Ravenna makes her points
F ROM the opening bars of Delibes' delightful and exuberant score, Coppelia captivates even the most hardened audience. So it's the perfect choice for an amateur performance, in particular one with many children in the audience.
This year's Hong Kong Ballet Group's annual full-length performance depended for its success on principal Ravenna Tucker, who grew up here and is now with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. She did not disappoint.
Her performance as Swanilda was one not only of technical excellence but also included some stunning points work. Her vivacity and cheeky smile enlivened every scene, often providing a welcome and heart-warming focus when the corps de ballet, performing with every available ounce of effort and enthusiasm, was let down by its lack of experience.
Dominant too was artistic director Vincent Redmon whose performance as the gypsy boy in Act I was for me the ultimate highlight. Technically superb and dancing with style and flair, he put heart and soul into his fiery performance.
So, too, did Kevin O'Hare, but with less results. An enthusiastic and hard working Franz, he was at best good, but mostly adequate - less than could be expected from a former Sadler's Wells principal. During their final pas de deux he struggled with shaking arms to hold Tucker and during her solo stood state-side with heaving chest, the strain clearly visible.
The sets were charming - simple, with rather flimsy village houses and tavern around the square in Acts I and III and a painted backdrop of a dolls' workshop in Act II. The costumes too illustrated the group's tight budget, but with less success - they were uninspired and mostly too plain.
Overall, this performance was delightful and the dancers coped well with the limitations of the small stage. Certainly there were the weak points one would expect of an amateur show - the performance of several lumpish and plodding males in the corps, Kenneth Yeung's wooden Bucomaster and George Yip Chi-wai as the Duke, in particular.
But there were no calamities and some highlights that deserve special mention: in particular, Linda Fung's sensual, graceful gypsy and Zeus Ho as a hammed-up but hilarious Dr Coppelius who delighted the young audience, hopefully helping to build Hong Kong ballet audiences of the future.
