Review-Don Quixote-Hong Kong Ballet
23-8-14
Opening the Hong Kong Ballet’s 2014-15 dance season is Nina Ananiashvili’s reworked production of Don Quixote. Based on Marius Petipa’s original 1869 Bolshoi version and Alexander Gorsky’s later revival in 1900, Ananiashvili’s condensed revision has the ballet in only two fast-paced Acts.
Like most Don Quixote ballet productions, the plot derives from two chapters in Miguel de Cervantes’s baroque novel of the same name, focusing on the love story of Kitri and Basilio. This was my first time watching Don Quixote in ballet. Having been familiar with the novel as the story of Don Quixote’s idealistic quest to revive knighthood and chivalry, it was odd to see the title character featured so little in the ballet. Don Quixote did not dance much, if at all. He merely presented the main couple and other soloists throughout.
Act One introduces the lovers Kitri and Basilio and their struggle to be together in the face of her father Lorenzo’s disapproval. Don Quixote does not enter on stage until halfway through the first act and even when he does, he sits mostly on the side observing the main action. The synopsis of Act Two promises more adventures of Don Quixote and his sword bearer, Sancho Panza, but not only was there no tilting at windmills, Quixote and Panza were barely in the last two scenes. So for those who are expecting to see the sallies of Don Quixote reenacted in dance, the script (rather than this particular production) would disappoint.
With that said, whilst the streamlining of the ballet hinders the lack of Quixote action even further, it does make for an exciting, fluid and compact restaging. Both acts had wonderfully coordinated chorus numbers where there was simultaneous action onstage by different groups in continuous movement. Chorus numbers also fed into pas de deux, and vice versa, transitioning smoothly and effectively. On the whole, the ballet was visually dynamic.
The sets by Thomas Mika, which included a festive square, a spinning windmill, an enchanted forest and a rowdy tavern, definitely helped to prevent monotony. Costumes, also by Mika, were elaborate treats to look at as well. Full-length three-tiered chiffon skirts and toreador capes swooshed and swayed on stage in glitz and bold colors. The complementary blue and fluorescent orange on some outfits, though, were slightly overwhelming on the eyes and unrealistic for the historical context. More rustic, subdued colors would have been more baroque.
Also hard on the eyes was the use of lighting in the transition from Act Two Scene One to Scene Two. To show that Don Quixote has been knocked unconscious into a dream state, bright white flashes of light zapped from either side of the stage. There should have been a warning from the production disclaiming the use of strong flashes, as audience members with epilepsy, for instance, could be affected.
The ballet’s choreography placed emphasis on showcasing jetés, lifts, and turns. It was great to see difficult moves interwoven naturally into the dance sequences so it wasn’t just a dull show-off of tricks, as some ballet numbers can be. The performance was a satisfying combination of technique and choreography. Its main highlights were principal ballerina Liu Yu-yao’s (Kitri) several demanding sequences of chaînés at the end of both Acts, her hops en pointe in Act Two Scene Two, and pirouettes in the final pas de deux, all of which were executed beautifully. The principal male dancer Wei Wei (Basilio), also showed good height on jetés and impressed with his fouetté turns. When it came to sustaining lifts and catches, however, Wei Wei was unsteady in many instances; the strain for balance in the two lifts at the end of Act Two was worryingly visible.
Other principal ballerinas Zhang Si Yuan (Mercedes) and Li Lin (Espada) also held their own in their flamenco-inspired pas de deux in Act One. It was especially fun to watch Zhang dancing daintily through an obstacle course of toreador knives in her solo sequence. The Bolero dancers played by Coryphée Song Hai Feng and soloist Liu Miao-miao in Act Two Scene Four were also a delight to watch, with high and effortless jetés executed by Song.
What came to me as a pleasant surprise in this production was its acting and humor. Funny skits of Kitri and Basilio caught in pangs of jealousy, Basilio playing tricks on Lorenzo and Kitri helping Basilio to fake his death: all earned laughs from the audience. The stars who stole the show, however, were Gamache, played by Jonathan Spigner, and Sancho Panza, played by Bartosz Anczykowski. Strutting about in ridiculous silver pantaloons, Gamache (Lorenzo’s intended betrothed for Kitri) was flamboyantly hilarious just to look at. Sancho Panza caused everyone to laugh with his clumsy ways, especially when he got himself caught in the crowd and tossed up in the air like a beach ball in Act One.
Don Quixote is definitely a fun-filled family affair. The program even includes an “Activity Book” for children, with coloring exercises, crosswords, connect-the-dots and a diagram showing ballet skills 101. Its brilliantly revised choreography by renowned ballerina Ananiashvili and solid performances by the dancers make this a must-see for ballet fans. However, it is still a shame to see Don Quixote rendered as a prop in his own eponymous production, leaving me somewhat ambivalent about this ballet. Hopefully one day there will be an adaptation that spotlights Don Quixote in his own adventures.
Don Quixote is playing at the Grand Cultural Center through August 31st. For more information, click here.
Comments
Sally c.
This ballet wasn't that great. Between the serious lack of the title character and costumes that were an eye sore of neon orange and fabrics that made no sense from a historical perspective. Everything was too harsh from a design perspective and it lacked all heart from a story perspective.
25 August 2014