I’m not really one for abstract ballets and to be honest, I only went to see this one, Jewels at the Royal Opera House, because I like colourful sparkly things. The costumes were indeed beautiful and jewel encrusted and the choreography often made good use of patterns. There was no real set to speak of beyond some hanging bits I could hardly see (and I was only in row E of the amphitheatre) and different bits for the wings at the edges of the stage. It was unusual for a ROH production and I found it slightly strange to see such a huge expanse of empty space with, at time, only a single dancer in the centre.
The first of the three acts was Emeralds which was very pretty. The vibrancy of the costumes and set gave it all an extra hint of drama. They used patterns a fair bit and I do always like that, especially when viewing from above! Tamara Rojo was the lead ballerina and fabulous as always. I also particularly enjoyed one of the male dancers who I believe was called Alexander Campbell but I can’t find him in the programme so I may have the wrong name.
Rubies followed the interval and was by far my favourite. Again, the costumes were beautiful, though the tulle skirts were replaced by a sort of gladiator style thing. The colours were expectedly vibrant and the jewels sewn on the skirts clattered noisily every time they moved, but I quite liked that. The dance style was very unusual, or at least, it was nothing like the performances I’ve seen before. It seemed to have an element of what I suppose would have been modern(ish) dance styles at the time. It reminded me a bit of Fred & Ginger or ‘fun’ ballroom style dances like Lindy Hop. Whether I’m right about that, I don’t know, but I suppose it doesn’t matter all that much. Surely dance is meant to be interpreted by the viewer as much as by the original intentions of the choreographer? Anyway, before I get too philosophical, I shall move on to give some serious credit to the principal dancers. The pas de deuxs were danced by Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae both of whom I enjoyed, but I’ve always rather liked Steven McRae. The spins in this were rather spectacular. Zenaida Yanowsky also performed and was equally brilliant. I really did enjoy the choreography of this one, with the combination of unusual sharp movements and the fluidity of traditional ballet. It was incredibly fascinating to watch, in any case.
The final piece of the triple act performance was Diamonds. Again with the beautiful costumes and some proper tutus this time, although I felt that silver might have been a more pleasing colour for ‘diamonds’ than pale gold, though I suppose that fits with yellow diamonds. Anyway, the music was Tchaikovsky so I suppose it’s unsurprising that I found myself comparing it to Swan Lake. It was beautiful in the same sort of way, with the shapes and patterns formed by the corps de ballet, but without a plot to support it, I found it not quite as engaging. Unusually for me, I actually found the pas de deux a little boring, but the rest was quite enjoyable. Alina Cojocaru and Rupert Pennefather were fabulous though and it’s certainly no criticism of them. I just enjoyed the choreography far more when there were other dancers on stage.
Unfortunately, as I so often am at the moment, I was totally exhausted and sadly relieved when it was over. I didn’t bother with stage door either, partly for that reason, but also because I figured half of them would have left already anyway.
Overall, I did enjoy it and if one is a fan of ballet for ballet’s sake, I’d recommend it, but I think in future, there will need to be a very pressing reason for me to go to another abstract ballet.
So, South Pacific is next and with any luck I’ll be able to stay awake for this one. I know I keep saying it, but four shows in a week really is overdoing it and I’m actually looking forward to having less to do next week. Perhaps I can manage it once in a while, but not two weeks running, if for no other reason that I get too tired to really enjoy things.
Anyhoo, I’m trying desperately to stay on top with my reviews, but my mammoth runaway fanfic (that started off as a one-shot of no more than a few thousand words and is now pushing 30,000 with plenty of unfinished scenes and no hint of an end in sight) has been keeping me rather busy, so you’ll have to excuse all the back-dating.
Also, did I mention I’ve bought more tickets for Les Mis? Front row centre of the stalls, no less! And on Liam’s birthday… hehe. I wonder if I start composing the message for the card now, if I’ll have any hope of ending up with something I’m happy with by the time the date rolls around… Anyway, on that note, I got a tweet from Liam too! It really wasn’t all that exciting as all I did was ask if he would be performing that day and he said he would (and also that it was his birthday that day – which I might possibly have already known and that might possibly have been the reason I picked that day to come, but it was nice to have the confirmation all the same!). Anyhoo, I was beaming all day after that. In fact it’s still making me grin, even now. I really am a pathetic muppet, aren’t I?!
So I think it might be best to leave it there!
Peace, loVe loVe and happiness,
K xx
So Currently Captivated 