The Royal New Zealand Ballet's 12-man troupe shine in Jiri Kylian's iconic The Soldier's Mass.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet's 12-man troupe shine in Jiri Kylian's iconic The Soldier's Mass.
Dancing ‘soldier boys’ perfectly translate human strength and fragility in wartime.
Nothing can trumpet the essence of war like the roll of drums and the bugle's call. Ballet and brass may not be obvious soulmates, but this commemoration of the centenary of World War I with the New Zealand Army Band makes dramatic and heartfelt magic of the combination. What betterto show the human strength and stretch and ultimate fragility of war than the dancer's perfect body?
New Zealand composers Gareth Farr and Dwayne Bloomfield and choreographers Andrew Simmons and Neil Ieremia bookend the show with stunning new commissions.
First up is the enigmatic Dear Horizon, with Farr including a haunting cello solo, beautifully played by Rolf Gjelsten. Design is by Tracy Grant Lord. The ever lyrical and sensitive Simmons perfectly nuances loss and loneliness, fear and the end of hope and rides the percussive explosions of Farr's score with frenzied leaps of desperation in which Abigail Boyle and Paul Matthews are especially and dynamically breathtaking.
Jiri Kylian's iconic The Soldier's Mass, set to Bohuslav Martinu's gorgeous, sung prayer, follows. Made for 12 male dancers, with waves of dance pungent with the agonising sacrifices of war, the company's "boys" shine - as does Laura Saxon Jones, who joined the ranks on Saturday with a stunning, undercover performance.
The R & R of interval is extended by Johan Kobborg's work Salute. A change of pace is perhaps needed, but the froth and bubble and revealing white tights for the men come as a shock. The work may well reference the innocence of youth and the days when gauche generals sat around in ballrooms of a night before directing their troops into bloody mayhems in the morning, but the contrast is almost embarrassing.
Neil Ieremia's Passchendaele proves to be the night's contemporary tour de force and a passionate finale. Visual artist Geoff Tune's works of violent desolation form a stunning backdrop, Jason Morphett's lighting is superb and in Ieremia's hands the transformation of soldier boys to flesh, bone and testosterone warriors, is complete - making their humanity and their fate all the more heartbreaking.
What:Salute with the Royal New Zealand Ballet Where and when: Bruce Mason Theatre, Saturday; Aotea Centre, Wednesday to Saturday
