SHOWCASE with POSSUM MAGIC
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
Reviewed November 1
The students of the Australian Ballet School have had a busy end-of-year, with 60th anniversary gala performances in Sydney and Melbourne as well as this final Showcase in Melbourne.
The first half of the program brought a return of Possum Magic (commissioned from choreographer Loughlin Prior by the school in 2023) performed by Level 7 and 8 students. This cute costume ballet is based on the book by Mem Fox and is almost a panto in its use of bulky costumes and animal characters and a huge achievement in its creation of new choreography, design and music. Individual roles were not singled out in the program notes, so I can't mention specific performers, and the ballet seems designed to give all students a chance to shine, with plenty of roles that don't just require perfect classical technique to make them stand out.
After interval the program built progressively from Level 4 students (the youngest) upwards, displaying the gradual expansion of the students' technical ability and range, which in turn provided an overall demonstration of the direction of ballet as an artform.
When the curtain went up on Youthful Grace, there was an audible gasp of pleasure from the audience at the sight of the sparkling white tutus. Choreographed by their teacher, Irina Konstantinova, the group of five demonstrated precision, timing, lines and careful placement. Similarly, Mark Annear's "Waltz", from his Birthday Celebration, for Level 5, which followed, demonstrated classical values but on a larger scale: elegance and poise and pas de deux work. Next came Serenata, for Level 6 Students, a homage to Balanchine's Serenade by Stephen Baynes, in long soft tutus and a palette of teal costumes. For this work the students progressed to another shade of classicism: from the abstract beauty of pure formalism to lyricism, fluidity and subtle drama.
No 5, inspired by the Chanel fragance, by Dani Rowe, is performed to music from Saint Saen's virtuosic Introduction and rondo capriccioso, recorded especially for the ABS by students at the Australian National Academy of Music. A play on the five notes that supposedly make up the harmony of the whole, No 5 had five accomplished Level 8 students on pointe, and allowed scope for the individual dancers' personality and play.
Next was an almost Forsythian contemporary ballet for Level 7 students, Otherwhere, by Kevin Jackson, to a hypnotic, cyclical electronic score by musician Keith Fullerton Whitman. Performed on pointe, in all over leotards and tights, the women in black with geometric patterns, the men in pure white, the dancers' individuality was once again submerged into the group, but the technique required contemporary-style rippling torsos, angles and shapes as well as complicated partnering.
The final work, Gracias a la vida, by graduate student Jai Fauchon, allowed the Level 8 dancers to let loose and be human. In socks and frocks and trousers in warm, ochre colours, with a slightly folksy feel, this delightful piece is in two parts, the first to Last Life composed by Ori Lichtik and the second to the Argentinian song Gracias a la vida, sung by folk musician Violeta Parra. Fauchon's ability to sculpture aesthetically pleasing groups and lines out of a large ensemble of bodies, to reflect the bounce of the music, and to sustain the work over two parts, shows great promise for his future as a choreographer. Gracias a la vida means "thanks to life" – how refreshing and happy a sentiment for these young students just starting out in life!
One quibble, however: if an end-of-year showcase is a demonstration of the full range of the students' training, as well as their readiness for a professional career, then surely it should include some highlights from the classical repertoire. This is after all, Australia's national ballet school, and the classical repertoire is what they are supposed to be learning. Possum Magic, sweet as it is, doesn't really fit in a graduate showcase: some traditional pas de deux or divertissement would have been more appropriate.
– KAREN VAN ULZEN