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Available onlineInspired by Bach, Mussorgsky and Ravel, works from Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s archive reveal deep classical instincts
No matter how experimental dance gets, there remains a timeless pleasure in the marrying of movement with beautiful music. Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (previously Royal Ballet Flanders) are led by contemporary choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and they’re a progressive company (check out their lockdown series and Cherkaoui’s Mea Culpa, on Belgium’s colonial past), but their online archive shows that classical music remains an enduring inspiration.
Belgian choreographer Jeroen Verbruggen takes Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose) as its muse. It’s beautiful music, but poor film recording – one fixed, wide-shot camera, noisy auditorium. Verbruggen’s not well known in the UK, so it’s still interesting to see this fairytale-ish piece. It features wili-like spirits, a la Giselle, although, rather than ethereal grace, these women (and men) bring flat-footed mischief and some galumphing. At this distance from the stage you can’t see their faces, so it’s hard to tell how comic it’s supposed to be. There are some intriguingly ambiguous relationships (a stepmother/godmother figure), but it’s difficult to read. Continue reading...