APPLAUSE WAS long and loud on Thursday night as Stuttgart Ballet closed out International Cultural Promotions’ “Bangkok’s 19th International Festival of Dance and Music” with modern classic “The Taming of the Shrew”. Many festival goers will indeed have felt that the festival saved the best for last, though some, myself included, no doubt found Malandain Ballet Biarritz’s “La belle et la bete” packed more surprises.
“The Taming of the Shrew” is a Shakespearean work less familiar than, say, “Romeo and Juliet” or even the Broadway musical adaptation “Kiss Me, Kate!” – and one has to give credit to the festival organiser for taking a risk that paid off. Thanks to Stuttgart Ballet’s founder John Cranko’s direction and choreography, which were underscored by his exceptional storytelling skills, we could always understand what was going on even without the Bard’s blank verse. While the first act moved the plot very swiftly and was filled with too much pantomime, the second act’s slower pace and more dance allowed time for the audience to empathise with the characters and their emotions.
Cranko’s attention to the details in characterisation was keenly preserved and portrayed by the multi-national dancers. The star of the evening was Spanish ballerina Alicia Amatriain whose Katherina was the most well-rounded character I’ve seen in a ballet performance – outrageously comedic throughout and yet sumptuously beautiful and touching towards the end and the gradual transition was also believable. Canadian principal dancer Jason Reilly, as Petrucchio, was her perfect match in both acting and dancing, and his muscular build was a nice contrast to her slim frame. One of the very few Asian principal dancers in European and American ballet companies, Seoul-born Hyo-Jung Kang also shone as Bianca with her sensuality and effortless movement, and she seems to be following the path set by Sue Jin Kang, the company’s former star who’s now artistic director of Korean National Ballet. Meanwhile, Briton David Moore, as Lucentio, was overshadowed by Kang’s sweetness, later shown to be otherwise, as well as the more colourful characterisations by his fellow suitors German Louis Stiens as Gremio, and Slovak Roman Novitzsky as Hortensio.
The production premiered in 1969, and, so of course, Elisabeth Dalton’s Renaissance costumes and set were in tune with that time. The lighting also looked peculiar, as if either there was not sufficient equipment in this venue or the spotlight operators were not fully awake. But when a performance is this captivating, the design elements, as they should, take a back seat. After all, a good classic remains a good classic when it gets a deft revival, and credit here goes to current artistic director Reid Anderson.
It’s interesting to note that the weekend before coming to the City of Angels, Stuttgart Ballet performed “Romeo and Juliet”, also by Cranko, as part of Esplanade Theatres on the Bay’s “dan:s series”. At first, one might think that this was part of Shakespeare 400, one year late. In fact, the company is commemorating the 400th anniversary of his birth and this year’s programme has many more of his works than before. Still, the company is widely known for its broad repertoire and they’re also performing works by Jerome Robbins, Frederick Ashton and Jiri Kylian, among others. And so, perhaps, next time they’re back in the region – and let’s hope that’s soon – we can get to see their other sides.
“Bangkok’s 19th International Festival of Dance and Music” is made possible through the kind support of Crown Property Bureau, Ministry of Culture, Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, B Grimm Group, BMW, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Indorama Ventures, Nation Group, PTT Group, Singha Corporation, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thai Airways International and Thai Union.
The writer wishes to thank International Cultural Promotions’ Egasith Chotpakditrakul and Sittikun Boon-it for all their assistance.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR
– “Bangkok’s 20th International Festival of Dance and Music” will run from September 11 to October 19, 2018 at the Thailand Cultural Centre, Main Hall. And since it’s the 20th anniversary edition, there will be more surprises and delights for the audience than was the case this year, which saw a few repeat productions.
– Visit http://www.BangkokFestivals.com for updates or join the conversation at the festival’s Facebook page.
– Keep track of Stuttgart Ballet at http://www.Stuttgart-Ballet.de.
