Ballet pans out from classic story

By Bernadette Rae

Peter Pan is not often presented in ballet form. J. M. Barrie's classic story about a boy who never grows up is usually performed as a pantomime. But New Zealand's master choreographer Russell Kerr - at the age of 69 also steadfastly refusing to grow old - has found the story an enchanting one for dance.

His lavish interpretation for the Royal New Zealand Ballet of the story of Peter Pan, Wendy and the other children of the Darling family, of Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys and Captain Hook, and the lusty brigade of swashbuckling pirates, opens at the Aotea Centre on March 25.

The production, with score by Christchurch composer Philip Norman and costumes and design by Kristian Fredrikson, will tour New Zealand - in the South Island in early March, in Auckland from March 25, and to Hamilton, New Plymouth, Palmerston North and Napier during April.

"We have not attempted a literal translation of Barrie's story in dance form," says Kerr, in a brief respite from a hectic routine of rehearsal. "We have taken one or two small liberties to make the story absolutely clear when we tell it in our non-verbal way.

"In the book, for example, a lot of background information is given in flashbacks of the, `You will remember when ...' kind. A ballet company can't explain things that way.

"So we have selected passages from the story that can be clearly defined in dance. And we have emphasised some characters, developed them into significant roles, that are really only mentioned in passing in the book."

Kerr has also done away with the panto tradition of wire-assisted flying.

"Dancers can't wear the harnesses required, it always presents an element of danger, and this is a touring show and not every theatre can accommodate that sort of technology," he says.

Instead, life-sized puppets create an illusion of bodies hurling through time and space. The sensations of flying - the dark and star-studded cold at one point, the warmth and light at another - present a golden opportunity for some balletic sequences in the new work, which generally eschews the purely classical choreographic style.

A close study of the original story was the first thing Kerr had to do when Matz Skoog, artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, approached him two years ago with an invitation to create a balletic Peter Pan.

"It was a good six decades since I had first enjoyed the story," he says. "And I was delighted to find it appealed to me just as much today."

Kerr also considered carefully whether "my bones would stand up to the creative process - whether the dancers would be able to recognise the steps I wanted when I tried to perform them."

The success of his last project with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, the acclaimed Swan Lake in 1996, also made in collaboration with Fredrikson, helped his decision to accept the task.

And although he admits to crawling home at night after long days in the rehearsal studio, fit only to climb into a hot shower and then bed, the veteran of New Zealand dance has "enjoyed the process immensely."

"The rest of life has been put on hold until after March," he says. "But it has been worth it."

For months before rehearsals began, Kerr was beavering away at his computer, recording the two million different steps that Peter Pan contains, using a code of abbreviations and French terms.

"I have to have it all down, in the computer, to know where I am headed," he says.

But because the work is not strictly classical, a lot of the steps defied quick definition and had to be described laboriously. "Peter Pan steps forward on his right foot, hitches his thumb and pushes his right hip out, with a cheeky grin."

Then there were hours spent linked with composer Norman by telephone, in which Kerr would describe the dance movements, second by descriptive second. The next day, Norman would have composed a passage to suit and be asking Kerr for his opinion of this rhythm or that inflection.

The close collaboration has resulted in a score that delights Kerr.

There is more than a riff or two of rock and a good pinch of punk influence, he says.

And while Fredrikson's design takes its theme from an Edwardian children's "pop-up" book, it gives a quirky twist, in typical Fredrikson style, to make it unique.

"This Peter Pan is far from old pantomime hat," says Kerr. "I think it is ballet completely in touch with the new millennium."

What: Peter Pan
Where: The Aotea Centre
When: From March 25

Pictured: Russell Kerr (right) puts Cameron McMillan and Karen Mackersy through their paces. HERALD PICTURE / MARK MITCHELL