THE HANGOVER REPORT – The romance fails to ignite in Hong Kong Ballet’s otherwise sweeping and cinematic update of ROMEO & JULIET

Alejandro Virelles and Ye Feifei in Hong Kong Ballet’s production of “Romeo & Juliet” at New York City Center (photo by Christopher Duggan).

This past weekend at New York City Center, Hong Kong Ballet performed – for two performances only – its production of Romeo & Juliet, which has been choreographed by the company’s artistic director Septime Webre (who headed the Washington Ballet from 1999-2016 before heading out east). Performed to a recording of Prokofiev’s iconic score, Webre’s version of the classic ballet updates Shakespeare’s popular tragic love story about two star-crossed lovers to bustling 1960s Hong Kong.

Those of you familiar with Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s beloved version of the ballet (one of the jewels of American Ballet Theatre’s repertory of evening-length story ballets) will discover many fascinating touches in Webre’s reconsideration of the work. First off, there’s the vibrant (re-)setting, which has been realized both on an epic scale and in striking detail by set designer Ricky Chan and costume designer Mandy Tam. As for Webre’s choreography, I found it to be a mixed bag. It’s most effective in the larger ensemble scenes (the street scene that opens Act 2 is particularly brilliant), during which Webre’s staging is able to create sweeping cinematic tableaus that capture the audience’s imagination. Less successful are the ballet’s more intimate moments between the title characters. Although the choreography is pretty (if on the generic side), these key scenes lack the organic warmth and romantic urgency of MacMillan’s version (perhaps the lack of a live orchestra had something to do with my reaction?).

At the performance I attended, Romeo and Juliet were danced by Alejandro Virelles (a guest star from Cuba) and Ye Feifei, respectively. Although I appreciated their more adult characterizations and found their dancing admirable on an individual basis, they ultimately failed to ignite the romance at the center of the ballet. Coming off more successfully were the inspired character work by Leung Chunlong and Jonathan Spigner as Romeo’s buddies, as well as Zhang Xuenling as Juliet’s Amah.

Despite my qualms, there’s much to admire in Webre’s bold update, particularly in the conscious deviations from other versions of the ballet.

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ROMEO & JULIET
Dance
Hong Kong Ballet at New York City Center
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Closed

Categories: Dance

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