British-born Richard Wherlock, who has been director and chief choreographer of the Basel Ballet since 2001, is best known for crafting contemporary dance that bursts with energy and comes to the stage in traditional story-telling form. His artistic engagement at the Basel State Theater has widely been cited as one that underscores dance as a universal communication tool.
With his ballet Tevye, Wherlock pays a dance tribute to the lost world of the Eastern European shtels, the communities of Jewish faith that were built upon a deeply rooted religious culture, and whose most important attributes were charity and a consistent work ethic. In the story, Tevye and his wife, both devoutly committed to preserving their tradition, expect to have their three eligible daughters marry members of the faith. The elder two are nicely matched to acceptable fellows, yet the youngest wants to marry a Christian, which her parents refuse to allow. When the girl weds him anyway – in the company of a pink neon cross – she is shunned by her father, an act that clearly tortures him emotionally.
The choreographer has said this ballet expressed “emotion in motion”. And motion it was: the couples and the 20-some members of the corps de ballet wound, twisted and catapulted around one another, almost without interruption. Their flexible bodies passed one over another, under, through the cocked arms or legs of their stage-mates. Where one made a space, another would move to fill it. Indeed, drawing on a catalogue of undulations and movements that were largely frontal and dervish-like, the choreography hardly gave the audience a moment’s rest. Motion as mainstay of the dance, yes, but this was often close to acrobatic hullaballoo.
That said, there were highly poignant moments, and the human side hardly came up short. As Golde, Tevye’s wife, Ayako Nakano gave a stellar performance of consummate grace. She danced the mother of the three sisters − Andrea Tortosa Vidal as the fiery Zeitel, Tana Rosás Suñé as an elegant Hodel, and Dévi Azélia Selly, an expressive Chave. The girls’ three partners (Jorge Garcia Pérez, Anthony Ramiandrisoa and Max Zachrisson) also gave commendable performances. Further, Frank Fannar Pedersen danced a passionate lead as Teyve, but hardly looked old enough to be father to three grown daughters, and the false beard he attached near the end, while part of ancient Jewish tradition, was too flimsy to look more than comical. Otherwise, Catherine Voeffray’s stunning black and white costuming deserves every accolade.