Artistic Director/Choreographer Tony Mercer
The Imperial Ice Stars Presentation
at the Sony Centre
April 30-May 4, 2008

   The musical arrangements by Tim A. Duncan, Peter Whitfield and Edward Barnell (performed by the Manchester Light Symphony Orchestra under Duncan’s baton) are adequate for the ice dance version of this extremely popular classical ballet. The aural textures are diminished, but as the principal focus is on the skaters and their routines, this loss is not fatal, for the major aspects of Tchaikovsky’s score are very much in evidence: the woodwinds and strings create the principal romantic theme, the trumpets command a spirited march, and the pas de trois in Act One have their lightly melodic and flowing rhythms and accents. The sense of foreboding by the lakeside is palpable, and the adagios, international divertissements (in the Great Hall of Prince Siegfried’s castle), and the strongly dramatic solos and duets are given their due musical modulations. But, no, you mustn’t go to this show for the quality of its orchestral music; you must go for the spectacle, particularly of world-class skating virtuosi performing amazingly precise ice dances with flair and, in many cases, of exciting danger.

   As with all artistic tradition, a work of art changes with the times. I refer not only to interpretation but to form as well. Did Hugo ever think that his Les Miserables would become a mega-musical? Did Charlotte Bronte anticipate a libretto and score for Jane Eyre? And what would Tennessee Williams have thought of the opera version of A Streetcar Named Desire? Sometimes, of course, it doesn’t really matter. Art continually reinvents itself, even to the point of combining its own species with another. In the case of Swan Lake, romantic tragedy keeps changing its guise within the capacious bounds of the score. In classical ballet, the story survives Sergeyev, Balanchine, Bruhn, Robert Helpmann, Nureyev, David Blair, et cetera. Now it is re-shaped as ice dance, and the fortunate thing is that the Imperial Ice Stars (founded in 2004, under an English artistic director, with the collaboration of choreographers with legendary skaters’ names, and with brilliant Russian/Eastern Bloc skaters who include 25 world, European, and national champions) have Tchaikovsky’s music in their bones.

   The elaborate trompe l’oeil décor by Eamon D’Arcy (with fabulous scene painting for the lakeside), lighting of multiple accents by Gavan Swift (though there are a few sequences when the changes seem gratuitous), and costumes by Albina Gabueva that begin with a muted palette in an Edwardian cut but then move into both sweet and tragic romanticism, all technical elements conspire to create a lush context, but the most breathtaking aspect is, of course, the director’s concept and the actual realization of this through the skating. From the opening, where liveried servants spin on their knees into the palace courtyard, followed by two maids in grey, to the ensemble of guests and principals, the show is dazzling. Spins, throws, lifts, axles, jumps, camels, death spirals, the whole gamut of ice-skating is put on thrilling display, and yet, even in this thick wealth of talent, there are super-fine dazzlers. In terms of personality, there are shortcomings, to be sure. The Queen and Siegfried are rather dry and colourless, though flawless in their ice skating technique, with Vadim Yarkov excelling in his lifts of the Odette and Odile—both at the same time, in one extraordinary sequence, as well as a triple lift of swans in another. What he most lacks is a sense of emotional engagement with his Odette and a depth of characterization. Olena Pyatash’s Odile is a strong, flaring foil to Olga Sharutenko’s exquisite Odette, who is a very convincing Queen of the Swans, modulating from fear, dignity, and helplessness to deep passion, courage, and sacrifice. Her aerial ballet (where she literally flies above the lake) is a spectacular tour de force of lyrical beauty and grace. As the evil sorcerer Rothbart, Anton Klykov has a villain’s mien and manner, and his skating is a display of show-stopping spins, a wonderful pas de trios with his two Black Swans on stilts, a fiery representation (through a literal ring of fire) of his anger at the climax of Act One, and a thrilling duel (in both fencing and skating) with Yarkov’s Siegfried. The most extraordinary skating performance, however, is that of Andrei Penkine as Benno, Siegfried’s bosom companion. This skater has a matinee idol’s charming vanity backed up, of course, by superlative timing and technique. He executes triple jumps and double axels with dexterous ease and panache, and he could easily play Siegfried someday once he abandons his present mischievous gaiety. As I said earlier, the skating overall is phenomenal. Even the show of princesses (Italian, Gaelic, Spanish, Russian, and Hungarian) is impressive, with the costumes and choreography finding distinctive ethnic elements by which to satirize the numbers. The virtuosity continues into the encores after the curtain call, at which point Swan Lake itself takes a step back to allow these dazzlers their due in applause.  

photo 1: The White Swans

photo 2: Vadim Yarkov (Siegfried) and Olga Sharutenko (Odette)

photo 3: Andrei Penkine (Benno)

photo 4; Anton Klykov (Rothbart)


Go Back to: Dance Reviews