My friend Catherine and I are developing a taste for the art of ballet, particularly classical ballet – the one where delicate ballerinas in white tutus and pink pointe shoes do pirouettes and danseurs in tights hold them in the air.
Recently a friend of mine informed me that visiting ballet had become very trendy, mainly among mature audiences. I am delighted to hear that Catherine and I are trendy and not so sure about the maturity.
The performing company is the Varna International Ballet – the troupe is visiting Bournemouth as part of their 75-year anniversary tour of the UK.
Varna is a city on the North East cost of the Bulgarian Black Sea. It hosts the Varna State Opera House and the well-established annual Varna International Ballet Competition.
The Varna ballet troupe is international. Bulgarian presence is limited to the role of Berthe, Giselle’s mother and one ballerina in the Corps de ballet.
The Bournemouth Pavilion theatre is not completely full, there are noticeable empty seats. A possible explanation is the performance of the more popular Swan Lake the following evening.
Still, the atmosphere is electric and the audience is enthusiastic. There are many mature ladies around. Two of them are openly flirting with the bartender in the Circle bar, another loud group of six take seats on the first row of the stalls and energetically flirt with the flamboyant conductor. I wonder if that is what our friend meant about the mature interest in ballet.
Our seats are perfect, second row from the stage. I find the design of the orchestra box ridiculous, The public cannot see the orchestra or the body of the conductor but his head sticks out like the head of a scarecrow.
Next to us is a beautiful young girl who I suspect is Bulgarian. Near miss, she is Turkish. She studied art in her home land and now works in the family restaurant in Charminster. She comes to the ballet in her day off.
The show is called Giselle. It is a classic ballet in two acts. The music was created by the French composer Adolphe Adam. Giselle is a romantic fairytale about the life-saving power of love.
The ballet group tells us the story in an elegant and expressive manner.
The first act is alluring but the real knockout is the second act. It is exquisite and mystique, wonderful and engaging.
The choreography is superb, the technique – flawless. The costumes and the decors convey the aesthetic of the narrative. The show even uses modern technology to present the spirits of the Wilis (young virgins who died before their wedding day) in the second Act.
4 Comments
A great evening Nina and very well written.
Catherine, it was really great and the company was exquisite 🙂
Very nice Nina Catherine described the evening to me and was pleased to get the programme which tells all about Varna ballet and their three performances on tour. 😁
Thank you Paul, you may dare try next time!? 🙂