Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s “Celebrating the Makers” program, which the company presented in October at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, was in no sense a collection of the best of British ballet. In fact, only one of the evening’s works—Ninette de Valois’ Checkmate—could be regarded as a classic. Yet in showcasing three seminal and now deceased British choreographers, de Valois, Kenneth MacMillan and John Cranko, at formative stages of their careers, this heritage triple-bill did aim to capture that most perishable quality, a sense of period.
MacMillan created Solitaire in 1956, when he was 28, and at first sight the ballet has a derivative, apprentice feel. Straightforward classroom steps are inflected with folk and carnival references to portray a solitary young woman fantasizing about a life of fun and romance for herself. But generic as aspects of the work are, it does communicate a piquant sense of how one person’s imagination can become her whole world. This quality of empathy, in combination with jazzy innovations in the choreography, gives a sharp and touching indication of the experimental narratives that would follow later in MacMillan’s career.
Cranko, by contrast, had at least half a dozen major works under his belt when he created The Lady and the Fool, in 1954. This experience clearly shows in the work’s narrative confidence. While its storyline of a beautiful woman toying with her high-society admirers has a certain generic appeal, Cranko’s spin of having La Capricciosa flee on the arms of two shabby tramps feels very much his own. Distinctive too is the doleful clown psychology with which he pushes the tramps, Moondog and Bootface, beyond stock comic types.
The oldest work in the program, Checkmate (1937) was created when de Valois was already poised to sideline her choreographic career and focus on her mission to turn her small ballet company into a world-class institution. Her legacy, The Royal Ballet, justifies that sacrifice. But the staunch originality and theatrical flair displayed by Checkmate also show what we’ve lost.
The characters of her checkerboard cast are vividly individualized, but also symbolically potent—from the prancing busy Pawns to the blockish Castles and predatory Black Queen. However, it’s not just de Valois’s choreography that gives this work its enduring power, but also the iconic, geometric designs of E. McKnight Kauffer, which even today scintillate with wit and authority. Given the inspiration of this enduringly great combination, it’s odd that BRB’s director, David Bintley, should have opted to give both of Checkmate’s companion ballets a makeover.
Imposing new designs on an old ballet is a risky business; and in both these cases it was gratuitous. Kim Beresford’s décor for Solitaire occupies a muddy no man’s land between jazz and commedia dell’arte; it neither updates nor contextualizes MacMillan’s choreography. The drab, fussy palette of Kate Ford’s décor for Lady and the Fool mutes the ballet’s sparkle. A great redesign can blow away the dust, but here these youthful works of Cranko and MacMillan end up looking more old-fashioned than they actually are.
Writer and broadcaster Judith Mackrell is also dance critic for The Guardian.
