Ballett am Rhein: Boléro still thrills audiences in celebration of Ravel

Ballett am Rhein open their season by bringing their programme, performed earlier this year in Duisberg, to Düsseldorf, Soirée Ravel. Marking the 150th birthday of composer Maurice Ravel with choreography from Bridget Breiner and Richard Siegal, audiences are treated to this theatrical mixed programme with four of his most famous compositions. Proceedings naturally climax in Boléro, as all evenings featuring Ravel must.

Konzert fur die Linke Hand (Piano Concerto for the Left Hand) and the later seen Daphnis et Chloé, Suiten, are connected through recurring characters of Greek gods and goddesses, most prominently, Ares, God of War. In Breiner’s appetiser, we see Ares (Lucas Erni) and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory (Simone Messmer) who spread themselves amongst a family featuring a man, a woman and a younger boy.

The stripped back staging with only black and white images of Paris projected onto one side is effective. The wonderful pianist Alina Bercu sits on stage and I found my eye continually drawn to her exuberant playing, while keeping her right hand pressed to her seat. Perhaps one should take from this that the dance content was a little uninspiring. The ethereal characters, dressed simply in leotards and leggings, seek to disrupt the rigid uniformity of the family trio, at times through conflict, and then mirroring. Sophie Martin, as the woman, is particularly elegant with articulate footwork, but spends most of the time neatly draped over the man, (Eric White). Erni’s Ares is a tower of strength, creating an authoritative focal point, but it’s a dreary start save for Ravel’s brooding score that drives it along.

I found Siegal’s choreography to be the most engaging from the programme. The storytelling in La Valse is a rush of freneticism with a number of quirky characters that hold interest throughout. Originally composed as a commissioned work for the Ballets Russes, La Valse may have been composed over one hundred years ago as an homage to the Viennese waltz, but Siegal’s modern choreography and Jean-Marc Puissant’s kitsch designs brings it right up to date.

Beneath a twinkling chandelier sits a man in a red velvet jacket, Orazio Di Bella. An ensemble dressed in navy and royal blue suits quickly joins him. There is a decadently dressed table and revolving door through which characters charge in and out of the action. Di Bella is clearly top dog but the dynamics and power play shift upon the unassuming entrance of a casually dressed João Miranda who becomes the new focus for the group. They are fascinated by him and Di Bella is angered when one of the ensemble kisses this newcomer.

As a power struggle ensues between the two men and control slips away as the pumping score becomes more urgent. The action slips between chaotic chases to sweeping waltz sections, providing some contrasting sophistication. The women wear black pointe shoes with their suits, evoking an unexpected spiky sharpness to the ballroom elements, before they are sidetracked by another divertissement.

Returning to the ancient Greek influence, Daphnis et Chloé, Suiten is next. It’s the lengthiest addition here and features a convoluted plot outlined in the programme which unfortunately is not fully realised. Ravel’s music meanders more so here too, however, the central couple of Nami Ito and Skyler Maxey-Wert lift the spirits with their charming portrayal of the young couple dressed in ethereal white. Sweet and flighty, Ito soars fearlessly across the stage. They are a bright and youthful pair, joyful to watch, in what is an otherwise inaccessible piece for the audience.

Boléro is always left at the end of any mixed bill, whatever the circumstances. I’ve never seen a dance work truly capture how monumental Ravel’s score is, although Siegal’s effort is rather hypnotic.

A treadmill is embedded into the stage and we see an ensemble pace meaningfully, a stoic march and then a scamper to the rhythm of the drums. Curiously, the choreography never moves much beyond iterations of walking, sometimes in unison, sometimes individually, occasionally the women are lifted out of the treadmill’s reach and placed back at the start. Two couples do some basic waltz steps while remaining well spaced and synchronised.

The thing with Boléro is, the build up to the crashing conclusion is lengthy, but Siegal keeps it engaging with the introduction of new characters; tweaks to costumes, jackets come and go, one dancer wears what looks like a kilt. Chests puffed out, arms flexed, they all persist. Matthias Singer’s dramatic white lighting for each figure against the stark black backdrop is similarly effective as the dramatic conclusion sees one figure remain on their feet as the others fall back before a blackout.

One can imagine the pain-staking rehearsal process to get this looking slick. Siegal’s refreshingly original take is a hit with the audience of the Deutsche Oper, and the greatest success of a varied evening.