Anna Karenina

Sweeping, gracious movement that devours the stage mixed with strong, staccato group work propels Eifman Ballet into the realm of noteworthy, sought after and one to watch.

Eifman Ballet was originally set up as Leningrad New Ballet in 1977 by Boris Eifman, who has created a suite of work that has been recognized worldwide. This choreographer draws on his concerns and philosophy about the modern world and intertwines those with his imagination and questions around spirituality.

Anna Karenina is a tragedy that concludes with Anna plunging to her death under a train. The Tolstoy classic was presented with sophistication and passion. This company uses the basis of pure ballet and then pushes the boundaries; it weaves modern and contemporary dance and incorporates numerous group, solo and pas de deux pieces.

The gold and mirrored set was sophisticated yet simple, glamorous but not over the top and worked well as the backdrop to this intense work.

The three lead dancers were Nina Zmievets who played Anna, Oleg Markov who played Alexey Karenin and Oleg Gabyshev who played Anna’s lover, Alexey Vronsky. These three performances were sensational, portraying the intensity of the parts with passion and vigour, with balletic ability to match and the strength and flexibility of contemporary dancers.

The corps de ballet were precisely choreographed and offered a great visual spectacle to support the leads. Many of the group pieces were superb, with slick costumes and choreography in formations that were sharp and polished, however on closer observation some of the corps de ballet needed to work on their feet, overall technique and execution of the work.

The stand out scene was the ‘morphine’ scene in Act II. It’s the most contemporary scene and is the most powerful; visually impactful and the minimal costuming allowed for the audience to see the full body in motion without any distractions.

Anna Kareninais a window on the world of a Russian classic presented by a  modern ballet company and is definitely worth a watch.

Emma Bell

Image: Nina Zmievets as Anna. Photographer: Cynthia Sciberras.