West Australian Ballet: "Ballet at the Quarry", Perth International Arts Festival -
Quarry Amphitheatre, 12 February -
After another stiflingly hot Perth day, it was sheer relief to be caressed by baby sea breezes at the Quarry Amphitheatre. Seated on a picnic rug, beverage in hand, it was hard not to feel well-disposed to whatever was about to take place. Situational bias aside, though, West Australian Ballet’s annual “Ballet at the Quarry” program was particularly pleasant this year.
First on the menu was WAB dancer Daniel Roberts’s Jubilate, set to Mozart’s piano concerto of the same name. An ensemble work for seven couples, Jubilate mixes crisp classical technique with an almost jazzy aesthetic and a touch of slapstick humour. Although I am usually a fan of comedy, the more mime-based comic elements of this work feel overly staged. The more subtle humour - a wiggling bottom here, a shimmying shoulder there – works better.
Holly Boyton’s jewel bright costumes have a touch of corsetry, well suited to Roberts’s clean classical lines and appropriately cheeky for a work that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s clear that Roberts knows how to show his colleagues off and there were some gorgeous performances. Andre Santos, always a favourite of mine, performed the many cabrioles and assembles of this work with his characteristic verve and sensuality. Claire Hill and David Mack also caught the eye, giving even the more classical moments a funky twist. In her solo, tiny Anna Ishii sailed through a series of grande jetes series into a perfect pirouette. Roberts himself impressed with elevation that belies his tall frame. Lastly, while their comic moments weren’t my favourites, Melissa Boniface and Sergey Pevnev still won me over with their charisma as a couple.
Next up was Cass Mortimer Eipper’s short contemporary work, Yes, I’ll move for you, performed by an ensemble seven dancers to music by indie rock/world music band, Beirut. I’m a Beirut fan and was eager to see what Mortimer Eipper would create to their music. I wasn’t disappointed.
Under a warm, orange light, it feels like the action is taking place in some grungy, urban setting. As the name suggests, Yes, I’ll move for you is about movement – languorous, sensual movement. Bodies open and ripple, run and slide, roll and retreat. As with Jubilate, this work suited its cast, and again, Claire Hill stood out with her gorgeous, supple style.
If Yes I’ll move for you is dance that looks enjoyable to perform, Glen Tetley’s Voluntaries is dance that looks difficult to perform, both in terms of technique and artistry. Tetley created Voluntaries in 1973 for the Stuttgart Ballet, as a memorial to its late artistic director, John Cranko, who died that same year. Set to Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, Strings and Percussion, Voluntaries has an elegiac quality.
According to the program notes, the purity of classical dance is central to this work. Rouben Ter-Arutunian’s original white unitards, with their confetti-like detailing, along with Tetley’s challenging choreography, ensure there is no room for error in this neoclassical work. The cast of 17 rose to the challenge with aplomb.
Leading couple Jayne Smeulders and Matthew Lehmann were exceptional in their roles, their pas de deuxs smooth and confident. Arching back over Lehmann’s head, barrelling through the air to be caught mid-flight, or extending her long legs en rond, Smeulders was in complete control of the situation. In addition to being an assured partner, Lehmann’s saut de basque was a joy to behold.
Also noteworthy were Melissa Boniface, Anna Ishii and Meg Parry, whose grande jetes were perfectly synchronised in both shape and time. Again, powerhouse Andre Santos thrilled with his trampoline-like allegro. The ensemble as a whole deserves credit too – coalescing and separating seamlessly through a wave-like series of lifts.
Perth’s heatwaves are legendary, but this year’s “Ballet at the Quarry” season reminds us locals that there are perks to those scorching summer days.
- NINA LEVY
Top photo: Anna Ishii in Jubilate. Photo: Jon Green.
"Ballet at the Quarry" runs until 2 March. See: www.waballet.com.au