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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Modern Ballet: Ukrainian Version

15 December, 1998 - 00:00

The National Opera has premiered Will You Hear Me? Alex Ursuljak,
author of the libretto, choreography, and production design, is an Austrian
ballet master, considered by the Ukrainian project's organizers almost
the precursor of the modern ballet.

Kyiv devotees know him mostly as an invariable member of the Serge Lifar
Festival's jury. One cannot but wonder whether the maestro would accept
his own work if submitted to the festival as so many ballet entries.

The purpose of this much-advertised project is simple: first, to show
the National Opera's genuine and irresistible desire to keep pace with
the international ballet community (who will now have the nerve to say
that its repertoire lacks modern productions?); secondly, the name of the
Ukrainian Austrian choreographer on the billboards adds class to the whole
affair. Shortcomings? Sorry, we are talking modern ballet, something entirely
new for us. It is not just modern, it is almost postmodern! Something not
all can fully grasp. Not yet anyway.

What, then, do we have in the end? A production hastily put together
(and the organizers made no secret of the fact, as the rehearsals took
less than a month), with a concept few can understand and every dramatic
statement made point blank. The whole thing strongly reminds one of a ballet
starring Mikhail Baryshnikov that made headlines in the late 1970s: cafe
with cigarette smoke, bizarre characters, and strange dances. The background
makes pas obviously borrowed from Don Quixote look especially out
of place. All choreographic numbers are tied by a rather abstract problem:
communicating in the modern world. I cannot say about the modern world,
but in this particular production communicating is a real problem that
remains to be solved, both in terms of choreography and music.

As the music starts everyone recognizes the now boring theme from Cameron's
Titanic. Of course, Seline Dion is gorgeous, especially as a hit parade
leader. But as a lyrical pas de deux the soundtrack sounds a bit
too straightforward. Even the mix of rock and roll classics with Mahler
is poor consolation. One determines the difference between culture and
mass culture by taste. In this sense Alex Ursuljak seems to have messed
up the ingredients.

Incidentally, some of the reviews show a characteristic trend. Modern
dancing (modern ballet) appears to be identified with the variety show.
And so many in the audience rejoiced at seeing familiar show numbers rendered
with academic skill. All right, journalists can make mistakes, but choreographers
and those hiring them must make sure what kind of dancing they prefer -
rather, what genre best suits a given episode/scene and the level of ambition.

The cast includes first rate dancers, with Viktor Yaremenko and Tetiana
Biletska who can make any choreography attractive. There are also young
soloists who, unless they can arrange for a contract abroad, may find their
professional experience reduced to such experimentation. And once again
Ukrainian ballet will be outside the "world context" which we are determined
to enter, choosing its routes of approach without proper forethought.

 

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