Following on from Sir Peter Wright’s centenary celebrations the night before, Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) close their 25/26 season with an ambitious triple bill running for just four performances on their home turf at the Birmingham Hippodrome.
Topped and tailed with the glittering opulence of Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering and George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, both present a supreme technical challenge. Between these we have the striking contrast of Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table, now nearly 100 years old, presenting a bleak but relevant commentary on the futility of war.
On this first night, the company performed Birthday Offering with an easy confidence. Choreographed in 1956 by Frederick Ashton to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Royal Ballet, it’s a showcase of seven ballerinas in solos reminiscent of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty. It’s rarely performed now, The Royal Ballet last performed it in 2012, which seems remiss for such a sure fire crowdpleaser.
Christopher Carr has drilled it all to perfection; the elegant épaulement and a soft use of the arms and hands. Alexander Glazunov’s waltzing score demands musicality and the dancers meet the mark.
Yaoqian Shang, always a firecracker of a dancer, is exuberant in the leading ballerina role. Together with fellow Principal, Lachlan Monaghan, the pair have charisma in abundance. Shang is reliably rock solid in the mini Rose Adagio opening section with lengthy balances en pointe.
Choreographed for seven female principals, BRB dancers from all ranks perform it here, not that you’d know. There was an accomplished showing from Rosanna Ely handling all the intricacies with calm serenity, while a poised Lucy Waine used her upper body expressively in her solo.
This is pure ballet joy, staged simply, in colourful mid-length gowns (André Levasseur) that bounce along to the spritely footwork. Many in the audience (myself included) will be new to this particular Ashton work and I can only hope its revival here will inspire other companies to take it on too.
Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table is a work close to Sir Peter Wright's heart. He first danced in it as an apprentice with Ballet Jooss in the 1940s, taking the role as one of the soldiers in his very first stage appearance.
The opening image lingers: suited politicians and well-to-dos arguing across a green table. They are full of faux politeness and bonhomie, their faces twisted into grotesque caricatures by their masks, set against Fritz A. Cohen's jaunty, almost flippant piano score. This mismatch is deliberate and unsettling and as the short scene concludes, they fire pistols with abandon, removed from the realities of their decisions.
Jooss then turns his attention to the real victims of war in a series of vignettes overseen by the omnipresent character of Death, a coldly imposing Ryan Felix in horrifying black and white face and body paint. It must have been tough to follow Carlos Acosta in the same role the night before but Felix was sinister and authoritative throughout.
We see a cast of characters pass before us, soldiers marching to their certain death, the distress of the women left at home, interspersed with the added layer of torment in Tzu-Chao Chou’s scampering Profiteer, complete with bowler hat.
Jooss was clearly an intelligent storyteller, though his vocabulary takes some adjusting to, and not every scene was entirely clear but the overall impact and imagery is incredibly moving, and would benefit from repeat viewing. The fluttering white flag, in particular, was a deeply symbolic, quietly devastating sight.
Theme and Variations was an uplifting conclusion. The indulgent vision of the green velvet curtains, diamond-white tutus and spangly tiaras was a dreamy gear change after the darkness of what went before.
Beatrice Parma and Max Maslen take centre stage and were largely secure in delivering the many technical difficulties of Balanchine’s work. Parma is a petite and agile dancer, but she looked a little strained at times. She is faultlessly neat in her execution but Tchaikovsky’s majestic Orchestral Suite No. 3 requires more attack and abandon, as graceful as she was.
The couple both visibly relaxed as things progressed, smiles only appearing in the later stages. There was able support in the ranks too. Eilis Small and Haoliang Feng were eye-catching, their long limbs capable of all the necessary fireworks, while promising junior members of the company Alisa Garkavenko and Mason King showed great style and energy.
The stage is flooded with dancers in its rousing conclusion, as the thirteen couples walk regally in unison before the stamina sapping finale packed with jumps and tours. It’s a sparkling close to the evening, and the season, delivering the necessary Balanchine grandeur with spirited conviction.
