Pixie dust, magic aplenty as RWB soars in season finale By: Holly Harris Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Thursday, May. 4, 2023

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This article was published 04/05/2023 (902 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet closes its 83rd season with sprinkles of pixie dust in Jorden Morris’s swashbuckling Peter Pan.

Based on J.M. Barrie’s fantastical tale of the “boy who wouldn’t grow up,” the 137-minute work (including intermission), last staged here in March 2016, tells the story of Peter, who invites Wendy Darling and her two younger brothers, Michael and John, to fly off to Neverland to ultimately triumph over his nemesis, Captain Hook, and his crew of dastardly pirates.

The former principal dancer created Peter Pan as his inaugural full-length narrative ballet back in December 2006, before later choreographing RWB box office smash hit Moulin Rouge in 2009, among other mixed repertoire pieces throughout the years.

For those with long memories who have attended all prior productions of Peter Pan, the five-show run that continues through Sunday offers a fascinating opportunity to witness new generations of RWB dancers step into their storybook roles while giving them their own spin.

Still others are reprising former lead characters, now further fleshed out, thus deepening the ballet’s overall emotional subtext.

Principal dancer Alanna McAdie is one of those. The artist performed Wendy (all lead roles alternating) during Wednesday night’s opening performance — as she did back in 2016 — as a spunky, can-do heroine able to stitch together shadows and stare down pirates, just as she easily whips off dizzying fouettés or pirouettes off into Neverland.

McAdie’s crackerjack acting skills also create many potent moments, in which we see her tomboy character’s pull toward freedom and adventure, while drawn to the cosy security of hearth and home.

Corps de ballet dancer Liam Saito flies high in the title role, his naturally boyish charm and athleticism hitting just the right notes as he bounds across the stage, or fearlessly tumbles through mid-air during the flying scenes that always enthrall (though the now-retired Yosuke Mino, who debuted this role, will always be missed).

Everyone’s favourite fairy, Tinker Bell, is back, marking her first sparkly entrance in a spray of glitter. Principal dancer Chenxin Liu crafts her character as a feisty, foot-stomping sprite who fights for her Pan, displaying her rock solid classical technique, including breathtaking pointe work, in this more balletic version than Tinker Bells past.

A special mention goes to Corps de ballet member Katie Simpson as the Darling children’s watchful nanny Liza, as well as second soloist Zachary Rogers, who cartwheels and flips across the stage as masked Shadow Peter. It’s a testament to both these dancers’ artistry that their portrayals of these relatively minor roles are transfixing.

This wouldn’t be a story ballet without some kind of animal onstage; in this case, company apprentice Cleighden Butler’s shaggy Newfoundland pooch Nana, who serves as Wendy’s canine companion, elicited audible oohs and ahs from the multi-generational audience.

Soloist Stephan Azulay creates a sneering, menacing Captain Hook, wielding his ginormous, gleaming left hook while lording power over his motley crew of pirates. The welcome addition of two wenches (principal dancer Elizabeth Lamont and corps de ballet dancer Amanda Solheim) since the ballet’s première makes his Jolly Roger ship equal-opportunity, while helping to balance the arguably male-dominated coming-of-age storyline.

Azulay also displays his versatility in his double role as Mr. Darling, as does soloist Yayoi Ban, who performs both as the buttoned-up Mrs. Darling and the decidedly more sinewy Tiger Lily, who lives in the mysterious lagoon with Crocodile, performed by second soloist Peter Lancksweerdt.

Another powerful moment came during Ban’s heartrending solo at the top of Act II, in which she throws open the nursery’s window, longing for her missing children.

Hook’s sidekick Smee showed off corps de ballet member Joshua Hidson’s comedic skills, underscored by his distinctive movement vocabulary, including fluidly executed body isolations and rhythmic accents.

Morris’s classically based choreography, albeit flecked with contemporary touches, is at its best during the male ensembles, such as the sections featuring the Lost Boys and Pirates. The Fairies who save Tinker Bell’s life after she ingests the poison intended to slay Peter felt (as before) more earthbound than celestially sent, with their (mostly) uninspired, unison choreography evoking quotidien ballet studio combinations.

It also takes a while for the narrative to get going. The copious use of mime gestures, while delivered convincingly by the dancers, saps the show’s overall balletic strength at times. A few wonky lighting cues and a “waterfall” backdrop piece that did not immediately descend into place did not mar the overall performance.

Still, it’s a joy to once again hear Morris’s brilliantly knitted-together pastiche score of English composers including Benjamin Britten, Eric Coates, Ron Goodwin Elgar and Montague Phillips, with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra led with gusto by RWB principal conductor Julian Pellicano.

The production also features designer Anne Armit’s period costumes, with sets created by Don Rutley and Andrew Beck and lit by Bill Williams. Credit also goes to Las Vegas-based Flying by Foy for keeping these dancers safe during the flying sequences, and RWB fight director Jaime Vargas for the same reason.

While you can still see the wires and you know the flying isn’t “real,” the wondrous sight of Peter, Tinker Bell, Wendy and her brothers soaring off into the starry night sky towards Neverland for the first time still brings a lump to the throat; their high-flying freedom feels even more resonant today.

holly.harris@shaw.ca