. . . not enough horsepower pulling the old carriage to get there.
To be perfectly frank and utterly truthful – yes, rare as that is – whenever Haglund comes face-to-face with a brand new ballet these days, he expects something on the order of Moose Murders* but with the added torment that ballet artistic directors never know when to cut their losses. They just keep bringing back their Moose Murders throughout the season as scheduled, no matter how awful. If anyone needs specific examples, just moo this way.
So it was with the lowest of expectations that Haglund schlepped up to Lincoln Center to see San Francisco Ballet’s presentation of Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella. On Wednesday night, Haglund left after the first act because he disliked the saccharine little-girlness of Maria Kochetkova’s Cinderella. But Thursday night was a different story.
Before getting down to the nitty-gritty, Haglund wants to say that he is glad that Christopher Wheeldon continues to make story ballets. We have good reason to expect that in the coming decades, if he continues in earnest, Wheeldon will create full-length works of lasting value that will touch people’s hearts. His one-act story ballets, even the bad ones, have always contained inventive and interesting elements that were pleasing even when the whole effort wasn't fulfilling.
Back to Cinderella, Wheeldon’s second full-length story ballet –
Happy to report that it’s not Moose Murders, not anywhere close. The production values, which are becoming more and more elaborate with each Wheeldon ballet, are extraordinary in their invention and beauty. A Basil Twist-designed huge leafy tree billows in the breeze and suddenly morphs into Cinderella’s carriage with horses that carry her off to the ball. Cinematic scrims and backdrops. Floating chairs. Sumptuous costumes. Imaginative puppetry. Lots of money spent to good effect.
Wheeldon’s creation of a prologue that addresses the death of Cinderella’s mother is the most original and effective choreographic element of the whole production. Two minutes into the ballet, Haglund’s eyes were misty. Cinderella’s mother coughed blood into her handkerchief, and then both the mother and the father made an effort to hide it from their young daughter remarkably played by SFB School student, Isabella Castillo. When the mother died, she was lifted to heaven by the fates (Gaetano Amico, Daniel Deivison, Anthony Spaulding, Shane Wuerthner) following one final hover over her husband and daughter during which she rounded her arms in a first position halo. Bravo, Wheeldon.
In Act I, the transition from Castillo’s child Cinderella to SFB principal Sarah Van Patten’s Cinderella occurred with a smooth passing of a bouquet of flowers as the character approached her mother’s gravesite. There she danced happily to the heavens before addressing the cold, hard reality of the tombstone. Then we saw Cinderella, not as a child, but as a young girl on the verge of womanhood – a time when she most missed and needed her mother’s guidance and love. Van Patten’s sense of loss and need were palpable whereas the evening before Kochetkova was unable to shake her one-note little girlness.
Throughout the evening Van Patten was a luminous and lyrical Cinderella who found the love of her dreams through the music even when the choreography was not there to help her. The easy sweep of her classically shaped limbs were in stark contrast to the muscly punchiness of the previous evening’s Cinderella. Her modesty and purity shown through each phrase that she danced.
Prokofiev’s big waltzes in his Cinderella score are beloved by dancers and audiences for the unbridled passion of the grand crescendos. But if Prokofiev’s emotions in his music spanned a range from 1 to 10, Wheeldon’s choreography with its own narrow emotive range of 4 to 6, or at best 3 to 7, never came close to meeting the depths and peaks of this great and glorious music.
Tiit Helimets, in his debut as the prince, was a gallant partner. His solos weren’t as polished as they could have been and at times he seemed to be holding back his energy. Hansuke Yamamoto’s virtuosity as the prince’s friend was impressive.
Besides the choreography's unresponsiveness to the iconic music, the other major weakness of the production was the portrayal of the step-sisters as neither mean-spirited nor ugly nor crass nor inflicting misery upon Cinderella. Rather, they were like pretty pretend-mean girls – harmless and only slightly annoying. Because the step-sisters were given large chunks of choreography designed to show that the women portraying them were fine dancers as opposed to showing their characters, their presence became increasingly irksome as the night went on. The step-sisters were a major miscalculation by Wheeldon.
The corps de ballet's sections in the ballroom scene were inventive and eye-pleasing. The corps's choreography seemed to come close to the peaks of the music with lots of lifts and swirling movements.
The flat and uneventful final scene of the ballet ended with Cinderella and her prince simply standing downstage in an embrace. It all might have worked better with input from a theater director. Big ballets should end with significance. It doesn't matter if the music is solemn or quiet – look what MacMillan did with the last few dying woodwind notes of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. Hopefully, it will soon be standard operating procedure for choreographers with big plans for story ballets to consult with theater directors for help in bringing their ideas to the stage.
By the end of the evening, Haglund concluded that Wheeldon had not captured either the passion or the comedy of the fairytale. Like most artists who work within a classical art form, he is probably painfully aware of all the shortcomings of his Cinderella. Unsatisfactory passages probably keep him awake at night like a troublesome line of iambic pentameter keeps the poet from his sleep. Let’s hope, anyway.
The H.H. Pump Bump Award, with sweeping graceful lines by Borgezie, is bestowed upon Sarah Van Patten. What a delight it has been for New York dance audiences to discover this artist.
*Haglund never saw Moose Murders since it closed immediately after its opening night on Broadway in 1983, but it holds the distinction of being considered the worst Broadway flop ever.
20 responses to “San Francisco Ballet 10/24
Cinderella – All dressed up with somewhere
to go, but. . .”
Hi Haglund,
I attended the Friday evening performance, with Vanessa Zahorian as Cinderella and Davit Karapetyan as the prince. While I, too, applaud the fact that Wheeldon continues to make story ballets, I have to say that I was let down by this production. There were just too many elements thrown in that I feel took away from the ballet. The tree, with all its symbolism, didn’t work for me. The same with the floating chairs. I didn’t care for the costumes at all. And the two stepsisters annoyed the heck out of me. (Also, did we really need to see the stepmother, suffering from a hangover, and vomiting the morning after the ball?). And surprisingly, there wasn’t enough dancing—for example, Cinderella doesn’t really dance around in the kitchen in this production. The choreography almost seemed to be an afterthought.
Vanessa was competent, but in my opinion, she lacks Sarah Van Patten’s magical qualities. Davit, on the other hand, was sublime. Wow… this man is talented! I actually liked the wedding scene (although, again, there wasn’t enough dancing). To me, it was the best part of the whole evening–and that was due entirely to Davit’s talents. I think he’s one of the best male dancers in the world. I’ve seen Sarah Van Patten perform a couple of times and I’m a huge fan of hers, too. A Sarah and Davit match-up would have been heavenly!!
Hi Haglund,
I attended the Friday evening performance, with Vanessa Zahorian as Cinderella and Davit Karapetyan as the prince. While I, too, applaud the fact that Wheeldon continues to make story ballets, I have to say that I was let down by this production. There were just too many elements thrown in that I feel took away from the ballet. The tree, with all its symbolism, didn’t work for me. The same with the floating chairs. I didn’t care for the costumes at all. And the two stepsisters annoyed the heck out of me. (Also, did we really need to see the stepmother, suffering from a hangover, and vomiting the morning after the ball?). And surprisingly, there wasn’t enough dancing—for example, Cinderella doesn’t really dance around in the kitchen in this production. The choreography almost seemed to be an afterthought.
Vanessa was competent, but in my opinion, she lacks Sarah Van Patten’s magical qualities. Davit, on the other hand, was sublime. Wow… this man is talented! I actually liked the wedding scene (although, again, there wasn’t enough dancing). To me, it was the best part of the whole evening–and that was due entirely to Davit’s talents. I think he’s one of the best male dancers in the world. I’ve seen Sarah Van Patten perform a couple of times and I’m a huge fan of hers, too. A Sarah and Davit match-up would have been heavenly!!
Hi B. Yes, most of the choreography seemed like an afterthought – or perhaps incomplete thought. I get the feeling that because Wheeldon has so many projects in the works that when he finally gets to choreographing an idea, like Cinderella, he has already lost interest in it because he’s thinking about what’s down the road for him. I don’t blame him (or Ratmansky) for signing up for work years in advance, but it’s taking its toll on the quality of their creations.
Glad to hear that Karapetyan was good. I had planned to see him with Zahorian, but then I got a whiff of Van Patten’s perfume and I had to see her.
Last night I stayed through Act I for Yuan Yuan Tan, who was quite beautiful, but I wasn’t interested enough in the whole ballet to stay through two more acts. I could sit through endless viewings of Ashton’s and many viewings of Kudelka’s versions, but Wheeldon’s felt like it was too dependent on rest of the production team (Basil Twist, etc.) to hide the weaknesses in the choreography.
Hi B. Yes, most of the choreography seemed like an afterthought – or perhaps incomplete thought. I get the feeling that because Wheeldon has so many projects in the works that when he finally gets to choreographing an idea, like Cinderella, he has already lost interest in it because he’s thinking about what’s down the road for him. I don’t blame him (or Ratmansky) for signing up for work years in advance, but it’s taking its toll on the quality of their creations.
Glad to hear that Karapetyan was good. I had planned to see him with Zahorian, but then I got a whiff of Van Patten’s perfume and I had to see her.
Last night I stayed through Act I for Yuan Yuan Tan, who was quite beautiful, but I wasn’t interested enough in the whole ballet to stay through two more acts. I could sit through endless viewings of Ashton’s and many viewings of Kudelka’s versions, but Wheeldon’s felt like it was too dependent on rest of the production team (Basil Twist, etc.) to hide the weaknesses in the choreography.
I don’t know if I could sit through this ballet again… unless weeks or months went by between performances. While I can see this production being a money maker, it wasn’t for me–too many special effects for my taste and very light on choreography. But that said, Davit’s dancing was worth the price of admission. I thought Davit was dazzling!
I don’t know if I could sit through this ballet again… unless weeks or months went by between performances. While I can see this production being a money maker, it wasn’t for me–too many special effects for my taste and very light on choreography. But that said, Davit’s dancing was worth the price of admission. I thought Davit was dazzling!
I’m one of the few who actually likes Kudelka’s version of Cinderella. I’m glad to hear that you like it, too, Haglund (or at least don’t hate it!)
In my opinion, Kudelka’s version is far superior to Wheeldon’s. The Wheeldon/SF Ballet version is a bit of a mess, IMHO.
I’m one of the few who actually likes Kudelka’s version of Cinderella. I’m glad to hear that you like it, too, Haglund (or at least don’t hate it!)
In my opinion, Kudelka’s version is far superior to Wheeldon’s. The Wheeldon/SF Ballet version is a bit of a mess, IMHO.
Agree. There’s much to be admired in Kudelka’s version.
Agree. There’s much to be admired in Kudelka’s version.
What a terrific review, Haglund! Also a pleasure reading the comments. I do feel bad having missed Sarah Van Patten and Davit Karapetyan, but don’t feel bad about having missed Cinderella itself.
How I would love to see a scenario in which Mr. Wheeldon reads your review, realizes that you’ve appreciated all the best elements of his ballet and nailed the portions that need to re re-thought and re-choreographed, and then [Wheeldon] rechoreographs the ballet into a full artistic realization. And then hires you for a king’s ransom to work with him on it. Oh–and then he brings it to New York starring Stella Abrera.
What a terrific review, Haglund! Also a pleasure reading the comments. I do feel bad having missed Sarah Van Patten and Davit Karapetyan, but don’t feel bad about having missed Cinderella itself.
How I would love to see a scenario in which Mr. Wheeldon reads your review, realizes that you’ve appreciated all the best elements of his ballet and nailed the portions that need to re re-thought and re-choreographed, and then [Wheeldon] rechoreographs the ballet into a full artistic realization. And then hires you for a king’s ransom to work with him on it. Oh–and then he brings it to New York starring Stella Abrera.
Wasn’t that one of the criticisms leveled at Wheeldon’s Alice when it first came out? Not enough dancing or something?
Wasn’t that one of the criticisms leveled at Wheeldon’s Alice when it first came out? Not enough dancing or something?
Angelica, I do think that Wheeldon appreciates Stella’s talent more than McKenzie. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t.
Kit, you’re right. There were big complaints about the absence of meaningful choreography when “Alice” opened at the Royal Ballet, but I don’t know what revisions were subsequently made at the RB or when it was staged for the National Ballet of Canada.
Much or most of Wheeldon’s time in the next couple of years may be tied up with his musical production of An American in Paris. It isn’t likely that the experience, especially if his production gets to Broadway, will lessen his fondness and dependence on special effects for future ballets.
Angelica, I do think that Wheeldon appreciates Stella’s talent more than McKenzie. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t.
Kit, you’re right. There were big complaints about the absence of meaningful choreography when “Alice” opened at the Royal Ballet, but I don’t know what revisions were subsequently made at the RB or when it was staged for the National Ballet of Canada.
Much or most of Wheeldon’s time in the next couple of years may be tied up with his musical production of An American in Paris. It isn’t likely that the experience, especially if his production gets to Broadway, will lessen his fondness and dependence on special effects for future ballets.
Wheeldon also has a new ballet, The Winter’s Tale, premiering this season, doesn’t he? He is a very busy man.
Wheeldon also has a new ballet, The Winter’s Tale, premiering this season, doesn’t he? He is a very busy man.
Yes, The Winter’s Tale sounds full of potential. Also, the RB has plans to broadcast it in cinemas so we may well have the opportunity to see it in the U.S. at the end of April.
Yes, The Winter’s Tale sounds full of potential. Also, the RB has plans to broadcast it in cinemas so we may well have the opportunity to see it in the U.S. at the end of April.