Swan Lake by The Bolshoi...

I was actually feeling very lazy to blog this, but "God Never Blinks" suggested I keep writing.. so here it is...

This is the second time a performance touched me to tears. The previous time was in Russia itself, a competition performance by a group of Bassoonists on the Brandenburg Concerto. But this time, it wasn't just music, it was the art of the body, the BALLET, that moved me to tears.

The first act where the two ladies, Friends of the Prince, were playing with Prince Seigfried. They danced in so lively, with smiles, just the way anyone could possibly enjoy dancing. The Russians really know their art. They're so immaculate, every part of their body is angled perfectly, every first position at 30 degrees from the torso, the temps leve goes to the exact width apart. I was reminded of the Hermitage, the art of porcelain 'painted' drawings on the tabletop. The Russians are really into their art.

Touching stories don't really move me to tears, but perfectionism in artistry does. I was really lucky I got Ekaterina Krysanova for Odile-Odette. Her Aura more than makes up for her lack of flirt with Seigfried. Grigorovich's updated choreography of the ballet didn't mean for them to flirt anyway. I've watched Swan Lake performed by different troupes and this, this Odile-Odette, trumps all the rest. She has no need for energy. Every muscle in her body exhudes grace. Every Odette I've watched angles their arms the same feathery way, but Krysanova's somehow hid the Aura of the Swan in within. Something you see the same, but feel different. This is what is so awesome.

I guess, having started ballet once again helps me appreciate even more thoroughly. Its not the movements that are hard, its the stills. When the swans stay still, that's the hardest part. And the hardest movements yet, Four Swans. Oh my goodness, the all familiar tune, yet Four Swans added the magic to the tune with their precisely coordinated movements, mind you, even their EYEs were coordinated. Never, never before have I seen such coordination. I don't even think the Kremlin guards can march in such appalling unison.

Talking about swans, there is nothing in the ballet that cannot claim credit for. The black swans were dark, sinister, yet they showcased perfect combinations. In this case, it wasn't just unity, their formations were precise, their V-shaped dances were impossibly touching with perfection. Not to lose out, the white swans were given the honour to induce immense peace with their movements all across the stage. The whites covered the entire stage and sprinkled it with peace, grace and beauty, overflowing into us audience.

The Straits Times review were critical on the choreography, I'm not so sure it deserved such criticisms. For a ballet so well-known, so mature, we're not so into the flirty chase anymore. Grigorovich has given the substance its maturity required. He showed us ballet and pushed the grace of it onto us audience. This is an art that feeds the soul.