It's been a while since I last sat through a complete ballet. I am not a huge fan of traditional classical ballet and the Swan Lakes and Sleeping Beautys of this world are for me at least a case of seen one seen all. Beautiful, graceful and visually splendid they might well be, but they are all much of a muchness for the passing observer with a casual interest. My forte, when it comes to dance, is rooted in Musical Theatre, and my drama school training equipped me as a capable (but slightly ungainly) dancer who could turn my hand (or should that be feet) to anything from jazz to tap to contemporary, but of course we all had to learn classical ballet too!
Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of Beauty And The Beast however appealed to me on a couple of levels. First, The BRB have an excellent reputation. Seond, the story of this ballet is very theatrical, and indeed besides it being a well known fable and a much-loved film, there has also been a wonderful Musical too. I was eager therefore to see how this story could be presented through the medium of classical ballet. This was no Ballet Rambert or interpretive contemporary production... this was pure classical magic from start to elegant finish.
Sumptuous is not a word I use often, but I feel in this instance it is apt in describing the overall feel of this production. A great set (Philip Prowse) which, although basic and simple in its design and execution, worked excellently. I enjoyed the 'magic' tricks deployed greatly. Clever, understated, and relevant. The costumes (again Prowse) were detailed, in period, and stunning. The music - a delightful new score by Glenn Buhr, which although highly contemporary filled the soundscape with echoes of a bygone era of waltzes, mazurkas and high drama. - was wonderful. And of course the choreography (David Bintley) and the executiion thereof was beyond reproach. There was though a very small fly in this otherwise unsullied and pure ointment. I found that the lighting, (Mark Jonathan), combined with the profuse amount of haze used, was too dark, especially at the rear of the stage. I understood the need for 'dark' both literal and metaphorical, but there is a difference between dark and not visible.
In such a cast of principals of exceedingly high calibre, it is hard to find a favourite - usually. However, this evening, I found my favourite within the first scene, and although very much a 'character part', he did come back towards the end too to my delight. This was the brilliant 'story-telling in dance' portayal of the pig-man M. Cochon, by James Barton. Of course Yvette Knight as Belle was superb. And the energetic performance showing power in gentility and strength in humility of Brandon Lawrence's Beast was again simply brilliant. Some of the cast did at times seem to prefer pantomimic gesture or simplistic mime to convey mood or action, but since there is a need for the narrative to be paramount and completely understood, this can be forgiven, since the actual dancing was indeed mesmeric and wonderful.
A lovely dramatic and engaging piece of dance-theatre for all ages, and an intelligent 'cross-over' between traditional ballet and something a little more contemporary without losing the classical ballet tag.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 20/3/19
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