Scenrecension: the Royal Swedish Ballet, the flashes of ironic in skönhetsdyrkande dance

Danskonstens constant development is emphasised in the title of the Royal Ballet's program ”Dancing forward: Serge Lifars ”Suite en blanc”, created for the paris opera ballet in 1943, and Jérémie Bélingards ”Je t'attends, je t'attends, je t'attends”, completely remodeled for the Royal Ballet.

Look not for the meaning, let yourself be swept away by the ballet in its own right, calls on the Lifars neoclassical suite in white (and some black tights). The forward-looking low because of the use of the classic technique of ballet but with more horizontal lines and to narrative and meaningful suit had peeled away. No romantic story to follow, dance for dance's sake.

With good humor taking the Royal Ballet on this divertissement in eight parts, written for Édouard Lalos at once smooth melting and magnificent music. The dancers are smiling big and confidently against the us in their uniform white blouses and perfect tutuer. I think I see a subtle ironic hint to play in their expression, which makes this not only becomes a skönhetsdyrkande skicklighetsuppvisning. As a humorous wink in the midst of all the fancy: ”Can dance be only beautiful, what are you thinking for yourself?” In particular, I attach me on this of Dmitry Zagrebyn who dances the solo, ”Mazurka” and Haruka Sassa in cool ”La cigarette” and the elegant ”Adage”.

Fast forward from the 1940's to the present day and Bélingards ”Je t'attends, je t'attends, je t'attends”, having a slight sickness of the transition to a completely different visual universe. For here is meaning, lots! The Spanish artist Blanca Miró Skoudys symboltäta set design and costumes is like a buffet of free-associative references: the ”Wizard of Oz”, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Marie-Louise Ekman, Ulrica Hydman Vallien...choose for yourself what you want to see.

the Theme is the wait as the existential condition. We are in the human soul, desolate landscape, populated by a surreal collection of characters with geometric shapes, lampshades on the head, plumages, vertical cut clothing, rödsminkade faces and a forest of löshänder. It sounds spexigt but is rather clownsorgligt. The music of the trio Vacarme creaks and scares, movements alternating between frenetic energy and stillness portrays the unrest in the man.

Both works are themselves in strong concentrate, it is clean and sprawling. Both inspire a certain satisfaction in the expression. The question is if they would not come more to its right without each other. But of course, I understand the idea, like two sides of the same life: the ideal beautiful and the dissonant agony.