La Fille Mal Gardee

Queensland Ballet’s touring production of Marc Ribaud’s 2000 choreography forLa Fille Mal Gardee evokes a myriad of adjectives, but the first that come to mind are utterly delightful.

This simple story of a headstrong girl, Lise, who refuses to court the dork her widowed mother has chosen for her (Alain) because she loves the village bad boy, Colas, was first seen in 1789 (how shocking it must have seemed then) but is still totally relevant today.

My Brisbane colleague has reviewed the QPAC production a month or so ago, but a touring version is often a pale imitation of the original. Not so in this case. Though the added bonus of a live orchestra has been lost to pre-recording (as one would expect) this vibrant young company brings the charming and stunning production to the “provinces” intact and complete, and what a pleasure it is.

Regional touring is vitally important to all forms of theatre, yet it doesn’t happen often enough to ensure new generations of theatre lovers (and theatre-goers). Queensland is lucky enough to have some exceptional regional arts centres, none more impressive than Arts Centre Gold Coast, which continues to expand and improve and offer quality entertainment to those outside of Brisbane.

Though this is one of the oldest ballets in origin (most of us know the Frederick Ashton version), Marc Ribaud’s choreography blends classical and contemporary styles and even enlarges on Ashton’s tap routine (with the widow in clogs) late in the first act, by adding four strapping lads to the routine. Setting the story in rural Provence in the 1950’s allows hero Colas to ride a motorbike and don a black leather jacket and even features a pale blue Vespa. It’s the perfect setting as well for full skirts, petticoats and ribbons in the girls’ hair.  Ribaud’s choreography is not overly difficult, but it is precision driven, highly evocative, and the perfect introduction to ballet for those who never get to see it at a professional level, as well as being totally satisfying to Ballet cognoscente. I have never seen such a perfect meld of music and choreography, with each constantly punctuating the other. An added bonus is that it is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, as opposed to the sometimes self conscious wit of previous productions.

The entire company is superb, with special Kudos to the corps, who dance in perfect union – something increasingly rare in our National company. But it’s the energy and commitment to every move that makes the dancing special, and all the soloists are imposing.

Queensland Ballet rotates its Principals at different performances and it has a wealth  of talent to choose from.

Beautiful Cuban ballerina Yanela brings the right blend of flirtatious coyness and unrealised passion to the role of Lise. Her lines are superb with perfect extension of arms as well as legs, her pirouettes are perfect and her astonishing balance is extremely impressive. She’s especially good in her final pas de deux. What an asset for the company she is. Coogee born Vito Bernasconi, soloist with the QB since last year, hasn’t reached his full potential yet, but his elevation is superb in the grand jetees, and his partnering is precise throughout. Both dancers use the witty playfulness of the choreography to create totally believable lovers.

Liam Geck plays the hapless suitor Alain with great aplomb and wit. In a role that could be non-sympathetic, he is endearing and splendid throughout.  

But the scene stealer is Rian Thompson as the widow Simone. The idea of a pantomime “Dame” goes back centuries  (long before Hairspray made it a “novelty”).

Thompson is a strong masculine dancer, but he embraces the “Drag” and makes a visual feast of every piece of campery. He earned every bit of the rapturous applause. It’s a spectacular performance of a dream character.

John Buswell’s evocative lighting, Richard Roberts’ charming rural sets, and Lexi De Silva’s delightful costumes, particularly the girls’ pastel dresses, all add to the perfection.

It’s clear that the Creative Direction of Li Cunxin has allowed Queensland Ballet to take giant strides in excellence in the last five years. If you don’t fall in love with the joyfulness of this production, then perhaps you should give theatre a miss.

Coral Drouyn