Swan Lake
Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin
★★★★☆
Katherine Rodríguez dances the most beguiling swan Dublin has seen in years. Leading Ballet de Santiago, Chile’s national company, on the opening night of its first visit to Ireland, she gives a heart-melting performance that reflects the way South American dancers tell a story through their emotions as much as they do through steps.
Rodríguez performs the white swan Odette with a demureness that morphs into a compelling, seductive Odile, the black swan. By the time she and Prince Siegfried (an admirable Emmanuel Vázquez) return to the lake at the end, the magnetism between them grows palpable.
The late Hungarian choreographer Ivan Nagy created this version of Swan Lake during his tenure as director of the company. His interpretation takes some licence with Tchaikovsky’s score. The music at the beginning more often comes at the end of other versions, and in this case it provides act one with a buoyancy matched by the Chilean dancers’ liveliness and upbeat energy. The men show off with bravado leaps and turns before the narrative gives way to the swans.
The iconic lake scene proves soothing in its familiarity, with Rodríguez especially regal during her solo. Her controlled expressiveness is matched by the violinist Mia Cooper and backed by the powerful RTÉ Concert Orchestra, who add nuances to the music throughout the night, giving the audience welcome, unexpected moments to linger in its appeal.
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While the fluttering white tutus often steal the show in Swan Lake, this production features an exceptional ball scene where Spanish, Italian, Hungarian and Polish folk dances nearly outshine the swans. In the Spanish variation two couples swivel and bend with such exquisite musicality that their eyes become as dramatic as the rest of their bodies. In the other ethnic dances the spiritedness and lightheartedness of the syncopated steps reveal how quickly the dancers can move their feet while remaining joyously free and expressive.
When comparing this Swan Lake to others, one of the biggest differences relates to how these performers use their upper bodies, or epaulement, which can be one of a dancer’s greatest tools. Ballet de Santiago masters this. So often flashy tricks gain attention, and while Rodríguez and Vázquez repeatedly nail an impressive 10 pirouettes in their partnering sequences, overall they prioritise artistry over eye-popping moves.
Credit to César Morales, the young artistic director who has recently taken over the company, for safeguarding this quality within the entire 52-member group. No matter the speed of the choreography, it originates from the heart, allowing for welcome flashes of personality, including engaging chin tilts and smiles.
Admittedly, opening night has its rough spots, most often within the corps de ballet. With luck, audiences later in the week will witness Odile’s infamous sequence of 32 fouette turns that doesn’t quite happen on Tuesday evening, during this otherwise exhilarating Dublin debut.
Swan Lake is at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, until Sunday, August 23rd
