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Victorian State Ballet has taken a trip across the border this month visiting Queensland and New South Wales with their production of The Snow Queen based on the tale by Hans Christian Anderson. It’s a harsh tale of Light vs. Dark where the odds seemed stacked in favour of the dark but a little light always gets through to continue the journey towards a happy ending.
Established in 2003 and relaunched under new direction in 2015, the company aims to tour full length classical and contemporary works nationwide alongside a well organised range of educational workshops. Opportunities that bridge the gap between amateur and professional in Arts and music are sparse in Australia. The noble work Victorian State Ballet is doing, offering amateurs the chance to work with professionals, is very precious. It’s no surprise they have such a big following and are well supported by local and international corporate sponsors.
The Snow Queen story begins with a boy, Kai and girl, Gerda, two children who are playmates and love each other very much. Kai is abducted by the Snow Queen which launches the adventure of Gerda on the long road to finding him and bringing him home. She herself is enchanted, abducted and mugged along the way, even forgetting her quest then remembering and continuing on. It’s the sort of tale a good storyteller could string out over several nights or a long winter’s evening for attentive listeners. Gerda meets many groups of beings (animal, vegetable and mineral) along the way.
The leading role of Gerda is played by long standing member of the company, Elise Jacques who trained at the Australian Ballet School. Perfectly cast, she expressed the warmth and playfulness of youth, equally capable in the heavier dramatic moments and a pure delight to watch. Her dramatic talents carried the story forward and she created such a likeable character it was difficult to look away.
Her friend Kai is played by Benjamin Harris a graduate of the Queensland Ballet pre-professional program. Harris made a charming couple with Jacques, particularly in the pas de deux work and is technically very capable. It will be wonderful to watch how this young professional develops further.
Playing the title role is Principal Dancer Elisa May Watson-Lord, a graduate of Melbourne’s World Dance Studios Diploma in Performing Arts. Choreographer Michelle Sierra created an extremely demanding, technical role over which Watson-Lord triumphed. The role is difficult in that is naturally cold and stiff but also requires dramatic acting in creating a deep character. The Snow Queen is a classic villain who must be charming enough to draw in the attention of Kai, to react to the changing scenarios and to interact with other characters – particularly Gerda once she finds her way to the ice castle. It’s not clear if much of this acting direction was left out of the choreography or was based around the decisions of the performer but, there is much potential to add more drama to this role. For children in the audience there were quite a few places where clearer storytelling would have helped them understand better what was going on.
Hans Christian Anderson’s original story contained many facets used in this production whilst other parts have been altered. Gerda’s original first stop on her journey was reaching a Sorceress who enchants Gerda in The Beautiful Garden of Eternal Summer. (It’s easy to imagine this as being quite a dream for the Danes listening to Hans Christian Anderson. Denmark’s winters are long, cold and dark.) Printed in the program, the Sorceress is replaced by a group of Fortune Tellers, yet, the scenery and costumes felt more like forest nymphs which would work just as well. The ivy clad nymphs danced with wireless, soft lit globes which added a wonderful mystique to the scene. The interaction between Gerda and the male nymph, using contemporary music, felt like it was bordering on an adult seduction. This dance was electric and exciting – excellent work.
Costumes designed by Jan Tredrea, Mandy West and Jill Kerr fitted the story well though got a touch confusing mixing Russian Gypsies and Spanish, Carmen styled Robbers. Costumes for the Villagers in the first half were unusual mixing shiny burnt orange and white/cream, fabrics that are not particularly practical for village peasant work. Costumes for the snow bees and the young dancer group in the palace of the Prince and Princess were perfectly suited to the occasion. The Strauss waltz matched well too.
The senior corps de ballet were well rehearsed and unified. A few individuals in each age group took it upon themselves to add some acting to their performance but most just followed the routine. Of course, this is a big project with much to do but, sometimes it just takes a little extra time to explain to the dancers the bigger picture and context for each dance. This automatically adds another layer of understanding, giving them opportunity to “dance” the story rather than just do the steps.
An animated video presentation was useful in projecting the backdrop for scenes and replacing large scale props such as the magic mirror. This allowed for quick changes of scene and setting the mood for what was to come. It was surprising to find no credit nor thanks in the program for production crew, costume makers nor where the music came from. Were the mothers of the young dancers recruited as costume makers? Were the Directors of the company involved in multiple roles?
The company should not be shy in promoting those who contributed to the production and tour. There are so few companies using this business model on such a large scale and I’m sure the public would love to see all that goes into the creation of such a project. On social media, allowing the public a regular glimpse into the creative process and what’s required to get the show on the road is bound to expand the following and sell more tickets as well.
A few production wrinkles popped up which will hopefully be ironed out in the following performances. Scene changes can be tricky, moving large groups of dancers on and off the stage, but leaving the stage and audience in the dark with no sound nor music needs to be avoided at all costs.
Honourable mention must go to Watson the Husky dog owned by Snow Queen Watson-Lord. He behaved himself perfectly and seemed to enjoy all the audience attention at the curtain call. His cameo appearance was a lovely addition.
There was plenty of applause from an appreciative audience at the close of the night. Top points for the incredible effort required to put on a show of this magnitude and to train local youngsters to incorporate into the scenes. We look forward to seeing the company visit Sydney again in the future.
Video sneak preview of the production:
How to support the Victorian State Ballet: https://www.victorianstateballet.org.au/sponsors-and-donations
What’s coming up next at The Concourse, Chatswood? https://www.theconcourse.com.au/?s&key=upcoming