Ballet at 41° South

Last weekend, the Royal New Zealand Ballet hosted two nights of performance in collaboration with the Scottish Ballet at the St. James’ Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand. The bill included two works by choreographers affiliated with Scottish Ballet, and two by RNZB choreographers. There was welcome contrast in timbre and tempo, and common themes of self-actualisation and connection, through a love of dance. As RNZB artistic director Ty King-Wall announced in the audience address, the two-night only performance was in the spirit of “bringing the companies together in mutual admiration and respect.”

Performance

Scottish Ballet and the Royal New Zealand Ballet: “Schachmatt” by Cayetano Soto / “Prismatic” by Shaun James Kelly / “Limerence” by Annaliese Macdonald / “Dextera” by Sophie Laplane

Place

St. James Theatre, Wellington, New Zealand, March 14, 2025

Words

Leila Lois

Kirby Selchow, Ema Takahashi, Ana Gallardo Lobaina, and Jemima Scott in “Prismatic” by Shaun James Kelly. Photograph by Stephen A'Court

The evening opened with Cayetano Soto’s jazz-inflected 20-minute ballet, “Schachmatt (Checkmate).” Drawing inspiration from the words of Joan Rivers, the films of Pedro Almodovar, and the choreography of Bob Fosse, Soto, who is based in Barcelona, uses joy and razor-sharp wit for this highly stylised piece.

The dancers, to borrow a line from New Zealand poet, Hera Lindsay Bird, performed ballet with “modern jazz contempt.” Signature moves such as high flicks of the hands, allongés with an affected air, chest pops and ostrich like profiles, are at variance with classical ballet demeanour, and for that reason surprising and amusing. The costumes were tailored and cheeky, shorts with jockey-like jackets and caps, for men and women, perfectly complimenting the playful air of the choreography.

The sensual, golden lighting through stage smoke intensified the drama and pageantry. Latin flair was unmistakable in this work by Soto, and oh so enjoyable. Premiering only the weekend before at Sadler's Wells, London, it was a real treat for the second viewing to be in Wellington.

Rishan Benjamin in Cayetano Soto's “Schachmatt.” Photograph by Andy Ross

The second piece was “Prismatic” by RNZB’s resident choreographer, Shaun James Kelly. Kelly created this piece after the original, “Prismatic Variations” by Paul Gnatt and Russel Kerr, using the same music by Johannes Brahms and the original backcloth by iconic New Zealand stage designer, Raymond Boyce, from 1960. The dancers wore pale lycra, illuminated by multi-coloured lights, and the technique recalled William Forsythe, with complex, sharp foot movements, and angular arms, dynamic, playful accord with the Brahms.

The diagonal of the ensemble at the start was beautifully complimented by exultant fanfare, and after the dancers peeled off into energetic pas de deux. Elements of levity broke up the portent of the opening, with dancers boureeing mechanically backwards en pointe and landing flat-footed from echappés. Fast changes of direction, and high chariot and overhead lifts certainly popped. Principal Kihiro Kusukami was a standout, effortlessly light, strong, and on beat with every jump and turn.

“Limerence” is a heart-rending work by Annaliese Macdonald. First created in 2022 for the company’s digital season, Macdonald has reworked it for the proscenium stage. The stage is pared back, save a set of glowing smoke orbs and a coat rail hung with black blazers, as soloist Ana Gallardo Lobaina in a little black dress and socks sauntered towards Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson, who stood in blue light, shirtless, and with an air of mourning. The dance, set to Schubert’s piano trios is a pas de quatre of insecurity, doubt, and abandon. Katherine Minor, so expressive with her cherubic face and doe-like demeanour was a glimmer of hope, of new love, while Lobaina, with her long, graceful limbs embodied both passion and despair. They tussle and fall into each other, swapping partners, increasing emotional friction, and by the end, all seem disconsolate, spectral emblems of love lost.

The final piece was the superb “Dextera,” by Scottish Ballet resident choreographer Sophie Laplane, in her trademark quirky, experimental style. The beginning is perhaps a little laboured, a ‘doll’s workshop’ kind of set-up, where the puppet masters, in red gloves, marvellously manipulate the other dancers. The Scottish Ballet really show off their contemporary technique here, with stunning body isolation and control.

Scottish Ballet in “Dextera” by Sophie Laplane. Photograph by Andy Ross

The ballet however moves away from clichéd “Coppelia” territory and into something quite new. In the final electric scene, the line between puppet master and doll has been so thoroughly transgressed, all of the characters are dancing in a “Rosas Danst Rosas” style frenzy. The dancing is thrilling, acrobatic, unexpected, and completely insane. There are lifts and turns with partners that look like a dolphin rising over endless waves and arm pumps like the Women’s Land Army movement. This is ballet at its most fresh, exciting, and compelling.

At the end, we are left to reflect upon today’s hyper-competitive world, the steady encroach of AI into our everyday lives, and the question of who is really free in modern society. The finale is a rumba line, punctuated with a rainfall of brightly coloured gloves, a fiesta of delightfully surreal proportions. Here the RNZB and Scottish Ballet light up the stage together for a rousing curtain call.

Leila Lois

Leila Lois is a dancer and writer of Kurdish and Celtic heritage. Her poetry, essays and reviews have been published in Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada by Southerly Journal, LA Review of Books, Honey Literary Journal, Right Now, Delving Into Dance and more.

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