His Majesty’s, June 1

IN her program note for West Australian Ballet’s La Sylphide, stager Dinna Bjorn wrote that while the steps of Bournonville’s 1836 ballet remain true to the original, “the way of executing the steps has changed through the the times with the development of the ballet technique and the body types of the dancers”. Bjorn sees in this inevitable change a way of maintaining authenticity but keeping the ballet fresh.

That is, of course, the ideal. La Sylphide deserves its continuing place in the repertoire: in the story of a spirit who lures a young man away from his fiancee and the responsibilities of family, society and work lie some difficult and enduring life lessons. Accommodations may need be made when it is brought before a modern audience, but it’s also necessary for the essential essence of the ballet to be preserved.

Watching WAB in two performances on the last day of its recent season, it struck me, however, that different body types and greater technical facility weren’t that much of an issue. There was much more at stake in the crucial area of emotional expressiveness, the inner light of the character.

When it came to absorbing the principles of early Romantic ballet, the WAB dancers were on secure ground. It was wonderful to see the buoyancy of many of the men and the height and elasticity of their jumps, along with swift, sharp footwork (Andre Santos really stood out in this respect). The women combined lightness and precision although most of the corps found it necessary to wear a bright look, giving the superficial impression of a bunch of healthy girls out for a walk in the woods rather than spirits of the forest. (More filtered lighting wouldn’t have gone astray here either.)

And it wasn’t just the corps who seemed unable to divest themselves of an essentially contemporary attitude. Both Sylphs, Brooke Widdison-Jacobs and Fiona Evans, smiled rather too expansively and seemed rather too knowing. Widdison-Jacobs, who was first cast, was praised for her freshness on her first performance, but by the last appeared to me to be quite brittle. Perhaps the burden of dancing six of the 12 performances was showing. At the matinee on June 1 Evans beautifully captured the airy nature of the Sylph’s movement.

Dancing with Evans, Daniel Roberts was a bright, engaging James who nailed that gorgeous “hang” in the air so essential in the  Bournonville style. In the first cast Sergey Pevnev didn’t have quite that degree of height and stage coverage (although it was very attractive dancing) but his experience was invaluable when it came to convincing characterisation.

The same was true with Craig Lord-Sole, Madge in both casts. Lord-Sole, WAB’s ballet master, was compelling, creating a particularly malevolent figure whose enjoyment of the tragedy was chilling.

It was also a joy to see Jayne Smeulders’s Lead Sylph in the first cast. Again, experience and refined artistry resulted in a connection with the work that was deep and true.

WAB is incredibly lucky to have the West Australian Symphony Orchestra as its musical partner. With ebullient guest conductor Wolfgang Heinz at the helm, the WASO gave a striking account of the Lovenskiold music. After the performance Heinz – who is assistant music director at Stuttgart Ballet and adorably wore a kilt for the evening performance – was loud in his praise for the orchestra, and rightly so.

WAB has an ambitious time ahead, with the company premiere of John Cranko’s intensely dramatic Onegin coming up in September. There couldn’t be a greater contrast with the delicate perfume of La Sylphide, and it is much anticipated.