A ballet company of F.X. Šalda’s Theatre in Liberec included a new composed evening called Masquerade/Magical Love/Joking Around to its repertoire. Its dramaturgically uniting topic for choreographer Kateřina Dedková – Franková was a portrayal of three forms of love – dramatic, passionate and playful. She placed three titles to one performance that describe her intentions.
At first, we could hear Aram Khachaturian’s Masquerade composed in 1941 for the eponymous drama by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. This scenic version was very successful and therefore the composer adjusted it three years later to an orchestral suite. It has five parts: Waltz, Nocturne, Romance, Mazurka and Gallop.
Kateřina Dedková transfers moods of separate parts to her dance composition but music often surpasses it. More is hidden in it than the author managed to describe in motion – the choreographer works with steps of contemporary dances, she develops them in space but she did not manage to transform atmosphere of pieces to poetic and original variations. Dancers remain “stuck” in certain stiffness of a body exhibition – especially men seem to be stiff (they have no possibility to develop motion in round lines). If the choreographer had the intention to foreshadow Lermontov’s drama that makes rotten society to be responsible for the man’s murder, it did not reflect much in the kinetic portrayal (Lermontov wrote it in 1835 but it was staged in 1852 because of censure). Dance actions evoke atmosphere of ball entertainment but with a sad effect. White and violet robes of two soloists reflect the dark horizon. Their duets with partners bring links of good partnerships; dancers surely manage to do brilliant technique and pirouettes. However, dancers did not get more inspiring kinetic stimulations which would force them to find other possible positions of their dance-acting performances.
It seems that in the following Magical Love, the choreographer fell to despair when she brought scabrous passages. Motion is often unfinished and it is choppily transferred to another phase – this is the reason why choreography is more about poses which contradict emotional colour of music from time to time. Even the body expression seems to contravene experience of characters – they seem to be bloodless; for instance, when Candelas dances with her suitor or a dead lover. The movement is completely cut from experience. Candelas dances along with his partners, horizontal whips of arms with side steps discharge space for essential communication. More temperament is present in ceremonial dance of fire – but even it would deserve greater charm, gradation and tension. Compared with the Spanish-like passionate music model by Manuel de Falla, the net of motional ideas is very thin, almost transparent. This is why performance of protagonists is marked (Candelas – Valerija Radionova, Carmelo – Andrey Bayniyazov, Spirit – Vladimir Kamenev) who cannot develop their characters and give them suitable spontaneity because they are put in stereotypical motional motives. Motional forming does not almost lead them to it.
Relaxation, playfulness and spontaneous performance is brought by final Joking Around. Pavel Šmok is inspired by Mozart’s Divertimento For Stringed Instruments and Two Horns and in 1978 he created a funny story (for Prague Theatre Ballet, later Prague Chamber Ballet) where A. Bayniyazov, V. Kamenev and Jaroslav Kolář joked around in Liberec. They crazily fall for women; their girlfriends tease and seduce them. Dancers enjoy what Šmok’s choreography still offers them – funny situations and funny roles for actors.
Premiere 13th November 2009
Translation: Eliška Hulcová
Josef Bartos
Thank you for your thoughts. One got stuck in my mind – that passion makes us different from AI. Just yesterday I read…I am a dance critic. I am a member of an endangered species