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Ballet Victoria presents the world premiere of Artistic Director Paul Destrooper’s new choreography of Romeo and Juliet. Structured around a small cast, and set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score, Destrooper’s work focuses on the relationships between the main characters, their triangular (and at times, quadrangular) tangles of loyalty, love and hate. In particular, Destrooper brings a contemporary touch to the personalities in the work. Juliet, danced by seasoned principal dancer Andrea Robyn Bayne, is “less naïve,” and “her soul is immediately open,” Destrooper explains. She does not need several meetings to understand the depth and physicality of her feelings for Romeo, danced by Matthew Cluff. Destrooper highlights those moments in which the characters demonstrate hope and acceptance, hinting at the possibilities for vulnerability and caring even in a violent and dangerous world. Destrooper has also added some gender parity to the two Veronese family gangs, with women participating in sword fights and taking on an active and solid role in pair work. Developed for a smaller market, Ballet Victoria’s Romeo and Juliet might not be presented in “a big frame,” says Destrooper, “but it is a lovely little picture.”

 

Ballet Victoria’s Romeo and Juliet runs March 8th and 9th at the Royal Theatre, Victoria, and is featured as an event highlight in the March/April 2016 issue of The Dance Current.