Eric Gerdts:
I have never seen a traditional ballet before seeing Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's production of Moulin Rouge. It was an eye-opening experience. Actually, maybe it was more of an eye closing experience, because I fell asleep six times. I am not entirely sure if it was the 95 year old ladies sitting next to me or if there was a disconnect between the story line and the dancing. Regardless, the experience had a soporific effect. I was waiting the entire show for something stunning to happen or for the dancers to start acting well in order to give the story depth. If PBT’s mission is to “perpetuate excellence in the art of ballet through performances”, then they have failed. The production was mostly spectacle with little substance. If one of the chorus girls lifted their skirts to shake the frills beneath one more time, I was going to scream.
It is unclear if perhaps I don’t like traditional ballet, or if this particular production was not for me, as I have nothing to compare it to, in a traditional sense. What I did compare it to was Kyle Abraham’s ‘Pavement’, which I saw the night before. This fusion of modern dance, traditional ballet, and relatable themes is an innovative creation. Moulin Rouge was stodgy, dull, and all of the dancers, with exception of the principle girl (for the most part), seemed as though they were just going through the motions. The cancan scenes seemed contrived and corny and let’s not even begin to dissect that death dance (it was 10 minutes too long and how was she dancing when just shot?!).
I would be curious to see a production of the Nutcracker or Swan Lake to see if those productions align better with their mission, but unfortunately Moulin Rouge seemed to miss the mark.
Jesse Montgomery:
Through the lens of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s mission, the jury is still out on
whether Moulin Rouge was a success, despite a very positive audience reaction.
As an organization “that performs traditional and contemporary ballets and develops
innovative new works”, it is difficult to say which category Moulin Rouge fell under.
While THIS reviewer is no dance expert, it is safe to say the performance wasn’t
traditional or classical, PBT’s apparent strength. The production was far from what
one might consider contemporary in regards to choreography, costumes, design and music,
trending instead toward a more dated Broadway style aesthetic. If PBT’s mission included
“to present a charming, accessible, and appropriate production for a Valentines Day
run”, this production hit it out of the park.
Regarding “perpetuating excellence in the art of ballet”, I would argue that the
production fell short. After a certain point, the skirt ruffling began to seem campy
and overused. Certainly there are other elements of historically specific dance
that can be combined with ballet. Instead of being amazed by technicality or grace
or appreciating the subtle adaptations of the ballet vocabulary, the choreography
became stagnant. Several duets and ensemble pieces were unsteady, especially
those including the two male painters. While Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has
obviously made difficult decisions regarding their use of live music during the
season, the recorded score to this production was a glaring weakness. The balance,
quality, and orchestration of the recordings were poor, and the collection of pieces
struggled to maintain the flow and continuity of a traditional score. Overall, it
detracted from the excellence PBT is trying to perpetuate. Was Pittsburgh Ballet
Theatre’s Moulin Rouge successful at generating earned revenue and pleasing
its audience? Definitely. Did it perpetuate excellence and contribute to being an
internationally recognized company? Not quite.
Jessica Bower:
Moulin Rouge Performance ReviewJessica Bower I attended the performance of Moulin Rouge on Saturday, February 16, 2013. Not knowing much about the show itself, I was intrigued to see how a story about Paris could be portrayed through dance. The scenery and props of the show seemed solid, and it was clear that the dancers had been trained in ballet individually, though I feel that they could have used more training as a unit for this production. I was continually brought out of the story when dancers who appeared to have intended to dance in unison were out of sync. One scene I am thinking about in particular is the scene where the two artists are dancing with their canvasses on the front of the stage. The jumps and moves were off enough to distract me from the story line they were trying to support. The mission of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre states that among other things, the organizations…”seeks to perpetuate excellence in the art of ballet through performances, superior training of student dancers and community engagement initiatives.” Because of these out of sync moments throughout the production, I do not feel that this show was particularly evident of “excellence in the art of ballet.” As an amateur ballet viewer, I appreciate the effort that went into the creation of this performance. I can only imagine how intense and difficult it must be to do ballet. But, from what I understand about the form and strict regiment of ballet, when done well, it is beautiful; when done poorly, it is distracting and difficult to follow.
Kelsey Small:
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s production of Moulin Rouge left a lot to be desired in the eyes of this classically trained, but contemporary minded ballet dancer and reviewer. The technical ability of the dancers was some of the highest quality I’ve experienced from the company in two years of being an avid follower. The ballet in totality failed to provide any realism or emotional points of connection for the audience. The proficiency in the ballet terminology overpowered the delivery of the story’s passionate and playful content.
The dancers performed with beautiful exquisite attention to details and exceptional musicality to the challenging score. Yet at the same time, the dancers weren’t taking risks, or being responsive to the delicacies of the movement. This can be attributed to the lack of live orchestral accompaniment, as the prerecorded score paralleled the predefined precision in movement. I personally would have appreciated more expansive movement that challenged the dancers beyond their comfort zone. Only then can dance really reach the pivotal point of expression and deliver meaning to the audience.
The most poignant part of the evening was the pas de deux between the principal characters – Natalie and Matthew. This interlude in the evening showcased true romance, passion and emotional relationships that hadn’t been highlighted throughout the performance. This delivery in the pas de deux is where Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre should focus their work, a balanced approach to excellent technique and vulnerability to the intent of the story.
Rebecca Fink:
The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s rendition of Moulin Rouge- The Ballet was a nice performance. It was a Pittsburgh premiere, and like Mr. Harris said when he visited our class, it was met with great success for the traditional audience of Pittsburgh. Like always, the performance was whimsical while showing that the ballerinas were classically trained artists. A lot of research was done by Mr. Morris, and he chose to incorporate historical references and original characters. He incorporated the creator Charles Zidler as the villain as well as Toulouse-Lautrec, an artist well known for his love of absinthe and cancan dancers. The scenery of Paris was beautifully done, and the costumes were created to be as historically correct as ballet costumes get. Though if audiences were expecting a sensual performance in which love and passion are synonymous, they would be mistaken. This performance was true to the original play and not the Hollywood movie, the love triangle created by Nathalie, Matthew, and Zidler seemed awfully reminiscent of the innocent Romeo & Juliet love.
Jane Vranish of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that this innocent quality as opposed to a sensual quality is due to the Mr. Morris, who choreographs in a traditional balletic fashion. She states that this “seemed to sanitize it all, even the Cancan, where there were polite kicklines and prim flips of the skirt, except for Elysa Hotchkiss, whose La Goulue had the prerequisite ribald star quality. The fight scenes between Zidler and Matthew, which could have escalated the tension, consisted mostly of posing and glaring rather than grappling. And Nathalie (a captivating Christine Schwaner) was forced to plead for her lover with the same gestures over and over…The scenes for Toulouse-Lautrec, while well-danced by Joseph Parr, seemed artificial given the artist's well-known short stature.” However, I think that Pittsburgh audiences really enjoy and come to expect this classically trained ballet, so I think it ended up being a benefit for PBT instead of detriment as proven by its ticket sales.
What was a detriment, however, were the extended scenes of the Absinthe fairies in the second half. I feel as though its placements both in the very beginning of the second half and then again right before the fight scene between Matthew and Zidler. I think that these scenes broke up the intensity so that in the end, when Nathalie dies, the audience is not as heartbroken as they should be. In fact, some were just annoyed that it went on for too long.
Marissa Cinquanti:
When The Pittsburgh Ballet Theater First raised the curtain at its recent production of Moulin Rouge, I had high hopes. As the oboist, violinist, and accordion player on stage played/sang a magical rendition of La Vie En Rose, I settled into my seat and prepared to be transported to early 20th century Paris.
It turned out that I was wrong – the musicians went away after about ten minutes, canned music blared out of the speakers, and most of the magic was gone.
There was nothing particularly wrong with this production – the dancers were all reasonably adept and the scenery was nice (even impressive, in some instances). I found that I just wasn’t particularly invested or interested in Natalie (she spins!) and Matthew’s (he paints!) story - probably because there were so many random, gimmicky scenes pulling me out of it. Every time those Toulouse came out on stage with those canvases, I closed my eyes for a couple of minutes. And we got not one, but TWO visits from green fairies because, ABSINTHE! IT’S CRAZY, MAN!
I understand that it can’t be all story all the time, and it’s perfectly reasonable to have a couple of entertaining asides to give the audience a break from the drama, but these things just didn’t make any sense to me in the context of the ballet. And the music....I’m sorry, but what should have been the most (only?) moving moment of the night - the pas de deux, set to Debussy’s Clare de Lune - was completely botched by a terrible recording. All told, I was pretty happy to be leaving after Natalie flailed around dying on the stage for 20 minutes. (Although I was a little disappointed that she didn’t spin while doing so.)
In relation to Pittsburgh Ballet Company’s mission, which includes: “to perpetuate excellence in the art of ballet through performances” - I am not a dance expert, but I would not consider this to be an “excellent” production. To me, this was an easily-digested, accessible ballet (so much of the plot and stylistic choices were derived from Baz Luhrman’s extremely popular 2001 film), presented to an audience who was there mostly because it was Valentine’s Day. It would be interesting to know how many first-time ballet attendees were in that audience, and how many of them they are able to bring in a second time because of this performance. On that front, they might have actually succeeded. “Exposing new audiences to the art of ballet”....that might be good to include in a mission...
Audrey Kwong:
Sunday’s afternoon performance of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s recent production, Moulin Rouge – The Ballet was definitely an interesting one. Having trained in classical ballet when I was younger, I definitely appreciated the depth of the technical vocabulary displayed by the company. While the subject matter was more modern than more “classical” ballets, it had a lot of the elements of a “classical” ballet in its choreography.
However, various other elements came up short for me. For example, in the first half, I even had trouble following the story line. I had seen the film that the ballet was based on once many years back, but I didn’t remember much about it. For example, if I hadn’t finished reading the synopsis of the ballet in the program during intermission, I would have thought that the green fairy was actually a character similar to Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, opposed to a symbol of a character having drank absinthe. Needless to say, I’m really glad I had read the synopsis when I did or else I would have been extremely confused. I also didn’t feel emotionally connected to any of the characters. I understand that in a ballet, the storytelling technique is very different because the majority is done through movement, and I’m not going to even try to understand the complexities of choreographing a ballet, but the only scene that I found beautiful and emotionally engaging was the pas de deux between the two main characters.
I think the most distracting thing of the entire production, being a lover of orchestras, was the canned music. I had been to ballets before, but never one that was with canned music, and I felt that the lack of an orchestra was a distraction and contributed to a lack of continuity. This lack of continuity was especially true when juxtaposed against the live band that was used. Additionally, there is something that is to be said about the organic, spontaneous nature of a live performance and the use of canned music definitely took away from this.
Rachael Wilkinson:
I would like to open this review with the assertion that I know nothing of dance. Conceptually I can understand that it is the specific movement of bodies at specific times. What I learned, practically, from this performance is that it is a lot of dance battling. I don’t have the experience or understanding to critique the dancing or motions of Moulin Rouge. I felt the Trib’s review was accurate, this was a “strong cast” who had to be both actors and dancers.
However the acting felt vaudevillian – overdone and melodramatic. The canvas props that the artists used were neat once, but not the second or third time, and definitely not when you dedicate a whole dance to them. Of course, without that dance, Toulouse-Lautrec exists only as a plot device, which is bad writing. The music was canned, which did not aid the production at all. I was excited when the three or four cast members played their instruments on stage. If only those four could have done the whole score, a la the revival of Sweeney Todd.
I’d also like to take a minute to comment on the costumes –they were safe choices. The character Natalie suffered particularly from expected choices (oh look, she’s in white because she’s virginal, pink because she’s the innocent one, white again…) Most of the costumes were related, thematically. We could tell who was special, and who was in the chorus. However, the Green Fairy costumes particularly bothered me as they did not appear to be related shades of green, nor where the costumes thematically related (two had wings, one did not). It felt like they were grabbed out of storage at the last minute.
Ultimately, for me, the show was another melodramatic girl meets boy and sacrifices herself for him. It’s neither new nor interesting, and little more than Twilight with pretty colors. The over the top communication methods were dull in the age of internet satire. I’m sure ballet can be new, fresh, and relevant. Unfortunately, Moulin Rouge was not, which is less a reflection on PBT than it is on the ballet itself. Perhaps the only poor idea on PBT’s part was the choice to do this production.
Michelle Cheng:
The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s mission expresses their commitment to performing both traditional and new works. Choreographed by Jorden Morris in 2009 for the 70th anniversary of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, “Moulin Rouge – The Ballet” is a “new work” that by definition stands in contrast to the traditional pieces in the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s repertoire. While the subject matter is somewhat contemporary in nature (i.e. connected to a 1950 novel and 2001 film adaptation), the choreography is rooted in traditional ballet. The resulting hybrid work certainly succeeded in emphasizing the company’s technical prowess and artistry. As such, “Moulin Rouge” accomplishes several aspects of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s mission.
However, ballet may not have been the most effective method of communicating the famously risqué lore surrounding the Moulin Rouge. Ballet is a highly regimented art form by nature, and it enhanced neither the non-ballet dance styles in the piece nor the entirety of the final product. Additionally, while the few musical numbers performed live by onstage musicians were charming and well-executed, the pre-recorded soundtrack (which suffered from uneven speaker distribution throughout the venue and volume imbalance between compositions) failed to augment the overall atmosphere of the production. Although presenting a more family-friendly interpretation of this story can be beneficial where attracting a broad audience is concerned, it ultimately stifled the provocative quality that makes the source material so compelling and entertaining. Despite this issue of honoring the cultural authenticity of the Moulin Rouge, this production was a valuable point of entry for audience members new to ballet performances, and will most likely inspire at least some of these new patrons to make a return visit to the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
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