There is a well known guiding principle in the contemporary arts: No matter how experimental an artist wishes to be, he/she must study the classics. This week, the St. Petersburg ballet under the direction of Boris Eifman has taken this idea to heart – presenting a fusion of modern dance and dance-theater grounded in ballet.
The troupe currently presents two performances in Egypt; “Russian Hamlet and “The Karamazovs on different evenings. Based on canonical literary works, both are tragedies depicting the particular ennui of Russian culture.
Both are executed through a profoundly complex choreographic vocabulary; both are virtuosic, displaying an almost unparalleled ability to convey intricate feelings through dance.
“Russian Hamlet revolves around the true story of Tsarevich Paul, a figure with many natural connections to the Shakespearian character. He is a vulnerable young man whose father was murdered at his mother’s concession. The stories reek of the same mystery and betrayal, hints of incest, and sparks of madness.
Within a prism of wealth and royalty comes the picture of Paul’s deep isolation.
The staging of “Russian Hamlet owes a lot to modern dance pioneer Martha Graham. The Russian production is swathed in fluid cloths. It is easy to forget we are watching dancers on pointe; the performers move across chairs, the floor and one another with the stretched spines and fabrics of Graham’s “Lamentation.
Within the first act, Eifman’s choreographic prowess comes to the fore. The Queen crosses upstage, a long blue cape dragging behind her. The cape is then transformed into a lake in which a young Paul and his new wife Natalie bathe. The curtain is then erected as a shadow screen behind which the young lovers articulate a sensual communion in silhouette.
The show is not shy. Replete with passionate gestures, seduction becomes the currency upon which drama is developed.
The story develops on multiple levels; the dance, costuming, and the subtle eccentric gestures that mark the choreography, give it layers of meaning.
Grand battements end surprisingly: a bent knee across the chest, the foot awkwardly sickled. These small intentional details are contrasted by the extreme physicality of the work.
The set is fashioned from a gold facade that spans the width of the stage. In the center is a large circular hollow which becomes the physical site of the show’s secrets: lovers sneak to it to stage their acts of indiscretion; dreams and sinister understandings reveal themselves from its raised window.
From pride and jealously, Paul’s wife is murdered by the Queen. Natalie’s ghost enters on a swing, donning a sheer white cloth and flowers. This acts as a prelude to the entrance of the most formidable ghost – that of his dead father.
The ghost is played by Oleg Markov with the same strong elegance he soon will occupy as the father in “The Karamosovs. Paul is performed by Ilia Osipov, who like Dmitry Fisher as Alexi in the ballet to come, dances with an innocence and yearning spirituality.
In the climax of Act II, a play within a play is staged in the golden hollow.
Court jesters dressed in red satin perform the exaggerated gestures of the castle. A bawdy queen grasps her large breasts in the agony of romance.
Clownish lovers collapse on one another.
Perhaps because it is a much gloomier tale, perhaps because of the intensity of expectation built up the night before, I did not enjoy “The Karamosovs as much. Dostoyevsky’s classic tale of three brothers, the play revolves around sinister visions, people and outcomes. Its scenery and progression are heavy: they lean to the darkness, lacking the innocence, or majestic beauty of the royal families’ wealth in Russian Hamlet.
“The Karamozovs’ scenes revolve around prostitutes, death and prison, with only a touch of the circus-like acrobatics that punctuate “Russian Hamlet. Still, it is a strong second choice.
“The Karamosovs makes more effective use of its chorus: the complex choreography for the large corps de ballets in this case gave me a new vision of the possibilities of choruses.
On the level of pure technicality of movement, the work of the St. Petersburg ballet is extraordinary. They are phenomenal in their ability to incorporate so many aspects well. The dancers rely on props and objects, swings, ropes and raised levels to wordlessly reveal their stories with elastic intensity.
Characters are rarely one dimensional, and often possess a deeper intricacy of emotional expression than actors. he “Karamazovs are less so, but manage, through Eifman’s staging, to achieve a shocking poetry by the ballet’s end.
I am not usually prone to this sort of statement, but after seeing the work of the St. Petersburg Ballet under the direction of Boris Eifman, I must: If there is one ballet to see this year at the Cairo Opera, this is the one.
“Russian Hamlet plays Saturday March 14 at Alexandria Opera House’s Sayed Darwish Theater, 8 pm. “The Karamosovs plays March 11 and 15 at 8 pm, Alexandria Opera House Sayed Darwish Theater.
