MEMORABLE NIGHT OF BALLET

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 58, 24 March 1937, Page 6

MEMORABLE NIGHT OF BALLET

Colonel de BasiTs Monte Carlo Company in Hastings - ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCE It was memorable and truly glorioua entertainment, rich in movement - and music, that thrilled an enthusiastio audience in the Hastings Municipal Theatre last night, when Colonel W* de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet opened its all too brief season in Hawke's Bay. The beauty of. setting, the grace and charm of aetion, and th® rare quality of thev orchestral aceompaniment will linger long in' th* memory. Truly it can be said that never before has . a Hawke 'a Baj; audience been eo stirred, so eharmed and so spontaneous in its appreciation of a presentation which opened a new field of artistic entertainment in thif province. In the past we have had our ballet in bits and pieces. Not since Pavlova's tour of the Dominion some ten* years ago have we had more than. scraps of ballet included in the theatrical fare provided us. This present tour of the Russian ballet was therefore to many of those present last night the first experience of the supreme art oi th* dance.* And what a wonderful experi-. ence it was. Some may have gone to the ballet wondering whether they. would appreeiate and understand#this form of entertainment, but, having seen the presentation last, night, they cannot fail to be "balletomanes," keen to see thie art stimulated and, anxious that further opportunities should be provided to. enjoy still more of the exquisite'loveliness of the ballet. „ . Messrs J. C. Williamson, Ltd., who have spon^ored this tour of the ballet, are to be congratulated ou the initia- " tive they have shown. They may rest assured that their enterprise is appre* ciated. Dreainy Nocturnas. "Les Sylphides," the opening. ballet of the evening, is one of the * best known of the Diaghileff ballets, to the music of Chopin. This is a , light and airy fancy, set in a gla.de where, in the mdohlight, the daneers, attired as sylphs, take their audience to anotber world of dreamy nocturnes, langnbrous waltzes and aqimated mazurkas. Under the soft lights, to the beautiful strains of Chopin, the audience was hushed as the corps de.bailet glided .daihtily. into the opening nocturne, and burst - into spontaneous applanse when they ceased, to be followed by Nina ..Youchkevitch, who danced the first solo valse. Helene Klrsova and Igor Yousskevitch, the latter the only maia dancer in this ballet, with their sprightly ' niazurkas and valses, and Nathalie Branitzka, also received full measuxe-of appreciatipn. M. Yousskevitch 's great muscular power, so splendidly controlled in 16* solo numbers, was a revelation. Those who have read the "Arabiaa Nights" are familiar with the story on which the second ballet, i ( Scheherazade," was based. This ballet afforded a striking contrast to the previous number, both in the brilliance of 'the musical setting of Rimsky-KOrsakoff, who collaborated with Michael Fokine, che choreographer of this ballet, and the speed, intensity and drama of the actual ballet. This ballet revealed the outstanding ability of the artists to reveal by their expression, both in the dance and in their rnime, the whole story of a sultan's vengeance on his harem who prove unfaithful to him while he yvaa away hunting. Fassion, greed, hate and fear .are all portrayed with amazing skill. As the slave lover of Zobeide, the eultan's favourite wife, Leou -Woizikowsky, who heads the ballet, gave an outstanding performance. In this ballet the barbaric splendour of tho costuming and the setting 1) eight ened the striking eifect of the story. In the previous ballet the comparative absence of colour emphasised the fairy-like transparency of the story, while in this number the predominating tone was a kaleidoscopic one. "Aurora's Weddlng." The final ballet, "Aurora'* Wedding," showing the dances at tha marriage feast of the Sieeping Beauty of fairy-tale fame, had no story, but was a quaint and delightful classic of the ballet. giving every member of ' the conqmny an opportunity to display his or her talent. Little Red Riding Hood, the Blue .-Bir.d, the Porcelain- Frincess, and such familiar figurcs danced their meiry way on and off the stago to Tchaikovsky's music. "L'Uieeau Bleu," with Nina Goloviua and lioland Guerard, was a particularly appealing [■as de deux, while the dance of Aurora and her Prinee Charming, given by Nina Youchkevitch and Valentine fi'romau, was a graceful and eharmihg number. In the hnal mazurka th6 entir6 company figured, bringing the entertainment to a colourful conclusion. The high quality of the orchestral work must also be mentioned. In the first ballet and the overture the orehestra was couducted by Mr Ivan Clayton, of the Covent Garden Theatre, • Londou, aud the two concluding ballets were under the baton of M. Jaseha Horenstein, of the Berlin Bymphony Orehestra. The brilliance of the orehes-' tral work, which merged into the action o± the ballets with such apparent ease, was an outstanding feature of an outstanding entertainment. SEASON CONCLUDES TO-NIGHT. The Russian Ballet, which excited the large audience at the Municipal Theatre last night to a pilch of enthueiasm neldom witnessed before, will present its second speetacular programme to-niglit. This will eonsist oi "The Hundred Kisses." with music by Frederick d'Erlanger, and "Les Preeages," musie, by Tschaikovsky, finishiug with "The Fautastic Toy Shop, " with music by Kossini. This programme has proved even more popular than the first.