Ever since I was a young girl, I really wanted to go to ballet classes. It was after seeing the tv series 'Anna Ballerina' that I became hooked. I admired the grace, poise and serenity that each dancer appeared to possess & their muscular & athletic frames. I wanted to pirouette, wear ballet pumps & a tutu!
Well, I never got to go to my Ballet classes but I have been to a couple of performances. The most recent was last week where I had the pleasure of attending 'The Royal Opera House' in Covent Garden (second pic above) to see three performances titled: Polyphonia, Sweet Violets & Carbon Life. All three performances were a pleasure to watch I enjoyed them all immensely but it was the final performance 'Carbon Life' that made the most impact.
On stage behind the ballerina's was almost a full live band! drums were the only thing missing. This was lead by Mark Ronson on bass guitar & singers who included Alison Mosshart & Boy George & a rapper called Black Cobain. It was so fresh and unexpected a complete contrast to the previous two performances. At times the singers were walking close into the ballerina's space.
It was such a new thing for me, seeing this fusion of classical dance being interpreted into another form by the music & seeing contemporary music & this classical art form of dance coming together in a space that you would never expect it to be seen. I loved it. It was like ballet being taken out from its comfort zone & some of the more mature audience members definitely appeared to be taken out of theirs.
The visuals were very strong, with light projection of shapes & various screens coming down over the band & the ballerinas. The costumes (see last pic above) were designed by Gareth Pugh & had a very abstract feel to them.
After the show when speaking to my companions they felt that the beauty of the ballet got a bit lost with so much going on visually and musically. I loved it all the same!
Much love & Blessings
Charlene x
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