By snoadmin
Ballet Maribor’s “Radio and Juliet” is not the typical production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Then again, the event was not the traditional ballet production either.
Instead the Slovenian company, Ballet Maribor, offered the audience a unique twist on the classic Shakespearean tale. Set to music of Radiohead, with choreography by Romanian choreographer Edward Clug, the event played to a nearly packed house at the Carpenter Center on Saturday. This rare appearance of Ballet Maribor was the West Coast premiere of “Radio and Juliet,” as well as the first stop on their American tour.
If you were expecting the traditional story line, think again. No, it’s not “West Side Story.” Clug’s contemporary choreography offers an abstracted exploration of what might happen if Juliet had decided not to be suicidal. The piece features Juliet (Tijuana Krizman) with an entourage of men perhaps representing Romeo. The dancers were of the highest technical quality with exquisite line and quality of movement. All of them showed strong European ballet training, but Clug took their talents a step further, featuring a quirky plasticity of movement that was also reminiscent of stylized hip-hop.
The curtain opened to reveal a dimly-lit stage. Legato music, reminiscent of instrumental church organ music, played quietly as a digital video projection revealed a black-and-white image of a set of doors that suddenly opened. The camera journeyed inside the room to reveal Juliet lying on a mattress in an otherwise empty room. Close-up shots of her hands, feet, and face were shown to reveal a wedding ring and closed eyes. When she awoke, she ventured out of the bed, lost in thought, appearing in various places with an ever-present look in her eyes that something was missing.
Each of the men entered the stage one by one wearing dark dress pants with a matching jacket, stopping and moving forward as if each one was a model on a catwalk, then disappeared into the darkness while the next dancer appeared.
One man, perhaps representing Romeo, began to dance with Juliet in a fidgety, yet tender pas de deux that climaxed with propelling lifts. The men danced in canon, duets and unison, while the somewhat jerky movements became smoother. The choreography became more grounded and capoeira-like interspersed with other levels in space. Various ballet movements were dispersed throughout the choreography, such as a double tour en l’air, a jump where the body makes two revolutions in the air before landing. Juliet executed an arabesque and bourrées dispersed in the middle of her contemporary pas de deux with one of the men.
There are several moments throughout the choreography that reflect the Shakespearean storyline, such as movements that mimic a fight scene with all of the men, also later projected on the screen.
However, in this particular rendition, there are no Montagues and Capulets, but the marriage with Friar Lawrence is also represented. One man walked down an aisle of light with Juliet as if they were in holy matrimony. They kneeled beside each other. Another man stood over them, as if he was Friar Lawrence marrying the couple.
Juliet suddenly lunged with her mouth at the lemon that “Friar Lawrence” suddenly offered to her. Perhaps this lemon represented the poison that beckons Juliet into a deep sleep.
Masks appeared on all the male dancers, but eventually they were removed. As a whole, “Radio and Juliet” was full of symbols that were open to individual interpretation by each audience member.
The music, choreography, moments of silence and video projections worked well together. While the piece did not focus on emotions between the dancers, it would be interesting if it did to a minimal extent. Even still, the powerful choreography, accompanied by the music of Radiohead, proved to be a successful first stop on the Ballet Maribor’s American tour.
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