Snow White

With abseiling dwarfs, a dominatrix stepmother, and a score that mixed Mahler with electronic riffs, Angelin Preljocaj’s Snow White would seem to have covered all exploitative bases.

A contemporary dance take on the Brothers Grimm 1812 fable, it ran the whole gamut of emotions from jealousy and rage to love and despair, but despite some affecting passages, never truly conveyed the all elusive heart.

Originally created in 2008, the ballet has played successful seasons around the world proving to be the cause celebre in Ballet Preljocaj’s crown and comes to Brisbane as part of its International Series. From a child-birth opening distinguished by its longuers, Preljocaj kept faithfully to the folk-tale even down to a finale where the evil stepmother was forced to wear a pair of red-hot slippers and dance in a frenzied state until she died.

Spectacular moments were aplenty; from the thunder and lightning entrance of the stepmother in her spike heels and fetish gear waving a whip, the seven dwarfs abseiling down their mountain in a brilliantly choreographed aerial dance, to the ghostly appearance of Snow White’s dead mother (on a flying harness), to weep over her daughter, were performed by this exalted company with a stylised bravura.

Thierry Leproust’s sets added immeasurably to Preljocaj’s concept along with Patrick Riou’s moody lighting. The abstract golden throne-room with its thrones that slowly elevated halfway up the wall, the stark forest tree-trunks and their embracing menace, the dwarfs mountain with its mysterious caves, all arresting stage images that succeeded in their simplicity.

Aside from the dominatrix idea, John Paul Gaultier’s modish costumes dressed the dwarfs as miners, the huntsmen in commando gear, and vividly showed Snow White semi-naked. Emilie Lalande as the title character was no simpering Disney princess but a girl with spunk on the cusp of womanhood whose feelings of romance had innocence and passion. She coupled nicely with Redi Shtylla’s Prince who brought strength and masculine virility to the role. Their playful tumbling and cavorting with the passion of young love performed in silence was one of the ballet’s highlights.

Cecilia Torres Morillo personified evil as the stepmother swishing around in her black and red skirt with knee-high leather boots she commanded the stage at every entrance. Whether preening in front of her magic-mirror or violently pushing the poisoned red apple down Snow White’s face, she was a witch of the first order, but the characterisation was all black and white with no hint of the anguish an aging woman faces when losing her looks.

Mahler’s music was a good fit for Preljocal’s scenario,whilst the electronic waves of 79D added a nice contemporary vibe to the whole piece.

Peter Pinne

Photographer: Darren Thomas