Fiddle and the Drum showcases impressive music, phenomenal dancing and tight bodies

by Anne-Marie Hickey
Sheaf
January 29, 2009

Bringing a musical legend back to Saskatoon, the Alberta Ballet Company presented "Joni Mitchell's The Fiddle and The Drum" Jan. 23 and 24 at TCU Place.

Choreographer Jean Grand-Maître of the company had come up with the concept after being inspired by Mitchell's activist lyrics and passionate songs. He approached Mitchell with the concept of a ballet and the two worked together on a production. The ballet included dancers, Mitchell's music and a circular screen behind the action that portrayed Mitchell's artwork. The images were a combination of paintings, mixed with dramatizations and documentary images, with a green or pink filter.

The message of the ballet was crystal clear - environmental and anti-war sentiments were beat over your head. The message was anything but subtle. The role of a little girl in the ballet, making a periodic appearance dancing and smiling, was cheesy and cliché. She ran around the stage, representing innocence and throwing peace signs to the crowd. Her presence was to suggest a new generation of activist, perhaps suggesting that in these troubled times we must reach for the children. The message was presented so clearly and obviously that it was almost insulting. Despite the political message of Mitchell, the music and dancing were fantastic.

It was a very contemporary ballet and the dancers displayed excellent technique for the duration. Some dances even mixed in elements of salsa, hip hop and ballroom dancing. The songs with hip hop infused in them, namely "If," were a little cheesy. Ballet dancers generally do not make good hip hop folk and it was a little embarrassing watching them attempt it, although they get an A for effort.

The best dances were the highly choreographed numbers with the stage filled with dancers. I didn't catch any mistakes, even though I was looking for them, and they executed their moves fantastically. The contemporary ballet style really carried the music well and during the softer songs the dancers adjusted their dancing accordingly. They seemed harsh, heavy and menacing during the war pieces. Their use of green flags during one song filled the stage with colour. I forgot where I was sometimes since I was so engrossed in their footwork. The dancers themselves were entertaining, too. The male dancers had the nicest bodies I have ever seen and I'm sure most of the women in the crowd were fanning themselves with their programs. They were extremely muscular, toted six-packs and had fantastic butts. They were essentially wearing tancoloured booty-shorts and that seemed to be the main point of conversation during intermission.

The female dancers wore bodysuits made out of the same material and many of them seemed to be on the muscular side - something I admired since their strength allowed them to do some impressive moves. During some of the costumed pieces, the male and female dancers would wear the same outfits and in one dance the men wore the same skirts as the women.

The whole production was very gender neutral. During the second song, "Sex Kills," there was a male couple that danced together. Throughout the ballet men would dance with men and women and in one dance the females even lifted the men.

The music behind the dance was fantastic for the most part. Some of the songs sounded a little '80s adult contemporary but for the most part Mitchell's voice rang with matured resonance. The jazz pieces, including a reworked version of "Woodstock," were fantastic. As Mitchell's voice ages, this seems to be the genre that suits her best. The song following "Woodstock," "For the Roses," was impressive as well. It was a slower, folk song that was dreamlike. The screen behind had a giant moon in the centre on the circular screen, with realistic stars on the wall behind the screen.

The images that Mitchell created were placed at specific points so they would appear at key moments with particular lyrics in her songs. Her music included old songs that were mixed in with new and reworked songs. For the encore, Mitchell reworked "Big Yellow Taxi," creating a unique, jazzy version of her hit.

The overall presentation of the ballet was wonderfully simple. The costumes were minimal, there was no set except the images created by Mitchell and the lights used on stage were not fussy. The simplicity allowed the audience to pay attention to the intricate dancing, the artwork and the music all at once.