Sim

KVN Dance Company Coppelia **** Marylebone Theatre, London, 24 April 2024 Whilst many people were watching the Royal Ballet in Swan Lake last night, I headed down to the Marylebone Theatre, just a few doors away from the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street. The mystery here is how I had never heard of this lovely little venue, having worked nearby and lived quite nearby for years! Nor had I previously heard of the KVN Dance Company. Founded by Kevan Allen, their aim is to attract new audiences to dance by expanding its possibilities and making it fun and accessible. If their production of Coppelia is anything to go by, they are succeeding beautifully. The programme states on its cover “Coppelia, Classic Remixed: Classic Reborn”. I usually roll my eyes when I see the words ‘reimagined for contemporary audiences’ or suchlike; last night I entered the theatre with an open but slightly dubious mind, and left it having had a delightful and eye-opening two hours of theatre and dance. The reason this reimagining of Coppelia works so well is that the original score and ballet/story are all treated with respect. The music and choreography are deconstructed and rebuilt into a narrative that works. Delibes’ glorious music is used extensively, but is expanded and added to by Swedish musician Rickard Berg. Allen didn’t feel the need to revise the ending nor change the basic story, for which I am very grateful. The piece opens with the villagers galivanting in the square, and Dr Coppelius is introduced as the eccentric we know from the original. From there, the story moves on apace, and the combination of wit and pathos remains. The choreography is fun and clever, the costumes (by Wendy Olver) a delight, and the set (by Justin Williams) is light and buoyant in the outside scenes, dark and broody in Dr Coppelius’ lab. The other toys in the attic are gorgeously dressed and come to life with sparkle and zest. Praise also goes to Mike Robertson’s atmospheric lighting, especially in Coppelius’ workshop. I was even more impressed with the costumes and set when I read in the programme that the company is almost entirely sustainable, and everything is made from second-hand materials that have been acquired and donated. As for the cast, the company is made up of 12 dancers, all of whom were clearly having a ball onstage. Most of them are from theatre schools and thus were able to handle various styles of dance and make them all meld into one delightful work. Rosie Southall as Coppelia was a very convincing doll, transformed from her original raggedy state into a gorgeous girl with just a skirt and toreador ruffled blouse. She made it easy to believe that foolish Franz could be attracted to her and be duped into thinking she was real. Michael Downing as Coppelius and Zach Parkin as Franz both gave notable performances, striking just the right balance between comedy and drama. Ellie Ferguson as Swanhilda was innately balletic and gave us a feisty but ultimately kind, empathetic and forgiving young bride. She was happy and wanted Dr Coppelius to be, too. Her insistence that the villagers accept him into their society made for a joyous ending, celebrating both a wedding and life itself. This reimagining of a classic works on all fronts, and like Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake I can imagine that this one has the potential to inspire many people, especially young ones, to want to see the original, classical version. I know that Bourne’s Lake was the route to a love of classical ballet for many people back in the 90s; maybe this will be the case for this generation via Coppelia, albeit on a smaller scale. Speaking of scale, this company is self-funded and deserves to continue and to be seen as widely as possible. They are at the Marylebone Theatre until April 27th and are touring around the country (details on their website) until the end of June. Catch them if you can. Last night they made my cold, grey day a whole lot brighter and warmer with this innovative, fun and bold production.

This is a very good point. Why would Odette immediately be passionate and warm to this guy who has just come along, when the last guy who just came along turned her into a captive bird? I would also be very wary and take my time to loosen up and open my heart to him.

Interesting to read such varied views. I haven’t seen tonight’s performance yet but from this cast’s first two performances I was totally emotionally engaged and found the lead couple inhabited their characters in a pure and natural way…I didn’t find anything calculated about either of them. As I have said before, art is subjective so everyone has their own perspective and perception of what they see. Very interesting!

Not to mention his debut as Oberon in The Dream on 19th June...

Yes, they do try to get the four cygnets at pretty much the same height.

Marcelino Sambe is not long legged and he is playing the prince. Joon-Hyuk Jun, playing Benno, is tall and long legged. Ditto Teo Dubreuil.

I never sit near enough to them to hear them....but if I did, I wouldn't want to hear them anymore than I would want to hear an audience member!

And her Manon was sensational. I loved her interpretation, and her understanding of, and technical ability in, the MacMillan repertoire alone elevates her. She's not a classical dancer in the same vein as Nunez, Kaneko and Naghdi...but then Ed Watson wasn't a classical dancer either and had a wonderful career as a Principal.

Gosh Rob doesn't waste any time!! 😂

Exactly. Art of any form is subjective; there is no right or wrong.

With my moderator's hat on, I would like to emphasise (as I have many, many times over the years) that this is not a fan site, and that all comments and criticism are welcome (as long as they don't breach AUP). I disagree that 'most comments on this site are written with superlatives.' Some are, some aren't. One just has to read this Swan Lake thread to see many comments that are not exactly positive. I think we should also remember that not everyone who posts on this site has English as a first language, and sometimes they might use English words in such a way that native speakers would not. Please cut them some slack. There are many people on the site who have been watching ballet/dance avidly for many decades, and have a profound understanding and admiration for the art form. They may not be academics or directly involved in ballet, but they often outclass the professional writers and others with their insights. I would also add that the voices of the 'fanboys/girls, relatives and newbies' are just as welcome and as important as everyone else's.

I was thinking during yesterday’s matinee that I am sure the girls’ arms used to point towards the lake as Siegfried wakes up, but they don’t seem to now. Maybe I am mistaken because I think that is what should happen so might have simply imagined it! 🤔

Thanks for your wonderful review, Sabine. 🙂

I think in this version that he states his love for her, but doesn't make the vow, and she thinks that's enough. He then betrays her by swearing eternal love to Odile. This is intentional; none of the Siegfrieds in this version swear eternal love to Odette in Act 2. To me this makes sense; Odette has just told him that when someone comes and swears eternal love for her, she will be a swan no more and the spell will be broken. So if Siegfried swears this in Act 2, wouldn't that automatically break the spell?

I would love to hear some thoughts about Sarah and Reece’s performance last night please…and Teo Dubreuil’s debut as Benno. Thanks!