The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Russian State Ballet
The Nutcracker, Caird Hall, Dundee, November 9; Swan Lake, Perth Concert Hall, November 10
The wonder of ballet is part of the Christmas season, both the ethereal big white ballet and the fairy tale for all the children among and within us.
Russian State Ballet and Opera House bring both to Courier Country, these two Tchaikovsky-scored classics are directed and choreographed by former Bolshoi Ballet soloist, Konstantin Uralsky and accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra.
It’s hard to believe the two ballets, both Russian in origin, both endured underwhelming debuts – Swan Lake in 1877 and Nutcracker in 1892 – as they have gone onto become beloved classics, with good reason.
The showcase white ballet Swan Lake is transporting, mystical, and offers the essential ingredients of a classical piece – tragic young lovers, hope, despair, good and evil, and death’s grim finality.
It is the tale of Odette, a young princess (of course), who is turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse; her prince, Siegfried, sees her as a woman and is captivated – unfortunately their love is thwarted by the evil black swan Odile, who tricks Siegfried into thinking she is his love, Odette, and it all ends sadly.
The role of Odette/ Odile is traditionally danced by one ballerina, but interestingly the artistic director splits it between two dancers in this version, setting the scene for a “powerful moment” when Odette and Odile meet face to face .
It is a ballet that demands much of dancers, the 32 fouettes Odile must perform are a standout moment – a version of 32 consecutive pirouettes, which must, like all ballet, be perfect.
Unfazed by this, soloist Maria Stec says she’s more interested in developing Odile’s character away from the accepted evil, heartless swan which she knows audiences are used to, instead dancing an Odile who is “noble, grand, gentle and feminine.”
And it’s about looking effortless while performing the most physically demanding of movements.
Bolshoi Ballet Academy graduate and accomplished soloist Anastasia T ur china says the role of the white swan, Odette, in the second act of Swan Lake is one of the hardest to dance, not least because it carries the inevitable weight of expectation a well-known claasic role.
Dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker is, for her, much like the ballet itself, a chance to enter fantasy.
“I don’t need to think about the complex role or technique, I can just enjoy the dance and feel like I am in the fairy tale. Tchaikovsky’s music always helps me to feel that way.”
With original choreography by Petipa and Ivanov, and Tchaikovsky’s score so recognisable it’s almost a soundtrack for Christmas, The Nutcracker is the ultimate in fantasy – it’s about a child’s Christmas toys coming to life, after all, and a long party with the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Land of the Sweets.