Three Ballets By Kenneth Macmillan: The Royal Ballet [2010]

Three half hour works by Kenneth MacMillan, which run the gauntlet from funny, through grim, to relaxed and beautiful.Elite Syncopations was, we are told in the brief introduction, created as an antidote to his darker, tragic works, and it succeeds very well. A cheery, lightweight piece, beautifully performed and characterised. I particularly liked Iohna Loots as the nice girl, and Sarah Lamb as the sexy starlet displays all her strengths. The duet between Paul Kay as the short boy, and Laura McCullock as his too tall partner is wonderfully funny. (Apologies for the misspelt names, by the way!) The design is witty and colourful, the rag time music performed by an onstage band with verve and enjoyment.The Judas Tree is a very dark work, which I personally feel goes too far for public performance. Magnificently danced, at one level it is clear that the woman (Leanne Benjamin) has provoked the lusts of the men until she is gang raped, which also leads to her murder (and resurrection), the murder of a friend and a suicide. Outside that, however, it is intrigingly unclear. Is the woman real? Or does she represent, for example, lust? Is the piece about the need to control male sexuality, in other words, a new take on the old sex equals death theme? And exactly who has betrayed exactly what? Dark designs also intrigue, and the music, which I believe was specially composed, complements and supports the action. I shall be watching the piece again, trying to work out what it is really about, and also for the excellent performances, with various dancers exploring the dark side of masculinity, but not for evening relaxation, which is how I tend to use ballet DVDs, even the classic tragedies.Concerto I found very beautiful. The coreography is wonderfully fitted to the (great)music, and there is no plot to distract from the sound and movement. The design is simple and calm, elegant and abstract, part of the work which is not always the case with some of the classics. I was slightly uncertain about the quality of Helen Chadwick as the solo girl, but I'm no expert on the technicalities of dance, and I often find a performance by an unfamiliar artist grows on me. Otherwise, it's gorgeous.I thought this was a very well balanced triple bill from a top ballet company, great music and which I'd recommend to any adult (not children, not with the Judas Tree on the disc) who wants to stretch their knowledge of ballet beyond the classics.

This disc contains three short ballets by MacMillan and show very different sides to his thinking. The Elite Syncopations and the Concerto ballets are very easy to enjoy at most levels, all of which are conventionally 'enjoyable'. 'Enjoyable' strictly meaning the giving and sharing of joy. However, the Judas Tree explores such dark areas of human behaviour that it is doubtful that much `enjoyment' as defined will or can be derived from such a dark scenario for many viewers even though they may be able to appreciate its technical creation and performance.To consider the Judas Tree first: This ballet from 1992 and MacMillan's last, essentially explores the circumstances leading up to the gang rape of a lone woman by 13 men. The setting is in a rather forbiddingly desolate industrial landscape (building site?) and one could immediately wonder why any woman would place herself in such a setting. There are biblical inferences whereby the utterly unpleasant foreman is named Judas, his friend is named Jesus and the girl seems to be able to cheat death as Lazarus.What is not in doubt is the skill that has gone into the creation and performance of this unsavoury story. However, one is left wondering what men or women would derive much enjoyment or pleasure from watching such a portrayal of group violation of a woman. We all know that such things can and do occur but is it a suitable artistic subject? Choosing to watch, let alone to 'enjoy' this ballet will inevitably be a very personal choice.The Concerto ballet from 1966 ends this program and is an altogether easier experience to share. The music is a well performed, but very slow version, of Shostakovich's Piano Concerto 2. In order for the ballet to be danceable the tempi have been markedly reduced - fine for the dancers but it robs the music of the intended vitality.The ballet is an abstract creation with groups of dancers creating shapes and movements very much reminiscent of the work of George Balanchine such as can be seen in his `Jewels' ballet. This is most attractive to watch and the lack of narrative is of no matter. Another major aspect of the ballet is the use of colour found in both the costuming and the very minimalist but effective backdrop. This is also reminiscent of George Balanchine who was a major influence at that time in these ways.The first item to be seen is the 1974 Elite Syncopations. This is a ballet set to Joplin's ragtime with a small group of musicians on stage and is a totally fun piece with good humour very much to the fore. This is a very colourful production with lots a imaginative costumes to match the music.The scenario is that of a dance event with different couples taking it in turns to do their number on the dance floor. This enables Macmillan to explore all sorts of characterisations from the self-admiring, through the amusing to the straight-forward attractive choreography. There is something for everyone here and different viewers will have different favourite sections. The unifying response should be of general delight though.The camera work is fully involving and the imaging is sharp and there is not a moment of movement blur despite fast actions in subdued lighting. The sound is full-ranging and is presented in surround 5.1 and stereo.This disc is clearly very appealing for two of the ballets that are otherwise unobtainable. The third ballet, the Judas Tree, is a more contentious issue as described above and will inevitably have far less general appeal. The three ballets taken together thus provide a significant overview of MacMillan's varied work.Such is the consistent excellence of the dancing throughout the disc that I would still suggest it is a disc very well worthwhile considering for purchase despite the obvious reservations expressed above concerning the artistic or emotional content of the Judas Tree.

Extraordinaire performances.Made me smile through out.Colourful costumes.Vibrant dancers.Treat for Xmas 🎄Bravo! 🎭

If you are a lover of Ballet then this is a wonderful Triple Bill. It would be worth buying for the first ballet alone. Elite Syncopations is one of the most delightful,and happy ballets ever coreographed. I have watched it several times and all the way through have a smile on my face and even laugh out loud on occasions. The dancing is superb and the Scott Joplin music exquisitely played.The second ballet is very dark and quite difficult to watch because of the story and I would strongly recommend that it not be shown to young children. But the dancing again is superb.The third ballet is Concerto, with no story, just pure dance, which again is a delight and beautifully danced. The Royal Ballet and Corps de Ballet have outsone themselves and I urge all lovers of dance to buy this DVD.

This triple bill needs to be reviewed in three parts. Elite Syncopations was truly wonderful. The cast clearly enjoyed themselves and the dancing was superb. I particularly enjoyed 'The Alaskan Rag'. 'Concerto' was certainly the best piece of dancing. I was not struck with 'The Judas Tree' It is not the violence I object to, so much as the indifference to it.

The quality of the DVD sound was VERY poor with quite a few breaks in production. I've seen this ballet and the music is so good that to have it stuttering along like that is very disappointing. I did however get the music on Prime and it is magic.

Thoroughly enjoyed the dvd.