In an interesting co-production, Queensland Ballet has collaborated with Hong Kong Ballet and Atlanta Ballet to present 'Coco Chanel: The Life Of A Fashion Icon’.
Choreographed by Belgian-Colombian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, we were promised a sumptuous show, with a stunning visual impact and gorgeous modern ballet dancing, and this is exactly what was delivered.
Attendees will be well aware of the turbulent life of French designer Coco Chanel, and her status as a strong-willed woman who rose from a poor background to the pinnacle of the fashion world, where she worked tirelessly until she passed in 1971, aged 87. Perhaps the audience may be less aware that strong yet flawed women have been a constant theme behind other works delivered by Lopez Ochoa, who has choreographed stage works based on such strong-willed females as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, opera singer Maria Callas, and Argentina’s Eva 'Evita' Peron.
The ballet itself was not a traditional ballet, however revolved around a protagonist (of course being Coco Chanel, played by Neneka Yoshida), and her shadow (danced by Kaho Kato) who represented Chanel's own future self, the shadow providing guidance on navigating various complexities in business decisions and choices in matters of romance.
Yoshida is celebrating 10 years with Queensland Ballet, having been 'discovered' by former Queensland Ballet Artistic Director, Li Cunxin AO, and played the role beautifully. The dancing was subtle, and a highlight was a beautiful pas de deux between Chanel and her young romantic involvement Arthur Edward 'Boy' Capel (later killed in a car accident) played tonight by Patricio Reve.
This dance was stunning, the stage both lit and shadowed to perfection. The opening scene, showing where Chanel had come from in terms of an impoverished background was stunning, enhanced by some incredible music, particularly the brass section in this early piece. The first half dozen dances were presented with little or no colour, perfect in providing a stylish and sensual feeling, and it wasn’t until a later dance when we saw significant colour first appear; there were five individual dances on stage at this point, each a dance of four dancers, introducing some pastel colour in the dresses.
Image © David Kelly
This dance was supported by beautiful music, a combination of harp and flute.
Another highlight of Act One, was a black and white scene where a famous actress visits Chanel’s millinery business, leaving with a stunning pink hat. A number of the dances featured an over-the-top paparazzi highlighting the beautiful looks that had been created by Chanel’s groundbreaking fashions.
Act Two dealt with two themes in particular, being her brief relationship with composer Igor Stravinsky (Chanel is said to have financed his ground-breaking 'The Rite Of Spring'), and her relationship with Nazi Germany, including a romantic relationship with Baron von Dincklage.
The affair with Stravinsky was harshly dealt with, and ended with the musician leaving Chanel for his wife and children, high on one of the famed staircases. The Nazi issue was dealt with by various goose-steps and thinly-veiled salutes around military figures (presented as a dressmaker’s mannequins), but this is a part of her life that cannot be overlooked in her story. My impression during the curtain call was that the audience was most endeared to Neneka Yoshida (Chanel) and Patricio Reve (Boy Capel), and they were both my favourite dancers for the evening.
The overall standout feature for me throughout the evening was the set design, creating a beautiful, yet subtle, visual focal point. At all times during the evening, there was one or a pair of large spiral staircases, beautifully constructed and lit, providing a stunning visual magnet to the dancers other than the key dancers in a particular act. The staircases were well-telegraphed via pre-show media and photographs, but I really thought they stood out perfectly.
Other than this, the stage was very sparsely set, I thought all the more so than for a traditional ballet, hence further differentiating the show. Other set highlights were the huge tasselled curtains, used at various times to divide the stage, and from behind which only certain shadows were visible. Early in the set, we were treated to the beautiful use of elegantly-lit bentwood chairs, raised simply above the stage to form a chandelier above the Paris Jazz Age dancers.
Image © David Kelly
Further use of simple lit props was introduced via stunning large flowers, hung from the ceiling and again lit perfectly, creating a visual target without distracting from the dance. Set designer Jerome Kaplan stated that he tried to present a stage, “just like her style: simple, elegant and minimalist”. He succeeded perfectly in each aspect of this.
The music was another real highlight of the evening. Scored by Peter Salem and played by Queensland’s own Camerata, the music was perfect. Apparently this is the largest orchestra to have performed at Playhouse, and included two pianists, percussion and a great brass section. The score also featured pre-recorded music which was a perfect fit over the orchestra (as was the final scene which featured Coco Chanel’s voice, recorded in French).
Ahead of the show, Lopez Ochoa, who appeared in the curtain call on this premiere evening, made the following comment: “Chanel is an enduring legend, but her life remains a mystery to most people. I believe the audiences already familiar with Chanel’s iconic perfumes and designs are curious to know how the legacy came to be.”
Lopez Ochoa encouraged the audience to become better acquainted with Chanel’s background, in an attempt to understand some of the contrasts and complexities in Chanel’s story.
A special mention also has to be made of Brisbane’s ballet-going crowd. The audience was stunning, turned out in their very finest, more than worthy of the premiere evening of this important work.
A sumptuous visual presentation raised this ballet to a very high level. The dancing was perfect, the set design sublime, all supported by the wonderfully sumptuous score.
