IN A real treat for Galway ballet lovers, Ireland’s prima ballerina Monica Loughman brings her Irish Youth Russian Ballet Company to the Town Hall Theatre on Sunday February 20, with its production of the classic French ballet, Giselle.
One of the most elegant and dramatic ballets in the dance canon, this staging of Giselle features Loughman herself in the title role and Robert Gabdullin (ex-Perm State Ballet ) as Prince Albrecht.
The corps de ballet is drawn from the members of the Irish Youth Russian Ballet Company, all trained under the expert guidance of Ms Loughman since its foundation in 2007.
These dancers come from ballet schools throughout Ireland to participate and train with Ms Loughman, and the dance troupe have been rehearsing for their performance of Giselle since last September.
“I believe their commitment has paid off and proves that Ireland is capable of developing the highest calibre of ballet dancers that can deliver world class performances,” Ms Loughman declares. The production includes three Galway-based dancers from the Regina Rogers School of Ballet; Emma Collins, Catherine Walsh, and Sarah Gaffney.
A ballet of tremendous contrasts
Ahead of the troupe’s Town Hall visit, Regina Rogers – Galway spokesperson for IYRB’s Giselle – emphasised the ballet’s eminent position in the dance repertoire.
“Giselle would rank with the best ballets like Swan Lake,” she notes. “Visually, it’s a stunningly beautiful ballet. It’s your quintessential romantic ballet. It was first performed in 1841 at the height of the romantic movement so it incorporates all the familiar traits of romanticism.
“There was what I would call a morbid fascination at the time with the supernatural and the world of the afterlife so you’d have sinister spirits, good spirits, witches, and you get all of them in Giselle. From an audience perspective it’s a real pleaser because it’s a ballet of tremendous contrasts.”
Ms Rogers expands on the plotline of the ballet; “ In Act 1 we are introduced to this idyllic Germanic fairytale world – pretty peasant buildings, beautiful forests, and simple peasants who are dancing and celebrating the wine harvest when the ballet opens.
“The prettiest girl in the village, Giselle, is also the best dancer but she is also naïve. Along comes a tall, dark, handsome stranger who is smitten with Giselle, and as in all good fairytales he is a prince in disguise.
“Then a hunting party arrives on the scene among whom is a duchess who is engaged to the Prince. So the Prince is caught red-handed whereupon he denies he felt anything for Giselle, she’s grief-stricken, stabs herself, and dies and the curtain goes down.
“The second act is a complete contrast. Whereas the first act deals with humans, the second act brings us into the spirit world – we are introduced to an ethereal, misty, world in a moonlit forest with these beautiful, yet sinister, wraith-like creatures flitting through the trees.
“The Prince who is now guilt-stricken arrives in the forest with flowers to lay on Giselle’s grave but the spirits of girls who died before their weddings and are buried in the forest arise from their graves.
“Their leader is Myrtha, a cold, vengeful queen. She’s queen of the Wilis, a German word meaning spirits. Any unfortunate male who happens to find himself in the forest after midnight and crosses their path they are relentless toward him, and the Prince is commanded by Myrtha to dance until he dies.
“Giselle rises from her grave and begs for his life. Myrtha says ‘No’ so Giselle offers to dance with him and try and protect him. The Prince dances to the point of exhaustion and just when he is about to collapse we hear church bells announce the dawn and he is saved. So you have that whole romantic mix of love, loss, despair and redemption.
Myrtha, the baleful queen
“Giselle is regarded as the Hamlet of ballet,” says Ms Rogers. “The ballerina has to be a consummate actress – to bring her audience with her for instance at the end of Act One when Giselle loses her mind, and then in Act Two she has to be a superb technician because she’s onstage virtually the whole time and it’s a very tough, demanding, role.
“The lead role in IYRB’s staging will be danced by Monica Loughman accompanied by Robert Gabdullin, ex-principal of the Perm State Ballet, now with the Polish National Ballet so that will be stunning in itself.
“The corps de ballet are made up of young Irish dancers from all over the country including, I’m delighted to say, three of my own students. These girls go to Dublin every Sunday, it’s a very serious commitment but they’re learning a huge amount under Monica who is offering them the Russian training which many people consider to be the best in the world.”
One of the key roles in Giselle is that of Myrtha, baleful queen of the Wilis and in IYRB’s production it is taken by young Dublin dancer Aine McNamara who is also one of the teachers at Regina Rogers’ school.
“I started with Monica five years ago,” Ms McNamara explains “and then she asked me would I like to train under her and become a teacher with her so I spent two years training to be a teacher. Then when she set up the IYRB. I auditioned and got in.”
She goes on to share her thoughts on being in Giselle.
“We’ve never done a full ballet like this before and Myrtha is definitely the most challenging role I’ve danced,” she says. “It’s physically demanding of course, but mentally she’s very powerful, very commanding of the stage and you really have to feel that you’re her, that you’re controlling and merciless.
“Myrtha doesn’t care that Giselle loves the Prince or that the Prince loves her back. Monica is being very ambitious staging Giselle because it has never been done before here with a youth company and certainly not with leading roles given to Irish dancers. Everyone’s trained very hard for this.”
Giselle is at the Town Hall on Sunday February 20 at 8pm. Tickets are €25/22 and are available from www.tht.ie or by phoning 091 - 569777.
