Lucien Postlewaite and Carla Korbes. Photo Angela Sterling
Jean-Christophe Maillot's Romeo et Juliette transmutes Shakespeare's immortal poetry into a dazzling drama of dance.
Shakespeare's words are gone, but Prokofiev's music and Maillot's choreography keep this tale true to its original intent: both high flown romance and as earthbound as a teenager's first kiss.
Central to the drama is Friar Lawrence, danced with insectile menance by Olivier Weavers. In Maillot's interpretation, Lawrence is both the spider weaving webs around the warring families of fair Verona and the victim of his own plots, screaming in silent agony over the rising tide of death that he is unable to stop.
Batkhurel Bold turns Tybalt into the baddest of bad boys, a passionate partner of Juliet's black widow of a mother (Ariana Lallone) in this version's ball at the Capulet house.
Charm is Jonathan Porretta's middle name and watching him whirl around Bold as if the latter is his personal maypole evokes both guffaws and gasps from the audience.
Just as Shakespeare's quips grow lethal in the verbal sparring between Mercurtio and Tybalt, the escalating pushes and shoves between the two dancers lead to deadly consequences. Maillot keeps the violence believably real. There's no stage duels with fake swords here. Murder weapons can be a toy swung too hard against a fragile skull or a scarf knotted around the throat.
The break with classical ballet comes most clearly in the "will she, won't he" blooming of the titular lovers. Trained to be graceful since early childhood, dancers don't necessarily do awkward well. But watch Lucien Postlewaite roll across the stage, struck down by passion for his Juliette, and he's every male adolescent whose reason has been hijacked by his hormones.
Carla Korbes plays Juliette as a bit of blonde prom queen at the beginning, noticably more controlled than Noelani Pantastico's shattered-by-love Juliette in 2008 premiere of this ballet at PNB. Yet when Romeo captures that first kiss at the Capulet ball, Korbes turns into blushing teenager, all bashful hanging of the head. Then she's ready to steal a few kisses back again, the minx!
Savor the moment, because it turns hauntingly tragic, a reminder that the intensity of youth can have fatal consequences. And that's Shakespeare, words not needed here to convey this tale of star-crossed lovers.
Last week, on opening night, the audience surged to their feet in record time to burst into a round of clapping and "bravos." Malliot's choreography doesn't give the audience any the traditional applause moments, so there was an obvious pent-up need to cheer. But there was also an overwhelming sense that the dancing had been exceptional from the largest role to the smallest. For more, check the reviews at Seattle Dances.
Comments
I adore your captions! (Well, the rest of the article to, but your stuff is always so good.)
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!