The was a time not so long ago that people were predicting the death of Scottish Ballet, our national dance company. When Ashley Page took over as artistic director in 2003, a few purists didn't like the direction in which he took the company, believing he had moved too far from the classical repetoire. But the company is now fresher and more exciting to watch than I can remember. It is can still perform classic work alongside more contemporary pieces. Ballet, like any other art form, cannot stand still and needs to draw inspiration from the world around it. Their Edinburgh Festival version of Petrushka was set "on the back of a lorry" in a dodgy Russian streetmarket - surrounded by cardboad boxes of contraband DVD players. They even had a spot of pole dancing. George Balanchine, the founder of New York City Ballet whose Rubies opened in Glasgow tonight, also pushed boundries. He thought Fred Astaire was one of the world's most exciting dancers, he worked with Stravinsky and loved jazz. He made the dancers push themselves further, to be more like gymnasts.
So it's really appropriate that Scottish Ballet celebrates its 40th anniversary with Rubies, a Balanchine work that is often described as the world's first abstract ballet. Vassilissa Levtonova from Moscow (pictured) dances one of the solo parts and is a real star. I sat in on one of the rehearsals taken by Pat Neary, who danced Vassilissa's part when the work premiered at the New York State Theatre in 1967. (along with Diamonds and Emeralds) Pat is amazing, still very tall and strong at 67 - a testament to the benefits of ballet for bone density! She is a really sassy, outspoken American who described the intrigue and sexual jealousy that made the company such a passionate (and politically incorrect!) place to work in the 1960s . Here is my article on Neary, Balanchine and Scottish Ballet in The Sunday Times. You can read a review of Rubies, which premiered at Sadlers Wells in London, at The Independent and also in The Scotsman
I'm sure that such a vivid and sapient young woman requires no promotion! *Ahem*
Posted by: Lallands Peat Worrier | October 04, 2009 at 05:07 PM