THE GöTEBORG BALLET

TOUR GERMANY 2004

WHEN IT IS SNOWING FEATHERS
The audience in the Forum experienced elegant dancing in the classic modern style. What would the producers and choreographer’s be without their lighting artists? What a difference light can make, demonstrated Mikki Kunttu in „Swan Lake“, the wonderful shortened version of the romantic Swan Lake ballet to the music from Peter Tchaikovsky. Jorma Uotinen especially created „Swan Lake“ for the Gothenburg Ballet.. It does not have the socially critical bite that the legendary Swan Lake version from Mats Ek has. Also missing here is the youthful aggression that Stephan Thoss worked into his production for the Ballet Hanover. In contrast we experience light, elegant and also with it, tiny mischievous side-swipes. Uotinen carefully demonstrates the movement of the swans moving in on each other. The stage set, a magic made up of blue, green and white, adds to the captivating effect of „Swan Lake“. Technically, the Gothenburg Ballet demonstrates the highest level of dance. How high, that claim goes to „Hidden Seconds“ from Nicolo Fonte. The choreographies tie a classic, modern ballet in the tradition of George Balanchines, just as much noble as flowing. The nice thing about it: „Hidden Seconds“ makes the idea of cutting time into pieces, watchable. That too caused the audience in the Forum to rejoice.
Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 16.12.2004

SWANS IN A FEATHER-RAIN
Silently the dust-mist wobbles in the poor light of the spot lights. The absolute silence is only broken by a quiet dragging sound – a bent over woman moves out of the darkness, deliberately moves her out-stretched arm, as if she wanted to sound out the terrain.
Nothing suspicious? She sets about finding out the flexibility of her extremities. A cello screeches, she cowers and “voila” just like magic, behind her, pops up a second woman performing parallel and mirrored reflected long leg Attitudes, angled Pliés, big Ports de Bras and elegant turns. A man joins them out of the darkness and develops the round dance into an esthetic Ménage-à-trois, until finally five pairs appear on the stage, which alone, as a pair, as a trio indulge in a flow of bows, lifts and body intertwining.
The dancers themselves, ten male and female, give pleasure, executing their dance performance with unbelievable soft and sensitive gestures, as if they were floating on water. One left after one and a half hours of them with the feeling of having witnessed a striving quality dance company.
Petra Mosbacher-Dix, Stuttgarter Zeitung 13.12.2004

DANCE IN CLEAR FORMS
The excellent dance interpretation made the consistency as much as the diversity of the choreography (In Hidden Seconds) apparent. Full of passionate tension and sensuality and fulfilled the abstract, clear form language with committed expressiveness.
Ursula Pellaton, Der Landbote 11.12.2004

THE GOTHENBURG BALLET IN WINTERTHUR
The Gothenburg Ballet gives a guest performance, in the pre-Christmas season in Winterthur, with two fairytale choreographies. The combination of high standing dance and secretive atmosphere ensure to delight the audience. Two pale figures appear out of the darkness like ghosts. The stage stays in this twilight. The atmosphere is somehow unreal.
Fonte has created a very moody piece, to fit with the expressive music from John Tavener, which interestingly comes to life through its subduedness. Jorma Uotinen’s Swan Lake is even more of a fairytale, and in its most special moment the stage looks like a giant snowball. In contrast the dancing is precise and sporty. An elegant choreography and an original interpretation of the traditional piece, typical of the reputation of the Gothenburg Ballet: “Don’t take old rules too exactly in order to create new ones.”
Neue Zürcher Zeitung 11.12.2004

TWILIGHT IN INDISTINGUISHABLE WORLDS
"In Hidden Seconds", danced to a melancholic romantic composition of the contemporary British composer, John Tavener, intensified to a perfect vision. A hazy veil fills the entire stage and gives off an unreal atmosphere. The male and female dancers give the appearance of being moved around by gentle air whirls. At the same time the coming together of the music and dance, especially in the Pas de deux, is so tight it is as if the body of the ensemble; the string instruments, the violin and viola sounds; fill the entire hall with melancholy.
The dancing is convincing in "Swan Lake 2", especially the choreography of the swans: their dual character role, on one hand as enticing beings and on the other hand as shy animals, is excellently portrayed: casual positions with open legs move into cowered positions. The picture of a returning swan appears here just as clearly in front of intellectual eyes as there where the arms of the dancers change into wings and then back into long necks. Once the women act as proud single creatures and then again you find them swarming together. There the choreography is at its best, where it would normally be impossible to direct every position, transforming the animals’ gormlessness into a calculated erotic game. The Gothenburg Ballet doesn’t leave any doubt that it didn’t just want to convince with its dancing expertise but also it wanted to offer something for the eyes.
Harald Ruppert, Südkurier 9.12.2004

MAGIC REACHING TO THE TIPS OF THE TOES
Modern dance in its exquisit form was presented to an delighted city theatre audience by the Gothenburg Ballet. Highly artificial, poetic and magically charged was the first choreography, „In hidden seconds“ from Nicolo Fonte accompanied by the hypnotic music from John Taverner. Everything flows, could be the philosophical motto.
No question: Under the direction of the Americaner Kevin F. Irving, one of the artistic coordinators for Nacho Duato, the Swedish company developed its success course further and completed their repertoire around top choreographies. Such hidden seconds, in which the craziest of ideas about life and death shoot through the head, has everyone. However when Fonte goes to his work, he lets his ten dancers describe bizarre day dreams, one feels like in a Jarmusch film: taken care of and locked out at the same time.
The Finnish choreographer, Jorma Uotinen, is known for his unconventional ways of going about things. He re-interpreted the immortal Swan Lake from Tschaikowsky’s sound for the Gothenburger: Out of the second act, one on a lake, in which the prince meets his magical swan girl, he makes it an intensive experience, which culminates in a storm of falling feathers and the movement is placed in the space in a breath taking way. The aesthetic of the golden dance epoch has an after effect, equally comes something cheeky into play. All the more important the exactness, the dance troupe puts into every little detail. With it, the unlucky love affair is transported into present time, in which no longer spoiled princes wait for true love, instead lonely singles. A vital masterpiece full of romance and love for life.
Claudia Schuller Fürther Nachrichten 6.12.2004

FLYING MOVEMENTS
That was once again a dance evening, which delighted the ballet audience in the “Theater im Pfalzbau”. The Gothenburg Ballet made a guest appearance with two neo-classic choreographies from the highest dancing level and enrapturing beauty.
In 'In hidden seconds' are the visual effect, structure and charisma from classic nobility. All details are subtle and fit together in perfect harmony: The lyrical to exciting string sound of the music from John Tavener and the graceful light flow of movement. The vocabulary of the movement is sleek and from wonderful simpleness. It abstains from artistic just for the sake of it, doesn’t use any lifts, links turns and jumps into the flow of the movement lines.
Heike Marx, Die Rheinpfalz 2.12.2004

THE SWAN IS AN ORDINARY BIRD
'In Hidden Seconds' calls Nicolo Fonte his work in which his dancers gradually appear out of the darkness. John Tavener’s melancholic, as well as, sensual music, with considerable cello passages, grows within less than half an hour into a cult Bacchanal, and the choreography follows this development to the minute with extraordinary images. Profoundly and emotionally the dancers swing and circle in various pair-constellations, always with unloaded gestures and wide open movements, and for the solo passages to be able to calm themselves down again, arms and legs are pulled close to their bodies, before the round dance surrounding the single and group relationships unloads into a massive Bacchanal, which is rewarded with much applause. In Jorma Uotinen’s Swan Lake 2, the opulent fairytale about the enchanted Odette and Prince Siegfried is reduced to weighing up the advantages and disadvantages between belonging to groups or individuals. For Uotinen swans are normal birds, he does not acknowledge that they are aesthetically elegant. With broken wings the animals wrestle and crawl along the floor in original, as well as, delightful runs. Only occasionally do the dancers find themselves in classic form and beauty, accompanied by Tschaikowsky’s soulful sounds. With it is both the vocabulary of music and the dealings with space and light breathtaking: a contemporary display of old history, which also becomes a profound play with tradition.
Ralf-Carl Langhals, Mannheimer Morgen 2.12.2004

PLAYFUL EASE AND BOISTEROUS DESIRE TO DANCE
Three choreographers, three personal styles and three strengths: wonderful ensemble work, a good grasp, what the choice of the pieces concerns and a sure feeling for an audience pleasing order – this is characteristic of the work of the Goteborger.
Jiri Kylian bursts with ideas in his “Six Pieces”……this successful evening finishes with this speedy, surrealistic and colourful Barock grotesque. Equally a choreographic gem, less humorous but more the theatrical style is the middle piece 'In Hidden Seconds' from Nicolo Fonte. If that piece, with its unbelievable movement flow, and the beautiful Pas-de-deux and pas-de-trois, was not from Fonte, you could think it was one from Nacho Duato. The two masterpieces preceded Örjan Anderssons 'Quartett Nr 10'. Even when Andersson choreographed somewhat too much under the spell of the music, the piece is definitely worth seeing as an example of the work of a young up-and-coming choreographer from Sweden.
Leonore Welzin, Heilbronner Stimme Nov 25, 2004

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