Young Hong Kong Ballet choreographers shine with fresh take on Bolero
Finding a fresh approach to a piece such as Ravel's Bolero, done so many times, is tough. Yuh Egami and Ricky Hucame up with a startlingly original idea.
The revelation of Hong Kong Ballet's latest mixed bill was a new production of Ravel's Bolero commissioned by artistic director Madeleine Onne from two young company choreographers, Yuh Egami and Ricky Hu.
Finding a fresh approach to a piece done so many times, from faux flamenco to Bejart's sexually charged dancer on a table, is tough. Egami and Hu came up with a startlingly original idea - the music's inexorable development charts the path to madness and suicide of a schizophrenic girl.
Confined in an asylum, those around her assume the form of demons who emerge from the walls to torment her. Only her lover retains his human form, but in the end, he can no longer reach her.
As taut, disciplined and intense as the music itself, the piece generates dramatic and emotional power without descending into melodrama and makes stunning use of the music - a particular word for the shattering way Ravel's abrupt climax is handled.
The production is a technical tour de force, from the constantly transforming set to the black fans with knives in their blades that open and close on the heads of the demons, a dark echo of the white fan on which the girl ultimately writes her suicide note. The risky, ambitious concept was executed superbly by Egami, Hu and the design team of Siu Wai-man (sets), Bridget Steis (costumes), Aya Mok (props) and Alice Kwong (lighting).
The cast maintained the impeccable precision called for by the technical aspects while performing with passion and commitment. Liu Yiuyao (below, centre) gave a searing portrayal of a girl losing touch with reality, and Lucas Jerkander was poignant as her lover.