Giselle: Haunting and Magnetic

Ballet BC’s Giselle is running for 3 nights only at the Queen Elizabeth theatre. A contemporary re-imagining by choreographer José Navas, this performance is both accessible to the uninitiated and bursting with artistic depth, passion and integrity.

I believe that a production should stand on its own merit without any background knowledge. I like to go in to a performance as “blind” as I can without having read any reviews or even the program notes in order to get a clean, unbiased experience.

When it comes to ballet I consider myself an ignorant enthusiast. My friend that typically joins me at these events is affectionately referred to as my ballet consultant. Not only has she trained in ballet but she always reads all the reviews, Wikipedia articles and anything else she can get her hands on before we see a show. However, I have seen Giselle twice (both times before I was 12, so my memory is a little patchy) and she knows all about it but has never seen a production.

We thought that the contrast between our approaches and experience levels would make an interesting dialogue. This is that dialogue:

D: I feel so sophisticated going for tea after the ballet to do an interview. I want this to be my life all the time! So. . . after all your research was the performance what you expected?

H: Yes and no. The dancing was what I expect from Ballet BC: dynamic, engaging ensemble pieces and complex physicality in that they don’t always stick to Ballet-specific movements.

D: I’ve not seen more than a handful of productions by Ballet BC, but I have already come to appreciate their unique style.

H: From what I had read I understood they changed the story in order to make it more present and more current. They achieved that in the Albrecht was inaccessible through sexuality rather than class and also in that Giselle kills herself rather than dying of over-dancing with a poor heart. The madness is really well portrayed. The thing that I didn’t expect was the visual aspect. I knew it would be animated but I expected it to be slightly less abstract.

D: Yes, I found the projection distracting. Not the large simple images or the thematic backgrounds that were more calm or insidious, but when there were lots of moving images or words on the screen I found it quite frustrating. I was torn. I wanted to watch the dancers but I didn’t want to miss out on the design and the impact that would have on the story.

H: Me too. Like the lips, although they payed off at the end.

D: The other characters, Hilarion the lover and the woman who I guess would have been Giselle’s mother in the original, they seem almost elemental. The lovers are mortal and they seem more eternal or godlike to me. I took the ownership of love more literally I guess. It’s more interesting in my head than a love triangle. But I only vaguely remember the plot. All I remember of my childhood experience is that it was my favourite ballet: tumultuous, passionate, tragic and beautiful. I liked it because it lacked the condescension of the Nutcracker and Swan Lake was everyone’s favourite and I wanted to be different. I was a snobby kid. But you said they updated the story. What did they change?

H: What they updated was instead of two men fighting over her, the two men were in love with each other.

D: Oh right! I remember that now. That’s a very “Vancouver” choice, I love it.

H: The other change they made was to give her the choice of suicide instead of just expiring.

D: Oh yeah that makes her character way more interesting and sympathetic. It gives her more power, makes the female character stronger.

H: And the second act in this production is all in his head.. In the original production she goes to the netherworld, collects a bunch of evil female spirits and comes at him for revenge.

D: In HIS head? I thought it was in HER head!

H: Well it kinda is too because they are both memories now. That’s where ghosts go. That’s how we deal with loss. That last image when she is swallowed was so haunting.

D: Absolutely. Piercing. The images from this production really stay with you. They penetrate and make an impression. The lighting was so beautifully used, like you say in the madness scene everything just came together so perfectly, it was so atmospheric. I loved this set and costumes and staging. It was so simple, well constructed and not cheap necessarily, but simple. You can achieve such decadence of the senses with a simple precise vision.

H: Like the chairs onstage! Order and chaos.

D: Although what was with the ropes? I kept expecting the dancers to use them. I spent a lot of time wondering on their symbolism and then just was disappointed when they disappeared without being touched.

H: Yeah me too. I’m not sure about that.

D: But I liked all the little design details. Like the way Giselle’s very contemporary skirt lifts like a tutu when she twirls and the cut of the jacket. Everything was so painstakingly designed. I love that costume isn’t indicative of gender, it makes the ensemble so flexible. Traditional ballet is so costume/gender specific and I hate that. I love the reversals and the androgyny that are at play here. You can do so much more with that. I love the whole way they approach the body.

H: And the facelessness was brilliant. that’s another change they made, because they didn’t have a huge cast. That’s why they left them on stage. Did you notice how the main characters were selected from the ensemble? They were dressed and undressed as the characters as they emerged from the group. And 3 seats were always left empty when they were performing.

D: I love how the characters are revealed. They just appear out of nowhere! Having the ensemble on stage all the time creates another layer of universality. It creates context. The audience is there, not us but them. We can see the watching world right there in view, like a background of a village or a crowded street and this becomes a bubble of reality; a story that is happening everywhere all the time instead of a singular presentation put on in a theatre.

H: That is most definitely Ballet BC’s strongest point as a company, how they use their ensemble. The principles are great, don’t get me wrong. But the ensemble is really used to its full capacity. They highlight a movement and add weight to a moment. When she’s in turmoil and she’s dancing they’re dancing in a flurry to add to the chaos. And then they stop and point to the knife, as her subconscious essentially.

D: And later when she is killing herself they are the witnesses, commenting on what she’s doing. I love how expressive the dancers are. The details: the little flourishes and attention to nuances of movement and music, it makes me think of studying Pina Bausch at acting school. So narrative. I love how much their movement reflects their emotions. Ballet BC uses different dance styles for different things, they are not limited by genre but freed by it. And I love this score, so stirring. The music doesn’t feel dated at all.

H: And the genius of how they use the music! In any other show she’d be dancing for her life and here she’s just sitting. The movement is in the music, its her inner turmoil bringing the audience to the edge of their seats

D: Something I love that I’ve seen Ballet BC do a few times is the way they will occasionally dance in silence. There is something so powerful, almost sacred, about silent dancers when you can hear the breath of their exertion at the back of a huge auditorium. They’re not afraid of stillness either. I find that so exciting. It pulls you in because the performers are so present in their stillness, so full. They really know how to use juxtaposition, utilize contrast and organic impulses to ride the flow of the music and of the audience’s attention. The energy ebbs and flows perfectly, the push and pull keeps you completely engaged.

H: It breathes. They dance like an organism.

D: Exactly! We have to wrap this up. Any last thoughts?

H: I like that you said ebb and flow. This is a living piece. The thing I read a lot was that they wanted to breath life back into a classical piece and they have certainly done that. If you see nothing else go and see some Ballet BC already!

D: I’m so inspired. Enthusing with another audience member after the show, I asked if I could quote her comment: “I didn’t even know I liked ballet!” I think Ballet BC has really managed to get to the heart of a very human experience with this piece that makes it accessible to everyone, whether they “like ballet” or not.