Copenhagen, DENMARK – Traditional stories never change, and so often the same is true for the theatrical executions, especially in the form of ballet.
Listen to the author read an audio recording of this review:
There is, too often, an understanding that change breaks tradition. With Tivoli Concert Hall’s latest ballet, they pushed against that expectation.
This past Christmas, Tivoli Concert Hall performed The Snow Queen by world-famous fairytale writer, H.C. Andersen, together with Yuri Possokhov, choreographer; Nanna Fabricius, music; and Her Majesty Queen Magrethe, set design and costumes.
The ballet follows Kay and Gerda who meet and immediately fall into an endless friendship. It’s then that Kay is struck by a shard of ice from the Snow Queen and Kay leaves, disappearing.
Gerda, missing her friend, goes on a hunt to find him, facing many challenges along the way, and having to persuade a robber girl for her reindeer.
When Gerda finally arrives at the Snow Queen’s castle, the snow monsters try to capture her, but her love is too strong. The same happens when she sees Kay, who doesn’t recognize her but through the power of love she melts the ice in his heart, rescuing him.
The production featured no set backgrounds, but instead digital screens. The backgrounds were all pencil drawings, which came across quite childish. The digital screens do allow for more contemporary elements such as snow and other visual effects that are impossible with traditional backgrounds and lighting, which give more creative freedom.
The choice of costumes of some of the characters reflects a more contemporary feel such as when Gerda was in the cave. In the cave the all-female ensemble wore leotards paired with high cut dance shorts that created a stripped-down visual.
But, in other parts of the production, the costumes lacked creativity that was present with costumes such as the flowers that tried to hypnotize Gerda.
I had hoped for more consistency with the quality of costume design throughout the production.
The music didn’t just feature traditional orchestra instruments – the production also included wordless vocal harmonies, screams and other sound effects. These were mainly used to symbolize ice and were used when either the Snow Queen, her monsters or her activities were the subject.
This addition was wonderful when symbolizing the ice but often was used too dramatically in scenes where the use could have been more subtle.
The execution of the dancing was on-point. The rhythm overall was better than that you see at the Danish Royal Theater. Even the child dancers were visually in perfect rhythm.
During the interval, stepping out of the auditorium, I was greeted with a sparkling view of Tivoli Gardens with the lit-up swing carousel and a tall Christmas tree.
There aren’t a lot of places to go during the intermission, with some guests opting to step outside onto the terrace in front of the park.
With these caveats does this make this a ballet to avoid, or even a theater to avoid?
Not necessarily. If you are planning on visiting Tivoli, the performance gets you free entrance. The show, for a relatively affordable price, is a decent ballet experience.
Though if you are in the market for a more traditional experience, then the Danish Royal Theater will serve you much better.
Noah Haynes is a Correspondent with Youth Journalism International.
