Dada Masilo’s Giselle for Perth Festival. Photo by John Hogg.
Giselle is one of ballet’s most famous works. The original, choreographed by French Ballet Masters Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, premiered in 19th century Paris and proved mesmerising for its adoring audiences who were transported – as if by magic – to haunted, supernatural places.
In the hands of South African choreographer Dada Masilo, Giselle’s journey to the spirit world is equally captivating, but its strengths have little to do with its European legacy.
Masilo is veteran of classic ballet remakes. For the National Arts Festival (Africa’s largest and hugely popular annual Arts Festival) she created versions of Romeo and Juliet (2008); Carmen (2009) and Swan Lake (2010), most of which have enjoyed successful international tours.
Clearly, her latest undertaking is familiar ground, yet as she admits in the programme notes, she is wary of revising another classic without repeating herself. So instead of recounting the tragic love-tale of the fragile peasant girl who, once betrayed by her lover, dies of a broken heart, but actually chooses to protect her ex-lover from the haunting spirits of her halfway world, Masilo arms her Giselle with much more fire.
Masilo’s Giselle is an inferno who is blazing for vengeance.
And it’s this aspect of the work (which regrettably didn’t occur until halfway through), that Masilo’s interpretation of Giselle stands up on its own as a new and dynamic work of art. In choosing to replace the placid, misty qualities of the 19th century original with the fervour of traditional African dance-styles and a suite of shamanistic characters, Masilo succeeds in taking us to exciting places.
We watch as a bare-breasted Giselle (played by Masilo herself), performs an exquisite solo marking her transition to the spirit world. She throws her arms up and then loops them around in the air while composer Philip Miller’s score booms from above. She charges through a series of rapid moves which are wild, yet very articulate.
Dada Masilo’s Giselle for Perth Festival. Photo by John Hogg.
Once joined on stage by her band of Wilis-spirits – in this case a mix of male and female dancers dressed in identical blood-red dresses, replete with steely eyes that show no mercy – the ensemble pound the stage in a powerful sequence imbued with an interesting mix of pitiless resolve and fiery passion.
The vengeful spirits torment poor Albrecht (played by Xola Willie), who writhes on the floor and, once back on his feet, shakes as if in a trance. Overseeing the entire scene is the Queen of the Wilis, who in Masilo’s version is a Sangoma (a traditional South African shaman-healer). This character is superbly embodied by male dancer Llewellyn Mnguni who bristles with mysticism. At times he stalks the stage, at others he spins and flashes past us as his head of long plaits wisp around his shoulders and torso as he goes. It would be easy to call him a show-stopper, but this risks diminishing the achievements of the entire case (thirteen in all), whose performances on the night were all so resonant, and gave the work such vigorous appeal.
Overall, it seems Masilo has set herself a difficult task in reimagining this classic work while choosing to maintain some of its hallmark European traits. In many ways her creation achieves an admirable balance of both worlds, but its most magical moments arrive only after Masilo’s reinvented Giselle can truly embrace her fire – charting a path of other-worldly revenge with her band of spirit-sisters.
Rating: 3 ½ stars ★★★☆
Dada Masilo’s Giselle
Perth Festival
Commissioned by The Joyce Theater’s Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work; the Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College; la Biennale de la danse de Lyon 2018, Sadler’s Wells
Additional commissioning grant La Batie-Festival de Geneve with additional funding from the SAMRO FOUNDATION
28 February – 2 March 2019
His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth
