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Ballet Preljocaj 'Snow White'
March 4, 2010 -- National Theater, Taipei After “Empty Moves” and “Eldorado”, Angelin Preljocaj says he was tiring of making abstract ballets and was keen to tell a story. “No doubt to avoid getting into a rut. And, because like everyone, I love stories,” he says. In a move that goes against pretty much everything you expect from the contemporary ballet choreographer, he looked for something magical, enchanted, and that he felt had not been fully dealt with before. He settled on the Brothers Grimm version of “Snow White”, which, dare one suggest, with its beautiful heroine, handsome Prince, evil stepmother, and, of course, the Seven Dwarves, has all the necessary ingredients for a box office hit. The fact the story is so well-known gives Preljocaj the advantage of not having to spell the story out, but rather focus on portraying the feelings and emotions of the characters through movement. All he had to do was remain faithful to the story. And, although there are a few personal variations and a little pruning, he has done just that. The result is a contemporary ballet that follows quite closely the structure of one of the classics, with an opening ball and adventures in the middle part, before our Prince finds his princess, and they get married.
The real honours were taken by Nagisa Shirai. Slight, pale skinned, with long black hair, and in a simple white dress that flowed like her dance, she was the perfect incarnation of Snow White. The mirror definitely got it right when asked “Who is the fairest of them all?” Even better, she danced as if under a spell, as light as a feather and with just the right level of innocence. The ballet is full of the sharp, precise, sometimes angular dance, with plenty of jumps and turns, that characterises Preljocaj’s choreography. But there are times when it seems unexciting; especially during the far too long opening ballroom scene. Classical ballet with its formal vocabulary and lines does this sort of thing very well. But while he makes great use of different formal patterns, and small and large groups, Preljocaj never gives an opportunity for individuals to shine. It all gets a little tedious, and it is a relief when the story moves on. The music in this opening section does not help and while never at odds to the dance, seems almost incidental rather than integral to it. Although there are a few additions, Preljocaj chose excerpts from Mahler symphonies for the bulk of the score, feeling that they are the essence of romance. They were also contemporaneous with Grimm’s version of the tale. Despite some misgivings, there are times when it gels surprisingly well, most notably the brilliant use of the variation on Frere Jacques from the 3rd movement of Symphony No.1 for the entry of the seven dwarves, and the adagietto from Symphony no.5 that accompanies the Prince finding Snow White’s body.
The dwarves are run a close second by the finding of Snow White by the Prince and her subsequent awakening. With our heroine laying on her modernist glass slab, and Sergio Diaz dancing his despair at her death, the echoes of “Romeo and Juliet” are loud and clear. And they get deafening when he picks her up and dances with her lifeless body. It seems like Shirai is floating on air. Of course the Prince eventually gets round to kissing her, but even more like Romeo, believing her to be dead turns away and does not realise she has woken up. The big difference of course is that here we have a happy ending. After the experiences of the opening ball, thankfully we are spared a lengthy wedding scene. Indeed, it is all over in a flash. It is perhaps just as well. Gualtier’s wedding dress is a truly stunning creation, a sort of white conical lattice affair with just a fringe hanging from each tier, which when combined with white high heels is completely impractical for much in the way of dance. The less said about the Prince’s near-fluorescent salmon orange-pink attire that looked more like it belonged to one of the more gaudy Spanish matadors the better. But that is a minor point. Preljocaj proves that contemporary ballet and fairy stories can come together. His choreographic spell is helped along by Thierry Leproust’s captivating sets that take us on an enchanted journey from the futuristic, minimalist ballroom complete with square-cut thrones that rise up the wall as if by magic, to the dark beauty of the forest and the dwarves’ mine, before returning home. Even though it is 110 minutes without an interval, once past that opening ball, the time flew past.
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by David Mead
Preljocaj claims that his central character is the wicked stepmother, and that the work examines her narcissistic determination not to give up her role as a female seductress, even at the expense of sacrificing her stepdaughter. Well, that may have been how he set out, and she certainly gets most of the best of well-known fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier’s costumes. Céline Galli seemed to tower above everyone else in what looked suspiciously like a black and red leather dominatrix outfit, complete riding crop and stockings that made it look like she was wearing thigh-length boots. And it is true that she dominated one of the most dramatic scenes in the ballet, tempting Snow White with a beautiful red apple before forcing the poisoned fruit into her stepdaughter’s mouth, and hauling her around stage before it took effect. But elsewhere she seemed to do little more that strut around and slap her riding whip against her thigh.
The entry of the dwarves is undoubtedly the choreographic highlight of the ballet. They emerge from holes at various levels in a wall that rise the full height of the stage -- well, they were miners, don’t forget -- before treating us to a quite outstanding display of aerial dance using bungees, ropes and harnesses. Unison in aerial work is very difficult, but this was truly outstanding with some very impressive patterns and formations. We even got upside down pirouettes on one-hand.