 am | Posted in Dance Review | Leave a commentTags: Ballet, Benjamin Obst, Dance, Jason Carter, Jiri Kylian, Kenneth MacMillan, New Zealand School of Dance, Studio Showing, Tom Bradley, Travis Robertson, Yuriy Klymenko
I went to the New Zealand School of Dance’s studio showing the other night, (in September). As the name suggests, it takes place in a studio: very limited seating for the relatively large numbers who turned up; everyone being required to take their street shoes off; no curtains; and no wings – the dancers entering and leaving the performance area through the audience.
There were 10 pieces: five ballet pieces and five modern dance pieces.
The standout pieces, for me, were Men’s Trio from Romeo and Juliet and Even Songs. I found these two pieces the most memorable. I enjoyed Jason Carter, Benjamin Obst and Travis Robertsons’ execution of the Kenneth MacMillan choreography; full marks to Yuriy Klymenko’s coaching. I found Evening Songs very intriging and engaged my attention. There is a full programme of Jiri Kylian’s works in the graduation season – I’ve pencilled it into my diary!
It was also hard to go past Tom Bradley’s physicality in Manipulated Living – also choreographed by him.
Finally the musical accompaniment was very interesting: pieces started with no music, while some pieces featured vocals.
The gold coin donation for entry is a bargain.
One Way – New Zealand School of Dance Choreography Season 2010
May 31, 2010 at 1:28 am | Posted in Dance Review | Leave a commentTags: Alana Sargent, Choreography Season, Danielle Lindsay, Emma Coppersmith, Kyah Dove, Modern Dance, New Zealand School of Dance
The New Zealand School of Dance is holding its 2010 Choreography Season, 21 – 29 May.
I went along last night (Wednesday 26th) and I found it interesting: acting, vocals and dancing on multiple surfaces. There were 10 pieces, all segueing into each other – which made it difficult at times to identify one piece and the next. Three pieces struck for me:
- Hanging from a string – Kyah Dove
- Back to the Beginning – Emma Coppersmith
- Love Songs – Danielle Lindsay
Hanging from a string was all about sterotypes and non-comformance: two women dressed in 50′s clothes and danced like suburban wives; a third women does not and endures what can only be described today as domestic violence. The choreography and costumes worked well; having the voice over at the beginning – with references to coming last at a horse race – was just overkill; and coming at the beginning, intially set my mind off on the wrong tangent.
Back to the Beginning was a lyrical piece that was nice to watch, and ended in confusion – what is the dancer doing with her cardigan? why is she just standing around? The programme ultimately enlightened me – it is about dementia!
Love Songs seemed to be about a love triangle, but what excited me with this piece was the utilisation of two surfaces to dance ‘on’. Part of the pas de deux at the beginning involved the woman dancing on a vertical surface, during holds and lifts with her male partner. I hope Ms Lindsay, and other choreographers, play with this more.
Also a pat on the back for Alana Sargent, who in her piece – Table for Eight – took modern dance to a less gentle type of floor work’. Her choreography required bodies to impact the floor – percussive dance!
One other thing I found distracting were the lights slowered down from the celling towards the end. Given the stark emptiness of the stage, these lights took on a life of their own, and I found them very distracting. Especially, when the dancers did not as far as I could see interact with them in a significant way.
Another excellent effort.
New Zealand School of Dance 2009 Graduation Season
December 1, 2009 at 11:51 pm | Posted in Ballet Review, Show Review | Leave a commentTags: 2009, Airs, Alison Carroll, Andre Santos, Anna Ishii, Ballet, Carlotta Grisi, Crossed Fingers, Fanny Cerrito, Graduation Season, Hand of Frog, Haruka Tsuji, Hayley Meek, Katherine Grange, Loughlan Prior, Love, Lucile Grahn, Marie Taglioni, Modern Dance, New Zealand School of Dance, Nicola Leahy, Pas de Quatre, Pas de Trois, Robbie Curtis
I went to this year’s graduation performance by the New Zealand School of Dance. The printed programme as has become the norm was produced to a high standards – though I found the font size a little challenging in dim light.
Saturday the 21st of November, the New Zealand School of Dance‘s Graduation Season 2009, at the New Zealand School of Dance.
The night’s performance consisted of:
- Pas de Quatre
- Haere
- Love
- Pas de Trois (from Raymonda, Act I)
- X300
- Crossed Fingers
- He Taonga – a gift
- Airs
There were eight pieces : three ballet pieces and five contemporary pieces; arranged around two intervals.
The opening piece – Pas de Quatre, originally choreographed for four of the (five) pre-eminent ballerinas of their time – set the tone for the night. It spoke of a confidence in the graduates’ techniques and performance abilities, and a willingness to put on something special. Lucile Grahn (Alison Carroll), Carlotta Grisi (Hayley Meek), Fanny Cerrito (Katherine Grange), and Marie Taglioni (Haruka Tsuji) cast a very long shadow.
Love – a short contemporary piece – was amazing, the duo of Nicola Leahy and Robbie Curtis, had so much energy and connection, back by technique.
The second Act opened with the Pas de Trois from Raymonda, Act I. This was superbly executed by three technically very proficient dancers: Haruka Tsuji, Anna Ishii and Andre Santos. The audience appreciated each execution. Watching Santos dance, especially the jump turns, I thought to myself : “I want to see him do Le Corsaire!” At the end of the dance there was a huge outpouring of applause from the audience; and Santos chivourously ushered his two fellow dancers forward – staying well back.
I found the Guinea Pig segment of X300 the modern piece I could most relate to; it was very street theatre – maybe it was the costumes. But it got the point across – that nuclear explosions are not good!
Crossed Fingers was breath taking. I am not sure what neo-classical ballet is, but if this is an example, I am all for it. Katherine Grange and Loughlan Prior were amazing, Katherine Grange in a simple red leotard was both flexible and strong. They executed a series of unorthodox ballet lifts, which were refreshing and stunning in the demands on the dancers’ technique. Grange’s head stand finale stunned the audience !
The final piece – Airs – was a soft lyrical way to finish the evening; light music, and some nice fusion of ballet and contemporary. I found my mind drifting along and left focused on of all things – the handball incident in the France Ireland world Cup qualifier!
Overall, the programme was strong, and pieces that showed the graduates strengths appear to have been chosen.
The evening was a well put together one. As has become the norm, there as a photo exhibition featuring the graduating students, in the lobby; there was a small well stocked cash bar; and some well appointed tables to sit at.
0.3
Apologies for taking so long to get my thoughts blogged, but I have had a very busy few days since the preformance.
Oh: FIFA needs to move into the 21st century and have a video official review all red cards, penalities and goals. These events result in a stop in play, so the stuffy ‘it will effect the flow of the game” object won’t wash. As for the France Ireland game, replay it; the official name of the game is Football; the affect of the “Hand of Frog” on the eventual goal makes a mokery of the game itself.
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