Wheeldon's Triple: After The Rain/Strapless/Within The Golden Hour

I still have no idea how to comment on After The Rain. It’s been over a week since I saw it for the first time in Christopher Wheeldon’s triple bill at the Royal Ballet, but I’m not really sure what to say. Did I like it? Yeh I guess so. Why? I’m finding this difficult to answer. After The Rain is strange because essentially it’s two ballets in one. This isn’t like a 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner which is going to save you an extra five minutes in your day. It’s more like a 2 in 1 ballet with neither part relating to each other and having no need to be together in the same ballet. Shampoo needs the conditioner but the two sections in After The Rain certainly don’t need each other. All I can think is the first ‘blue’ parts represent rain and the following pas de deux is after the rain? That’s as much as I can pull out. I like the ‘blue’ bits, it was nothing I hadn’t seen before but it was pleasant and enjoyable. The second part of the piece, let’s call it after the rain then, was a pas de deux danced beautifully by Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares. There were some beautiful lifts, interesting lines and contorted shapes which provided quite a contemporary feel. I think that as a piece of choreography this was good, and I liked it a lot, but there was also something quite basic about it. It didn’t challenge my eye or bring me to the edge of my seat. It was serene and pretty to watch, but as I have said, nothing new here. Perhaps that is Wheeldon’s intention, as it is the storm which should have all of the virtuoso, and the calm after it should be simple. My problem with After The Rain is that, although I liked it, I will never remember it. Already I’m clutching at straws trying to remember key moments in the choreography and I just feel a bit ‘meh’ about it which I’m sure the reader can probably tell by my weary writing.

So let’s move on quickly to the second instalment of the evening. I didn’t know an awful lot about the triple bill before I went. Usually I try not to read any reviews or to read too much background information as it’s a bit of a test to see if the choreography can evoke a story or emotion on its own. I hadn’t seen any of the pieces before and thought perhaps it would be wise to read something first so that I’m not sitting in the auditorium mouth gaping and with a question mark above my head. I chose to read about Strapless. I was told the other two didn’t really have a narrative but I was advised to know something first about Strapless. I’m mighty glad I did as without studying the story first I don’t think I’d have a clue what was going on. It’s had quite an interesting response. Most people say they need to see it again to decide what they think. I’m with them. And many others have said that Wheeldon can’t do narrative. I’m not quite with them on that one. Although there are parts to Strapless that are perhaps slightly confused or more ‘filler’ type scenes, other parts are exceptional and I felt enthralled. A lot of that is also down to Natalia Osipova who, as always, danced so brilliantly and with such attack. As many may know, there are times when Osipova doesn’t quite do it for me, but I think she was perfectly cast here. Her character, Amelie Gautreau is a beautiful, sultry type, who has her portrait painted by John Singer Sargent (Edward Watson). However, when her dress strap falls and bares her shoulder (much to the pleasure of John who knows the reaction this would cause) she is snubbed, becomes a laughing stock and a ruined woman in high society. It may seem a dated story but it’s not too far apart from the Sun pushing Katy Price to get naked on page 3 for the rest of us to humiliate.

Parts of the ballet don’t work, such as the erotic sex scene between Amelie and her lover, Pozzi (Federico Bonelli). I know I can be prudish but I’m not when I think eroticism fits in with the story. Here it didn’t and the ‘pas de sex’ was too long and choreographically too obvious. I wish that had been shortened and John’s following solo had been a lot longer. It would have been nice to have seen his character develop and of course to have seen more of Edward Watson. Wheeldon makes me smile though, because just as you’re getting bored, he pulls a bit of genius out the bag and starts to show you what he can really do. The final scenes where Amelie is exposed and rejected were fabulous. The music was loud and brash and the brass was like a fusion of Stravinsky and Bernstein (I always find loud brass can evoke the demise of one’s mental state). The music paired with the choreography was enthralling and I was completely focused on the stage which was quite a contrast to earlier parts of the ballet. Amelie’s solo where she is stripped down to a nude coloured leotard was powerful and haunting. We could feel her desperation through every movement and with Osipova’s technique in full swing this became a prominent part of the whole ballet. In fact, I would have loved to have watched that whole scene for an hour as I couldn’t get enough. The story ends in the present day, as we also saw in Wheeldon’s Alice in Wonderland, which I actually liked a lot and overall I thought this a clever attempt at a narrative. I think there is a lot that needs work but if condensed in the right places and expanded in better places, Wheeldon could have quite a ballet to offer.

The first thing to say about Within The Golden Hour is that it’s fantastic. After an evening spent feeling either sleepy or a little puzzled, something like this was a welcome treat. My mouth pretty much gaped open for the majority of the piece and as soon as curtain fell at its end I wished it could start again. I wasn’t so keen on the costumes, I think they looked a little cheap and I felt that the glitter and oceanic theme was like a 21st Century re-working of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Not as cool as it sounds. But once you put that to one side, you are left with some really wonderful choreography. So much of it was thrilling and difficult and it needed the super talents of the Royal Ballet to let it shine. Casting was fabulous on opening night with the main couples (Lamb/McRae, Cuthbertson/Golding, Stix-Brunell/Muntagirov) exuding an exciting whirlwind of dance on stage. I very much enjoyed seeing Matthew Golding in something modern and his partnership with Lauren Cuthbertson was strong and trusting. Lamb and McRae, as usual, were delightful and it was lovely to watch Wheeldon’s muse, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, hold her own not only with her partner Vadim Muntagirov but also with the other Principals on stage. She brought a bit of edge to Muntagirov’s softer style, which was quite something to watch. Having praised all of this, the pas de deux didn’t hold my attention as strongly as the collective parts of the piece. These moments were exciting, brilliantly constructed and beautiful to watch.

The highlight, of course and as always, came from Marcelino Sambe and Luca Acri whose unbelievable technique brought the house down. I don’t want to reveal too much but their moments spent on stage deserved a standing ovation which I think they received at curtain call. If not, I’ll be protesting. I think that one of the main reasons why I liked this piece so much was that it was clever, intellectual almost. The movements were precise and thoughtful and I felt there was an underlying theme of science going on. The dancers all looked like strands of DNA to me and when they all came together for the final moments, they imitated these intertwining strands. I’m not sure if this was intentional or an influence, but Wheeldon seemed to really capture the essence of molecules, atoms, DNA strands and particles. All of which I’ve never understood but I know they can look cool. I think that’s my final word for this piece because whether loved or loathed, Within The Golden Hour will always be a cool piece of choreography.

This is an evening that improves as it goes on. It’s a slow start with After the Rain but finishes off with brilliance. There aren’t many choreographers who can make you yawn and shriek in the same evening. A part of me likes Wheeldon’s inconsistency. I think it’s edgy in a way, because you never know what you’re going to get; however, this can also create problems. I’m finding it interesting and also incredibly frustrating watching McGregor, Scarlett and Wheeldon all play around with their creative talent. They offer some drivel and then they offer something close to genius….it’s difficult to know what to make of them. McGregor can put you to sleep and then he pulls out Woolf Works, one of the highlights of last year. Scarlett’s Sweet Violet’s was forgettable, but his No Man’s Land is perhaps my favourite interpretation of the war theme and makes me burst into tears every time I see it. And then we have Wheeldon who flirts with some ordinary choreography and then wows you with something amazing. It’s frustrating, but perhaps if all three were always consistently amazing, I wouldn’t be writing about them, and we wouldn’t have the types of debates and conversations that seem so rife in the ballet world at the moment.