{"id":32476,"date":"2019-05-10T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T08:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/?p=32476"},"modified":"2019-05-10T08:00:36","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T08:00:36","slug":"within-the-golden-hour-medusa-flight-pattern-the-royal-ballet-royal-opera-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/within-the-golden-hour-medusa-flight-pattern-the-royal-ballet-royal-opera-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Within the Golden Hour, Medusa, Flight Pattern – The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review by Deborah Weiss<\/em><\/p>\n

The focus of The Royal Ballet\u2019s latest triple bill was the world premiere of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui\u2019s Medusa<\/em>, his first work for the company and one which he created specifically for Natalia Osipova.\u00a0 It\u2019s an attractive looking production; Cherkaoui has collaborated with ROH Production to design minimalist sets; Olivia Pomp has dressed the dancers in silken tunics which transport us straight back into Greek mythology.\u00a0 The story of the priestess, raped by the sea god Poseidon, punished for an act that was not her fault and turned into a monster by the goddess Athena, makes for good narrative.<\/p>\n

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A scene from the Medusa, The Royal Ballet @ ROH Tristam Kenton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cherkaoui tells it with simple clarity and Osipova brings her usual \u00e9lan to the role of Medusa.\u00a0 Eminently watchable, Osipova\u2019s lithe body twists and bends with liquid pliancy.\u00a0 Every nuance and emotion deeply etched on her expressive face.\u00a0 Choreographically, the most interesting passages are the duets and her final, yearning solo. But in spite of Cherkaoui\u2019s intelligent approach, the steps themselves do not find a particular voice. There is fluidity, but the vocabulary leaves only a vague impression of structure and shape.<\/p>\n

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A scene from Medusa,\u00a0 Artists of The Royal Ballet.\u00a9ROH Photo by Tristam Keton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even the music, a mix of Henry Purcell and Olga Wojciechowska, does not bring the necessary cohesion.\u00a0 There are moments of light and shade in the closing phrases when Medusa, having been beheaded, is released from her body; resigned; mournful; revealing her fragility.\u00a0 However, what remains is the image of her shocking reptilian mane, a crown of black snakes, which from a distance, looks so unfortunate – like a bad-hair-day nylon wig, purchased from a local fancy dress shop.<\/p>\n

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Within the Golden Hour \u00a9ROH Photo by Tristram Kenton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Opening the evening was Christopher Wheeldon\u2019s exquisite Within the Golden Hour<\/em>.\u00a0 This is an example of sublimely structured choreography.\u00a0 It embodies lyricism, is musically mesmerising (Ezzio Bosso\/Antonio Vivaldi) and is danced with such grace and precision that when the curtain closes, one feels a sense of emptiness.\u00a0 Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Vadim Muntagirov dance to perfection in one of the most enjoyable pas de deux created for the neo-classical repertoire (a plucky waltz). Nicol Edmonds and Tomas Mock soar through their duet. Lauren Cuthbertson, Ryoichi Hirano and Sarah Lamb with Alexander Campbell in their respective pas de deux equally put us under a spell of delicious captivation.\u00a0 Jasper Conran\u2019s new costumes, particularly for the women, are gossamer light and floaty. This ballet merits multiple viewings.<\/p>\n

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Within the Golden Hour \u00a9ROH, Photo by Tristram Kenton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, Crystal Pite\u2019s unforgettable Flight Pattern<\/em>, made as much impact as its first outing for the company in 2017. With its blanket mass of migrating people and G\u00f3recki\u2019s haunting score, we are moved collectively by the plight of a population moving simultaneously. One could argue that choreographically, this is not what we want to see from a classical ballet company – oh, but we do.\u00a0 It is like watching a piece of history being made during a 35 minute performance, one of heart-breaking beauty and melancholy. Kristen McNally and Marcelino Samb\u00e9 are superlative with every breath, every step they take.<\/p>\n

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Flight Pattern from the Mixed Programme, The Human Seasons, After The Rain and Flight Pattern (World Premiere by Crystal Pite). The Royal Ballet \u00a9Tristram Kenton\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review by Deborah Weiss The focus of The Royal Ballet\u2019s latest triple bill was the world premiere of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui\u2019s Medusa, his first work for the company and one which he created specifically for Natalia Osipova.\u00a0 It\u2019s an attractive looking production; Cherkaoui has collaborated with ROH Production to design minimalist sets; Olivia Pomp has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":32478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performance"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32485,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32476\/revisions\/32485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}