However you've found your way to seeing a filmed version of a live performance of "Akram Khan's Giselle," the rewards are many. The performances are at the highest level where every ounce of their energy is required (the second act is performed entirely en pointe which is a staggering achievement.
Khan's choreography is a melding of classic ballet, modern dance and kathrank, one of India's classic dance forms.
The final pas de deux between Albrecht and the dead Giselle can reduce you to tears.
Purists may cry foul, but the conception stands on it's own with only suggestions of the original dramaturgy. But there's nothing in Khan's version that's any more or less clear in the original.
Plot summary
Hailed as a masterpiece of 21st century dance, Akram Khan’s Giselle comes to cinemas for the first time with Artistic Director, Tamara Rojo, dancing the role of Giselle, one of a community of migrant workers cast out of their jobs in a condemned garment factory. The classic story of love, betrayal and redemption has been reimagined in this stunning new version, with sets and costumes by Academy-Award winning designer Tim Yip (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), an ‘ominous, gothic’ (The Observer) adaptation of Adolphe Adam’s original score by composer Vincenzo Lamagna and performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic, dramaturgy from Ruth Little and lighting design from Tony Award-winner Mark Henderson. Filmed live at the Liverpool Empire in October 2017, Akram Khan’s Giselle is directed for the screen by Ross MacGibbon.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
September 10, 2022 at 07:03 PM