To what extent it was his intention to give the age-old ‘ballet blanc’ (the ‘white act’ in nineteenth century ballets, with an ensemble of female dancers in white tutus) a contemporary twist – choreographer Ted Brandsen does not say in the program book. But the fact is that its new The Chairman Dances, set to music by John Adams, is a kind of gender-neutral version of this, with men and women in transparent white tulle dresses (design by François-Noël Cherpin); as a kind of 21st century answer to the Wilis, the ghosts from Romantic ballet Giselle. Or like the dancers in Balanchines Serenadeone of the ballets that Brandsen cites, as well as the whirling dance of the dervishes and, of course, his teacher and role model Hans van Manen.
A remarkable image, although it is not the first time that men wear the ballet costume normally reserved for women. Mats Ek and Matthew Bourne preceded Brandsen in their narrative adaptations of classics with men in classic female roles.
In The Chairman Dances the male-female ratio remains gender-specific. Although the nine dancers take their partners into a dip in a real ballroom move (the roles are usually reversed), the men do the lifting as usual. Brandsen’s dance language also looks familiar, clear in line and composition, with arms that describe large arcs and swirling turning steps. He is undeniably indebted to Van Manen for that language, but he misses his spirit – however cheerful and infectious. The arms describe large arcs, shoulders protrude left-straight, torsos curve and bend, rows of dancers slide sideways past each other, propelled by Adams’ swing. It is skillful and pleasant, but as thin as the dancers’ tulle skirts.
Modern stress
Juanjo Arqués is heavy-handed. His ballet Full Frontal is about the influence of stress on our lives. To a specially edited version of Michael Gordon’s agitated, nervous composition Weather One nine dancers rush feverishly across the stage, often in a confusing but organized chaos. Meanwhile, the central figure, beautifully danced by Young Gyu Choi, regularly grabs his head to illustrate his mental state.
Joey Massarelli portrays his inner demon, menacing, depressing. Tatyana van Walsum’s strong stage image is a physical translation of Choi’s mental collapse: large beams of LED light seem to threaten to collapse onto the stage enclosed by gray surfaces. In the duet by Giorgi Potskhishvili and Riho Sakamoto, the stress is especially paralyzing and energy draining when Sakamoto keeps collapsing.
So the message is indeed delivered head-on and there is little left to guess. Which is a shame, because over the years Arqués has grown as a maker. But it doesn’t get really exciting that way.
Price
The Georgian Potskhishvili received during this program, which also included George Balanchines The Four Temperaments and Van Manens Frank Bridge Variations were beautifully danced, presented by the namesake of the Alexandra Radius Prize, the annual prize of the Friends of the National Ballet for a remarkable dancer of the company. With his dramatic expressiveness he impressed in roles such as Death The Green Table (for which he has also been nominated for the Zwaan dance prize) and as Abd al-Rahman in the new staging of Raymonda. With his debut as Siegfried in The swanlake he also proved that, in addition to explosiveness and infectious charm, he had qualities as an elegant, controlled ‘dancer noble’.