A Treat for Ballet Fans

Photo: Courtesy of KL DanceWorks

On 9 and 10 January 2010, Istana Budaya was the hub of ballet in Malaysia. In a programme organised by Danceworks Production and Ena Ballet Studio, and presented by KNM Group Bhd with Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd as the main sponsor, it provided a glorious evening of ballet that will remain with fans for a very long time.

The evening was in fact a double bill beginning with Paquita. This classical repertoire was first choreographed by Joseph Mazilier with music by Edouard Deldevez for the Paris Opera Ballet. However, in 1847, it was staged for the Imperial Ballet in Russia by19^th century maestro Marius Petipa with addttional music by Ludwig Minkus, and has enjoyed a present-day rejuvenation through the new choreography by Natalia Makarova, the legendary Prima Ballerina of the Kirov Ballet, before she defected to the west and worked with the American Ballet Theatre and The Royal Ballet of England. This production for Malaysia featured choreography by Jie Choong Wan Chin, a Malaysian dancer, teacher and choreographer who has been working at Ena Ballet Studio in Nara City in Japan since 2001. Wan Chin’s choreography was based on the original work but included her interpretations and variations as well. The presentation of Paquita is an ode to pure classicism and ballet technique without any libretto. It shows off technique through a series of solos, duets and corps de ballet repertoire that is the standard fare of ballet choreography of that era. The male dancer performs jumps and turns, and becomes the perfect foil to his female partner who displays ethereal beauty, controlled extensions and lightness, usually with a sequence of turns. Paquita encapsulates the desire and the pursuit of every dancer who trains in ballet. The male soloist for Paquita was Connor Walsh, a principal from the Houston Ballet who is only 23 years of age. Connor exploded on to the stage with an immaculate technique that is rarely seen in Malaysia. His elevation was phenomenal and was demonstrated particularly in his en ménage sequences that took him in a circle around the stage. His favoured side to the left consistently produced 4 to 7 pirouettes, and his double tours en lairs seemed effortless, neatly finishing in the classical 5^th position throughout the evening. Connor danced with impeccable musicality and princely carriage with his long limbs that easily filled the huge stage of Istana Budaya. Meanwhile Lei Zhao who danced the female lead in Paquita is a first soloist in the Birmingham Royal Ballet, which is an achievement in the dance world. Unfortunately, the dancing of female dancers or ballerinas has in some way been ruined in the late 1980s with the arrival of international superstars such as Sylvie Guillem and Darcey Bussell. Both these dancers changed the world of ballet forever when their superbly-trained bodies provided them with the facility to développé or extend their legs sideways until they practically touched their ears! These prima ballerinas had technique that dancers generally only dream of – they could hold their balances, turn and jump with stunning acrobatic ability with phenomenal musicality, emotion and expression while being extremely photogenic. Therefore they not only burned the dance floors from Tokyo to New York, but graced fashion magazine-covers and were compared to icons such as Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. They raised the bar and while Lei Zhao was not in this league, she was controlled and exuded an air of grace and experience. Other soloists like Rino Fujihashi, Yuki Yashima, Satoko Konishi and Madoka Toguchi were exceptional in their individual solos that showcased various attributes of good dancing such as extensions, pirouettes and leaps especially for young Japanese dancers. Special mention must be made of Yuki Yashima who recently won the 1^st Prize at the International Competition in Perth, Australia. Yashima is just 17 years old and will be auditioning for Houston Ballet in 2010. This young lady has exquisite control of her technique and exudes a quiet confidence onstage that belies her tender age. She has beautifully stretched legs and arched feet with a good ability to turn and jump as well. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she has great potential to go very far as a dancer. Malaysian dancers Chang Huey Sze, Lee Pei Nee, Ellyn Chew and Lee Jia Xi were the Malaysian dancers who auditioned successfully to be a part of Paquita, and were a delight to watch as they matched their Japanese counterparts albeit in the smaller sections of the dance.

The second act was the highlight of the evening, Carmen, set to the gorgeous music of Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin, and choreographed again by Jie Choong Wan Chin. Here the choreographer displayed her personal affinity with contemporary interpretations and neo-classical or modern ballet. Without major changes to the original libretto, the title character Carmen is a woman who is used to getting her way using any means possible. She is a free spirit and has little care for consequences of her actions. Played by the principle of Ena Ballet Studio, Ena Hirose, this Carmen was flirtatious, ambitions, callous, lovable, loving and at times contemptuous. Ena Hirose does not have the beautifully arched feet of ballet dancers, which is a disadvantage for any ballet dancer. Yet because she embodied the character with such passion that was evident from the start to her tragic end, it was immaterial. Ena danced it to the fullest just as Carmen had lived her life to the fullest. Again, Connor Walsh danced the principle male role of José, the love struck soldier unable to impose his will on this spitfire woman. In Carmen, Walsh displayed another facet to his abilities, bringing passion and tenderness to his role as he marched furiously towards his own cruel finale, unable to attain his true love and consumed by jealously and descending into madness. His technique which was already in evidence for all to see in Paquitawas used in more contemporary dance vocabulary and he attacked this with ease. In both Paquita and Carmen, Connor Walsh showed himself to be the perfect partner – always considerate to his female dancers and taking care that they were always in the right place with their weight squarely on their pointé shoes. This is infinitely more difficult than it appears. His love duet with Carmen was exquisite with unexpected duet or pas de deux work, that was pushed to just the right level without relying on unnecessary dramatic gestures. Connor has a generosity of spirit which was evident right up to the curtain call, when he graciously showed off his leading lady rather than himself. It did not go unnoticed.

Wan-Chin’s sometimes quirky interpretations also worked extremely well, particularly in the ‘jail solo’ performed by Walsh. The choreography was beautiful in its simplicity and clear in its intention to portray the futility of an unattainable love. The emptiness of his unrequited love was reflected inthe spatial considerations of this section as well, with the expanse of the stage shared between the soloist and a bright red flower. It was poignant. Another clever and captivating scene was Carmen going for a swim. She performed a lovely dance that captured the imagination of the audience, performed very competently by the ‘rich men at the pool’ –Fairul Zahid from Malaysia, and Pallop Namsom and Chitpon Pleansiri from Bangkok City Ballet. The other featured Malaysian dancers in Carmen – Mohd Naim Shahrazad, Lee Pei Nee, Ellyn Chew, Chang Huey Sze and Suhaili Micheline Ahmad Kamil were absolutely wonderful to watch. In her character as a factory girl, Suhaili especially was able to bring a fabulous energy and style that is uncommon in people primarily trained in ballet. This young lady who won the Boh Cameronian Award 2009 for Best Featured Performer has phenomenal stage presence and versatility in her ability to use her body that is unique. She is a rare performer who transcends genres with ease and confidence. Meanwhile, the entire performance was enhanced with the lighting design by Malaysian Tan Eng Heng who with an extremely limited preparation time, managed to effectively create an evening without glitches, and to use colours, tones and shadows to transport the audience to new spaces and times.

Danceworks Production’s Carmen was a treat for all dance fans particularly balletomanes who are starved of performances of this calibre in Malaysia. It could not have been easy to bring artistes from USA, England, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia together in one performance and it deserves a huge curtain call. What was more important about this production was that it gave local dancers an opportunity not simply to be members of the audience but a great chance to work together with foreign artistes in close proximity. This is invaluable as dancers get fired up watching their counterparts or senior performers train – from their preparation for class, warm-ups and the manner of rehearsals or discipline to the way they watch their diet! Even young children who had only a little stage time in this production were able to absorb this experience, and in awe watch these seemingly impossible feats performed in ballet before their very eyes. Inspiration is key to raising standards in any field and that is why the efforts of organisations such as Danceworks Productions and The Dance Society of Malaysia are vital to the development of ballet in this country. These efforts should be continuous until eventually Malaysia can also boast of a professional ballet company aside from purely state-funded traditional dance companies. Although we have a long way to go, kudos to the organisers and the sponsors, KNM Group Bhd and Edaran Tan Chong Motors for supporting the efforts to provide Malaysian dancers who are training in ballet with a true treat that will be remembered for a lifetime.