Judy Chan - Exploring Ballet at the Movies!

Cineplex Odeon has been offering 'Sunday Ballet' movie experiences.  You can check out their schedule at http://www.cineplex.com/Events/DanceSeries.   

Judy Chan, Cecchetti Teacher, recently went to see one of these shows!  Here are her thoughts!

I watched ballet at the cinema on December 15, 2015.  It was a mixed bill with four short ballets by the Royal Ballet - Viscera, Afternoon of the Faun, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Carmen.  For me, it was a lovely 3 hours well spent that afternoon!

There was brilliant dancing, wonderful choreography, fantastic performances, and true classicism at its best!    The company is strong and the dancers matched well with the ballets they were cast for and vice versa.   The danced with passion, precision, and poise.   Everything you hear about classical ballet from your teachers was all there.

Viscera by Liam Scarlette - This contemporary ballet piece is breath taking.  The intense sections and the sensual slow movement are an eye opener.

Afternoon of a Faun by Jerome Robbins - The choreography is amazing.   The way he uses mirror reflection is impressive, particularly since they are not dancing in front of the mirror.  This piece is simple, light, yet elegant in style. It was wonderfully danced by Sarah Lamb and Vadim Muntagirov.  It's just like dancing our Cecchetti port de bras and adagios.  There is so much of this, yet it's understated and beautiful.

Tchaikovsky pas de deux - This has the typical Tchaikovsky sparks and elegance.  Bravo to the technique of Iana Selenko and Steven McRae.  The last part where the Iana throws herself onto Steven and he caught her in mid air is breath-taking - Wow!

Last one, Carlos Acosta's Carmen.   This is a combination of ballet and opera; a dance-theatre mix.   Don Jose was danced by Carlos.   Carmen was danced by Marianela Nunez.   We all know the story.  The dancing was amazing - bravo!  That was Carlos's last performance before he retired from the Royal Ballet.   

At the end of the mixed bill 'show', after all the applause and presentations, Carlos thanked everybody in the Royal Ballet, all the Artistic Directors, his ballerinas, his wife, etc.   At the end of his speech, he said:   "I want to say something to the new generation of dancers.   My advice for you is, allow yourself the freedom to commit mistakes.  There is nothing like right or wrong, better or poor.   There is no such thing as failures because life is a learning process…...  Be curious and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy ……."

What an inspiration!!!