| Alberta Ballet’s premiere gala Ruby Nights at the Jubilee Auditorium on October 12 was brilliant.
Throughout the evening, company dancers transitioned through a series of dance styles that required technical strength, athletic abilities and emotional maturity. One could say that Alberta Ballet has turned 40 with grace and spirit.
The Ruby Nights program started with a brief introduction by artistic director Jean Grand-Maître and general director Michèle Stanners, who were both pleased to introduce and point out, in the audience, Alberta Ballet’s former artistic directors, Brydon Paige, Ali Pourfarrokh and Mikko Nissinen. All three were present at each of the shows in Calgary and in Edmonton to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary.
The first half of the program highlighted Balanchine’s Rubies, which is a testimonial to the company’s technical achievements. All dressed in bright red costumes, the principal couple, Maki Matsuoka and Christopher Gray, gave a strong performance, as did soloist Sandrine Cassini. All together, it was a dazzling and energetic show.
The following piece, Butterfly Dream, choreographed by Pourfarrokh and inspired by a Taoist poem, was beautifully performed by Galien Johnston and Reid Bartelme. Both showed great agility and control as they moved with fluidity, like butterflies, through imaginary transformations.
Just before intermission, the audience was treated with Jean Grand-Maître’s masterpiece, The Winter Room. This highly original choreography was flawlessly performed by Kelley McKinlay and Tanya Dobler. The latter has been dancing with Alberta Ballet for 14 years and will retire after the Edmonton show this month.
The muscular and agile dancers moved with sensuality, the choreography’s rigid movements showing them as if suspended between life and death, moments before freezing in a state of perpetual catatonia. The Winter Room is breathtaking and leaves you wanting more.
This short ballet explores our quest to capture love in its purest form despite the obstacles. The Winter Room is set to enchanting and middle-eastern-like music by singer-composer Laurel McDonald, contrasted by simple white décor and a stark tree hanging over centre stage.
The world premiere of Carmina Burana, choreographed by emerging Canadian choreographer Emily Molnar, is spectacular. The Pro Coro Canada choir on stage adds a haunting and mesmerizing effect to the ballet, and vocal soloist Doug MacNaughton’s commanding performance is unforgettable.
Three main characters dominate the story: the Archpoet, danced by Kelley McKinlay, the Bearer of Time performed by Jonathan Renna, and the Figure of Instinct by Tanya Dobler. All three gave persuasive and engaging performances.
Molnar’s Carmina Burana is filled with sensuality and stirring moments – especially when dancers are moving in unison very close to one another, creating a wave of emotion. There are also moments when voices from vocalists and movements from dancers seem to be perfectly intertwined, as if both are coming from the same source.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for the audience is the competing video hanging above the choir. I like the imagery projected on the screen, close-ups of dancers’ bodies and nature scenes, but the big blinking eye is too reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings. The shape of the screen is also bothersome – it has this odd, oblong shape that seems inorganic, compared to everything else presented in the piece.
Jean Grand-Maître commissioned Molnar to create a new Carmina Burana for the company’s 40th anniversary. He wanted something different and Molnar delivered. Molnar’s version is audacious and intelligent – the complex themes of destiny, freedom and love are fully expressed in this work of art.
Ruby Nights succeeds in creating a memorable program celebrating the company’s 40th anniversary and is a powerful start to this season’s dance program. |
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