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Natasha Rogai

Swan Lake

Hong Kong Ballet

Sha Tin Town Hall

Reviewed: Aug 18

With its glorious Tchaikovsky score and  choreography by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa, Swan Lake is  a masterpiece of 19th-century  ballet. For Hong Kong Ballet's new production,  artistic director John Meehan has made the bold move  of commissioning two promising choreographers among his dancers, Carlo Pacis and Selina Chau, to create new versions of Acts  One  and  Three, respectively.

The original choreography by Pacis and Chau doesn't stand comparison with Petipa's, but  they've done a commendable  job of  their first full-scale classical piece. Acts  Two and  Four have been  re-staged by Meehan, based on Ivanov's original choreography.

Dramatically, the story was  well told, the strongest narrative innovation being the treatment of the foreign princesses from whom  Prince Siefried must choose his bride.

Choreographically, the Act One  waltz looked messy,  reflecting  Pacis' lack of experience in creating effective floor patterns for such a large group of dancers, but there was a good pas de quatre, including an excellent duet for two men.

In Act  Three, Chau produced  an enjoyable version of the  national dances, although the Neapolitan was marred by several extraneous children (cute they  may be; necessary they're not).  The company as a whole danced well, but the corps de ballet  wasn't sufficiently  cohesive in  the swan sections.

At the Saturday matinee, two young Australian dancers, Brett Simon and Chantel Elizabeth Roulston, made astonishingly assured debuts as leads Siegfried and Odette/Odile. In the famous White Adagio, they were not only impeccable technically, but  showed  what lies at the heart of  the magical duet: a young man who for the first time feels the power of love, and a lonely, frightened young woman who  learns not only love but trust.

Their Black Swan pas de deux was just as good. Roulston's gleefully wicked Odile was a vivid contrast with her pure, sad Odette, although there were a few hiccups in the solos. In Act  Four, they made the lovers' reconciliation and decision  to die together truly moving.



Swan Lake