[NEohioPAL]Berko Review: LA BELLE (Ballet de Mone Carlo)

[Roy Berko]

‘LA BELLE’ IS A BALLET SPECTACLE

Roy Berko

(Member, Dance Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--


Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


The opening notes of Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s “The
Sleeping Beauty” are dark and somber.  Wait, “Sleeping
Beauty” is the story of a beautiful princess who falls
under the spell of a wicked witch, falls into a deep
sleep, is eventually kissed by a handsome prince, and
they ride off to live happily ever after.  Well, at
least that’s the Walt Disney version.  

In fact, the tale, as written by Charles Perrault, is
a story of forceful carnal characters.    The moral,
which is drawn from the original story states, “But
desire with its ardor aspires to conjugal faith.”

Les Ballets De Monte Carlo’s production of ‘LA BELLE,’
as conceived by Jean Christophe Maillot, was performed
at the State Theatre of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square
from February 3-6.  The production was given the
Nijinsky Award for the Best Choreographic Production
2001 and the Danza & Danza Prize for the Best Show
2002.

Maillot’s interpretation explores all  aspects of
human relationships.  It eradicates the original
classical ballet version staged by Marius Petipa,
which had little to do with Perrault's initial 1697
tale in which the barbaric Queen Mother’s jealous
rages lead to not only her own dreadful death, but to
emotional torture for her husband, son, Beauty and
many others.  Maillot wanted to create an emotional
masterpiece which centered on the dark elements of the
tale, while at the same time respecting the euphoric
and timeless love story that it has become.

In this interpretation the first act brings to life
the joyous past of the princess as recounted by the
Lilac Fairy to the curious prince.  The second act
centers on her rape, the princess's long sleep (as
represented by her dance inside a larger-than-life
transparent crystal ball), the arrival of the prince,
her ultimate awakening, the continued battle with the
Queen Mother, the death of the Queen, and the couple’s
eventual freedom from the ill-influences. 

Though I would love to say that I was enchanted by the
presentation, I can’t.  I found much of the staging
very gimmicky.  The props, the setting, the lighting,
the costumes often overrode the impact of the
choreography.  I also found some of the story line so
convoluted that it was difficult to follow.  This was
not aided by the program notes which confused rather
than enhanced.  As one of the people behind me
whispered, “What do the program notes have to do with
what is going on on-stage?”

This is not to say that the performance was bad.  It
wasn’t.  The dancing, as a whole was superb.  

Bernice Coppieters, who danced Beauty, was
breathtaking.  Her perfectly toned body was accented
in a skin-tight sensual see-through lace unitard.  Her
movements were precise, her dance interpretations
flawless.  As the prince Chris Roelandt was fine, but
seemed to tire near the end of the performance when
his movements became less precise and he lost some of
his passion.  Their scene in which she arises from the
deep slumber culminated in a sultry duet which was
punctuated by an arousing kiss that lasted so long
that the audience started to titter.   

Gaetan Morlotti as the dual-sexed Queen Mother was
excellent.  In fact, his curtain call was met with
“boos.” These were not as a negative but as a positive
reaction to his effectiveness as a truly wicked
person.  

The rest of the cast was effective, but the male corps
de ballet was sometimes not in sync.  The large
orchestra was impressive, giving the dancers excellent
musical accompaniment.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   ‘LA BELLE’ was a technically
creative production which contained excellent dancing
and revealed a new side to the “Sleeping Beauty”
story.  It did not captivate at the level of
expectation considering the number of awards and
notoriety it has received.


UPCOMING AREA DANCE PERFORMANCES


‘LES BALLETS JAZZ DE MONTREAL,’ Friday, February 25,
Ohio Theatre, Public Square.  Tickets:  216-241-6000
or 800-888-9941 or visit www.playhousesquare.com.

‘SWAN LAKE,’ American Ballet Theatre, March 10-13,
Playhouse Square Center’s State Theatre.  Tickets: 
216-241-6000 or 800-888-9941 or visit
www.playhousesquare.com.

‘ALICE IN WONDERLAND,’ Sunday, March 30, Ohio Dance
Theatre.  Stocker Arts Center, Lorain County Community
College, (Abbe Road) Elyria.  Call 800-995-5222 ext.
4040 or 440-366-4040.  Part of Ohio Dance Theatre’s
new Ballet for Children series.  Special 1 hour
ballets developed especially for the very young child,
ages 3 and up.

‘DANCE WORKS 05’--Cleveland Public Theatre salutes
their residence dance companies:  Groundworks (March
31-April 03); Verb Ballet (April 7-10); Inlet Dance
Theatre (April 14-17), and SAFMOD (April 21-24). 
Location:  6415 Detroit Road at W. 65th Street. 
Tickets:  216-631-2727.

‘FIREBIRD,’ Friday, April 8, Ohio Dance Theatre,
Playhouse Square’s Ohio Theatre,  Tickets: 
216-241-6000 or 800-888-9941 or visit
www.playhousesquare.com.

‘PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY,’ May 14, Playhouse Square
Center’s State Theatre.  Tickets:  216-241-6000 or
800-888-9941 or visit www.playhousesquare.com.



=====
Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
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