BLESSED by a beautiful still and frankly starlit night, WA Ballet opened its 2016 season with a varied and spectacular performance of Five by Night at the Quarry Amphitheatre.
The ably realised objective of the figure 5 is to highlight equivalent contribution from all five members of the cast as a pas de cinq rather than a series of solos and pas de deux.
Danced to the music of Adolphe Adam and incorporating an excerpt from Giselle, dazzling talent and rapidity are the hallmarks.
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READ NOWA break dancer Pepito certainly gets his message across to the pointe, where there are various contributions to forms of dance from members of the company.
Two very different renditions of Hey Big Spender deliver very different results.
From the eight cast members of ambiguous content, that is just what is delivered from the music of Philip Glass to Max Richter and even J.S.Bach.
The dance illustrates the adversity of life, highlighted by the incredible acrobatics of Alessio Scognamilio.
This rapid fire content gives way to a lovely and restful interlude, on the nature of daylight, beautifully danced by ballet mistress Sandy Delasalle with Mathhew Lehmann again to the music of Max Richter, as the search for love and glimpses of light continues.
In deliberate contrast to the usual prevalent white tutus, the final item on the program presents the large number of dancers clad in black.
Costumes throughout have been sombre, not necessarily reflecting the theme of each item but there is a particularly significance highlighting difficulties in every sphere of life set to lesser known music and choreographed and costumed and also danced by our own immensely talented Andre Santos.
Dancing throughout is of an enormously high standard, whether reverting to accepted classicism with its dazzling pirouettes, wonderful melodic jettes and lifts or the introduced mix of hip hop and athleticism, appealing to a wider audience. WHAT: WA Ballet – Five by Night. WHERE: Quarry Amphitheatre, Perth. WHEN: Until February 27.