University of Virginia Library

DANCE

Canadian Expertise Overcomes Plot

By TERI TOWE

Ballet, like caviar is an
acquired taste. For those who
enjoy it, ballet is the ultimate
form of aesthetic and artistic
expression, but, for those who
don't like it, ballet is a highly
stilted, unnatural, and
undramatic artistic
unmentionable.

The emphasis in ballet
seems to be almost entirely on
the natural beauty of the dance
forms and techniques. As a
result, little attention is paid to
characterization or dramatic
impact, and the plots are
generally quite insipid. But
once one accepts the
weaknesses inherent in this
rarefied dance form, it
invariably becomes a rewarding
visual and musical experience.

The National Ballet of
Canada, which opened this
year's Artists Series on Sunday
evening with a performance of
Tchakowsky's Swan Lake, provided just such an
experience Swan Lake is one
of the classics in the ballet
repertoire, despite a plot that
borders on the ridiculous. As a
matter of fact, to couch it in
the terms of Variety, Swan
Lake land an egg on its opening
night some 90 years
ago Swan Lake's current
popularity is largely the result

of its successful revival by Drigo
who prepared his own
performing version of the
original Tchaikovsky score
Drigo suppressed some 1300
measures of the original and
interpolated music from other
Tchakowsky's works The Drigo
performing version remains the
standard one, and the Erik
Bruhn choreography used by
the National Ballet of Canada
is keyed to it

Sunday's performance was
the best ballet presentation
that I have seen here The
company is definitely superior
to either the Pennsylvania or
Boston Ballet Companies.
Vanessa Harwood presented a
splendid and technically
flawless portrayal of The Swan
Queen. Sergiu Slanh who
substituted as the Prince after a
four month absence from the
role and only one two-hour
rehearsal was remarkably
effective in his solo numbers
but understandably tentative
and insecure in the
pas-de-deux and other group
dances.

The company as a whole is
a highly talented and
well-trained. There was some
bad ming here and there
perhaps the result of the
cavernous of
University Hall The
company was at its best in the
grand set pieces that highlight
the first scene of the second
at The and Ma were fairly impressive

The costumes and orchestra
left something to be desired
The costumes particularly
during the first scene of Act
one tended to be quite garish
Perhaps because of its
placement the orchestral
playing was rather imprecise
and badly balanced and there
were some occasional
intonation problems

There was one really
unpleasant aspect to the
evening Audiences here, for
some reason treat ballets like
circus acts applauding
well-executed portions of
scenes without regard to the
fact that such applause throws off
the dancers timing since it
effectively drowns out the
mus to which they are
dancing