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.
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Added to Library on June 21, 2009. (1615)
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