Don Quixote

Playing to a nearly full house, this production of Don Quixote is based on choreography (Marius Petipa’s, as modified by Gediminas Taranda) that is a little more abstruse than some.  Even knowing the story of a dreamer aspiring to the chivalry of the knights of old and—mistaking a play for actuality—battling a windmill and attempting to rescue his dream girl, you’d be hard-pressed to identify that story in the sequence of performances in the production.

That said, the production was enjoyable through and through, partly because of the fine dancing it showcased; largely because it featured many comic moments; perhaps most because of the superb costuming.  Indistinguishable from the proletariat and the sumptuous aristocratic finery of the era except by the presence of tights, the costumes alone were a joy to behold.  Couple those with good lighting and highly evocative set design, and the dancing became merely the icing on a visual feast enriched by transient subplots (which, in the apparent absence of a main plot, were sufficiently diverting in themselves) and gracefully coordinated slapstick.

Let me not be thought to minimise the appeal of the dancing itself, though, in a work that justly featured many of ballet’s most challenging steps.  Ballet audiences tend to clap at the end of each solo or pas de deux, but this audience certainly found reason to applaud as a pas progressed, often for the sheer energy and strength it exhibited.  If what it was that a piece was intended to communicate was not always evident, it was always danced with the panache you’d expect of a professional troupe.

If you’re looking for a performance that will tug at the heartstrings, this really is not it; the evidently ill-fated lovers are dancers, not actors, and we can’t take seriously the tragedy of their frustrated love.  But if you’re looking for an evening of humorous skylarking with the grace of ballet dancers; the mayhem and coordination of the circus; and a feast of colour and costume, this may just fit the bill, and may even be a good introduction to ballet for those more familiar with street theatre, circus, pantomime, or some other wildly different performance art.

John P. Harvey

Don Quixote’s remaining tour dates:

Frankston (Arts Centre), 9 May

Melbourne (Palais Theatre), 10–11 May

Adelaide (Festival Theatre), 13–14 May

Perth (Crown Theatre), 17–18 May