Customer Reviews

The Australian Ballet - La Fille Mal Gardee [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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If this VHS tape were a beer, it would be labeled, "Ballet Lite". The ephemeral story line is a skimpy background over which some amusing characters get to carry out their harmless activities. It is charmingly replete with colorful costumes and scenery and the music, expertly conducted by Noel Smith, gets the job done very nicely. The main problem, if it can be called that, is that the choreography seems to go out of its way to mask (or downplay) the skill and talent of the truly excellent dancers of The Australian Ballet company. Choreographer Frederick Ashton seems to have been much more interested in showing how many effects he could create with ribbons than with giving the dancers full opportunity to display their abilities. I realize that balletic 'fireworks' are not the primary component of the art form, but the members of this troupe are required to work far too hard to produce the relatively small amount of spectacle which results. However, on the positive side, the most severe ballet critic with whom I am acquainted, my 3-year-old granddaughter, has been won over to this Fille Mal Gardée and has rated it as an acceptable minor companion piece to the marvelous, outstanding performance of "Coppélia" by the same company.

This is, by far, one of the happier ballets in the repertoire. There's no hint of Swan Lake's or Giselle's or what-have-you's gloom and doom, and the immensely capable dancers of the Australian Ballet Company will have you smiling--and, perhaps, dancing--almost regardless of the circumstances beyond your screen. Most of the music is immediately likeable, ultimately loveable, and performed with the utmost panache. Both the (VHS) video and audio quality are quite good, too--at least for KULTUR (which seems, based on other tapes I own, to have grossly inconsistent production standards). Alas, the unbridled gaiety of the ballet is slightly marred by a few absurd characters (a "village idiot", for one, and a "grandmother", for two, both of whom tend to wear a bit thin on repeated viewings), and by some elements of slapstick comedy. But overall, this is an enormously HAPPY work of art--geared to those who are, or wish to be, in a similar state.

They dance with much happiness, it automatically makes us feel peaceful and great. For the first time, I saw the chicken dance, by the way. The main dancers are wonderfully describing the story by their joy of dance. The story and the costumes are based on the farmers. The ballet was invented by a French man in Bordeaux in the year of the French Revolution, The expression of "Lise"here is so vivid, her smile is so beautiful. "Alain "' s performance is pleasing. Lise 's boyfriend 's performance is very sure and skillful as well. This is not the typical ballet story like a fairy tale, it is about the "real people" , Perhaps that' why it makes us feel more cheerful and happier. highly recommended !

Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee, choreographed for the Royal Ballet in1960, is delightfully danced by the Australian Ballet. The Australians look pretty Royal Balletish with costumes and set design--typically English, not French--by Osbert Lancaster, and the dancing faithfully adheres to Ashton's style. The music, "freely adapted" and arranged by John Lanchbery, draws on tunes originally composed for the 1829 version of La Fille by Ferdinand Herold. Herold's music, in turn, "borrows" liberally from Rossini's operas: Lise's entrance in Act I is set to the "Introduction--Piano, Pianissimo" from The Barber of Seville; the storm scene in Act II incorporates music from La Cenerentola; and the aria, "Bell'alme generose" from Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra, is featured in the "When I'm Married" pantomime in Act III. Lanchbery also "borrows" music composed by Peter Ludwig Hertel from the 1864 staging for the "clog dance" in Act II. (This 1989 Australian production is divided into three acts, not two as in the original English version.)

Robert Greskovic, ballet expert and dance critic describes La Fille as "sunny, funny, and fine," " . . . a ballet of unhurried grace, delicate wit, and simple sweetness." (For a detailed analysis of the choreography based on a Royal Ballet recording in 1981, see Greskovic's book, Ballet 101.) Adding to the charm of the ballet is Ashton's use of ribbon dances. We see Lise in the farmyard doing pirouettes and jetes with a ribbon. Later, she and Colas dance a pas de deux where a ribbon is wound and unwound around the dancers' waists as they do chaine turns en route to kisses; they end their duet with a ribbon formed into a "cat's cradle." The "Maypole Dance" in Act II has the villagers interweaving ribbons as they playfully cavort around the pole. One reviewer of this video notes that all this play with ribbons ". . . seems to go out of its way to mask the skill and talent of the truly excellent dancers . . . ." These "pas de ruban" don't really mask the talents of the dancers. Their skills and talents are showcased with plenty of intricate footwork, big kicks and leaps, pirouettes galore, and a wide variety of steps by all the principals and the corps. Another reviewer, who says she is a Principle [sic] dancer with the Royal Ballet, writes that "the dancers in this are exquisite" and "it has awesome technique." The principal dancers are indeed outstanding. David McAllister (Colas) dances with precision and feeling and struts and bounds with athletic bravura. Fiona Tonkin (Lise) exudes sweetness but also exhibits stubbornness and petulance. Her acting is beguiling; her radiant smile is infectious. The two are superb together, skillfully displayed in various lifts. A very impressive "chair lift" caps off the "Fanny Elssler" pas de deux near the end of Act II, and McAllister airily skims Tonkin across the floor with very creamy "carry lifts" in Act I. Stephen Morgante plays the awkward and oafish country bumpkin, Alain. His antics are very funny as he attempts to woo and impress Tonkin's Lise with his "dancing." His moves are purposely stiff, angular, and jerky. He attempts to perform a double tour en l'air but manages only to make one-and-a-half revolutions and ends up with his back to the audience. In Act II, he partners Lise as she does two deep arabesques-penchees. With her working leg fully extended, he responds by throwing up a quick stiff-arm salute that parallels her raised arabesque leg. Sixty-four year old Ray Powell, in the travesty role of Widow Simone, spryly dances the "clog dance" to the delight of the audience. Ably accompanied by four unnamed corps de ballet women (all in "sabots" too) he does an English "tap dance" with myriad heel-toe steps and loud stomping feet.

The VHS video recording itself is of mediocre technical quality. The images are sometimes indistinct and the colors somewhat faded. The State Orchestra of Victoria, under the direction of Noel Smith, admirably performs Lanchbery's score, but the audio quality is only so-so. This video needs to be transferred to DVD format. Nevertheless, it's a tape that should be part of one's ballet video library. I highly recommend it.

This ballet is SOOO great! It has awesome technique, trust me, I was accepted to the National Ballet School of Canada when I was 13, and I'm now at the Royal ballet as a Principle dancer. The dancers in this are exquisite. The story is adorable. I think that every great dancer should see it.