Dance
Starstruck
Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Mary Brennan
Five stars
On-screen, in 1951, Gene Kelly was the American in Paris who danced up a storm on the city’s streets. On-stage, in 1960, Kelly was the American choreographer who brought an exuberant dash of razz-a-ma-jazz to Paris Opera Ballet with a frisky new one act work, Pas de Dieux – the witty wordplay echoing Kelly’s series of duets between the Greek gods who leave Olympus and create flirtatious havoc on a beach in the south of France.
Now Scottish Ballet have shed the limitations of lockdown and have revived Kelly’s choreography in a new company ballet, Starstruck – currently live and on tour but to be released as a film in November.
Artistic director Christopher Hampson has subtitled his extended version as ‘Gene Kelly’s love letter to ballet’ – an apt reminder of the classical technique that co-exists so amicably alongside the modern moves, the tap and jazzy gambits that we associate with Kelly’s bravura ‘hoofing’ in countless cinematic triumphs.
It’s a mix of styles that brings out the best in Scottish Ballet’s impressively versatile dancers, who fizz and sparkle to music by Chopin and Gershwin as they re-create the hellzapoppin’ mayhem when bored Aphrodite (Sophie Martin) eludes her husband Zeus (Evan Loudon) and – abetted by a jaunty, mischievous Eros (Bruno Micchiardi) – goes slinkily romping with a tasty (human) Lifeguard (Javier Andreu).
Thunderbolts fly and tempers fray but the real fireworks are in the dance. Martin is by turns haughty, seductive, playful as she swaps exquisite balletic poise for sassy shimmies and leggy high kicks. Loudon struts swaggering stuff as Zeus, but softens into tender partnering for a true, romantic reunion with Martin’s Aphrodite. Meanwhile the whole company kick up their heels with unfettered pzazz – joy unalloyed, they’re back!
The Scottish Ballet tours continues to Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh
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