It was a high priority to come and see Norwegian National Ballet performing Sol León and Paul Lightfoot’s double bill comprising Shoot the Moon (2006) and Salle de danse (2026). In June of this year The Royal Ballet had premiered the same programme which had duly impressed.The most interesting revelation about watching NNB was that while the company was equally good, both ballets looked very different.
In a pre-show talk, artistic director Ingrid Lorentzen pointed out that of 67 León/Lightfoot works, NNB has acquired 21 of them. This went some way to explaining why NNB appear to be comfortable in the style and language. And one of the reasons I like the ‘language’ is that it has a certain timbre, a uniqueness that is recognisable.
Shoot the Moon could have been created this year, not 20 years ago. It’s an emotional journey, almost uncomfortably so, as we observe the intense exchanges between five people, experiencing the changing dynamics within their relationships. Julie Petanova, Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken, Dingkai Bai, Douwe Dekkers and Jonathan Olofsson were incredibly powerful. Movements were raw, visceral, often unexpected. Facial expressions revealed frustration, sometimes despair. Occasionally in this world of dance, you come away feeling that you have witnessed something verging on the profound. This was definitely one of those moments.
Borud Nybakken is a classical dancer of some note but it is her more contemporary performances that provoke the biggest responses. She is uninhibited by any conventional or traditional restraints and this makes her most memorable. She has the line and precision of a classical dancer but her body and face shout ‘take me as I am’ in everything I’ve ever seen her in. Hedda Gabler will never be forgotten. In some ways her performance felt brutal with the force of her personality hitting you in the chest.
The other thing which stood out was that the live filming was very different from The Royal. This signalled the realisation that each filmed performance is completely original and unpredictable, not choreographed. Pianist Joseph McNamara and the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra gave a wonderful rendition of the second movement from Philip Glass’ Tirol Concerto for piano and orchestra under the baton of Matthew Rowe.
Salle de danse celebrates, in a positive way, the duty that all professional dancers sign up for. You cannot rehearse or perform without a daily class. It’s the beginning of your journey, every day. For some, it is a ritual that almost becomes a noose around your neck (or ankles/back/knees). For others it is a warm up for greater things, but we all succumb. Lightfoot claims that class for him represented a family experience, a daily gathering of mutual respect and empathy. For León it was more like going to church, a religious devotion.
Whatever the individual experiences, León/Lightfoot’s Salle de danse is an explosive running commentary on all the idiosyncratic exercises that every dancer regularly works through with rigour. Inspired by Ilya Demutsky’s commissioned score (with clear nods to Carl Czerny’s Études) it was a rousing experience.
Nae Nishimura Skaar, Guiseppe Ventura and Bai, once again, were beguiling in the Prelude. Like Harald Lander’s very classical Études, it began slowly, then soared. Akin to The Royal Ballet’s Joseph Sissens, Alex Cuadros Joglar made Ronds de Jambe scintillating, alluring. Anaïs Touret and Simon Regourd devoured Étirements, both extremely bendy with a perfectly timed ending. In L’art de la marche, Alicia Rose Couvrette and Veronika Selivanova moved with flawless synchronicity, something attained through musicality as well as physical precision. Gabriel Gudim and Linus Lynch were supremely tender in the Pas de deux romantique and Touret and Dekkers turned up the heat in the Tarentelle pas de deux.
Samantha Lynch was an indomitable Maîtresse, walking around her students with stoic, quite controlling pride. Joakim Visnes as the Maître warrants further viewing as he proved to be a highly watchable presence with eye catching technique. As the hour long piece drew to a close (and we truly didn’t want it to end), it concluded with all 45 dancers executing the same movements in the Grand allegro chess board finale. There’s nothing quite like a large ensemble, pounding the boards, vibrant, expansive, sweeping limbs in unison. Exhilarating, at the very least.
Deborah’s trip to Oslo was funded by Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
