Date With Destiny
Sun Herald
Sunday November 4, 2007
The Australian Ballet pays tribute to one of the greats, writes Kristie Lau.
EARLIER this year, a frail 80-year-old woman entered the Australian Ballet's rehearsal hall as a guest teacher. As weathered as she first appeared, she was soon frightening even the freshest and sharpest of young principals. The feisty former ballerina had travelled to Australia from Brazil to spill the beans on a life shared with the legendary ballet choreographer Leonide Massine. Australian Ballet music director Nicolette Fraillon says the woman, Tatiana Leskova, one of the last links to Massine and the Russian ballet company Ballet Russes, was instrumental in bringing to life the ballet's latest production, Destiny, a double-bill tribute to the choreographer."[Leskova] was quite incredible," Fraillon says. "She had worked directly with Massine throughout his career and had arrived from Rio de Janeiro to educate our dancers on his tradition but, initially, her experienced direction was really very scary; it was an amazing awakening."Massine is renowned for revolutionising the world of ballet in the 1930s through his work with Ballets Russes. Destiny is made up of two of Massine's best-known works; a revitalised version of Massine's Les Presages, his first symphonic ballet, and Symphonie Fantastique, which has been completely reworked by Polish choreographer Krzysztof Pastor. The ballet debuted in Australia in August at the State Theatre in Melbourne to great acclaim. Fraillon believes that the modern production breathes new life into Massine's original work. "Massine himself believed in breaking down barriers and extending dance into new directions and he made that his mission," she says. Destiny is part of Ballets Russes in Australia: Our Cultural Revolution, a four-year tribute to the ballet world's greatest contributors, and Fraillon feels that Massine was one they could not avoid. "He not only changed the world of ballet - his controversial techniques completely altered things like visual design, art and film, too," she says."His art feels very much like a silent movie, where there is much more emphasis on bodily movement and dramatic expression. Never before seen, Massine completely threw the world of arts and culture in Australia upside down."Destiny plays at the Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House from November 7 to 26. $26-$125. Phone 9250 7777 or see www.australianballet.com.au.
© 2007 Sun Herald