The Ballet

The ballet company that I went to see tonight performs works by Maurice Bejart who I have heard of before, but know nothing about. I suspected that it would be more interpretive than classical and I was right. There were four unrelated pieces comprising the show. The first piece was fairly easy to understand: two girls like the same boy…and each other. Who will end up together and who will end up alone? The second work was a lovely pas de deux but I spent the whole time thinking that recent escapees from
Auschwitz shouldn’t wear white unitards. Your ribs sticking out hurt me.Go eat an apple or something! The third piece really intrigued me until the animatronic lion came out (I kid you not). The last work involved a group of dancers being partnered by other dancers who were wearing burkas (ok, they weren’t really burkas, but that is what they looked like). As I former dancer myself, I feel like it is a dicey proposition to let someone partner you who really can’t see anything, maybe that’s just me. The lovely
French lady sitting next to me (she writes an arts blog, had her son late in life, and grew up in Normandy) said to me at intermission “isn’t it lovely that they have no costumes and no set, it allows you to use your imagination to make the piece mean so many things”. To which I say… give me lavish sets and costumes and an easy to follow story about a doll that comes to life!

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Comments

  • Elizabeth

    Jan 8th, 2010

    Apparently you have never seen me perform my modern dance “Attacked by wild dogs”. I have performed this piece for mom before, perhaps she can provide you with the highlights sometime.

  • I am with you on this one Sarah – I don’t want to have to figure it out. I am there for entertainment, not homework!! (although Elizabeth does do a very nice little interpretive number 🙂

  • Agreed. Sometimes it seems that modern = minimal(effort) = lazy&cheap

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