Limitless
classic
ballet
12
Classical ballet evening in two parts
Limitless. Four classical ballets that push the boundaries of achievability. That demand superhuman performance and virtuosic technical skill from the dancers. George Balanchine’s choreographies Theme & Variations and Sylvia Pas de Deux feature the graceful elegance of classical ballet. William Forsythe’s piece The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude was intended as a true homage to the technique of classical technique. Harald Lander’s one-act Études, on the other hand, is literally about technique and how it is practised and mastered. A programme that shows what the human body is capable of is practically limitless.
Sylvia Pas de Deux
Theme & Variations
“The company of the Hungarian National Ballet performed the Neoclassical challenge [that is represented by Theme and Variations] with dancerly grace. (…) The elegant set was designed by István Rózsa, the costumes by Nóra Rományi, and the lighting design was the work of the ballet director, Tamás Solymosi." (Ira Werbowsky, Der neue Merker)
Conductor
Main female soloist
Main male soloist
The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
Although the works of American ballet dancer and choreographer William Forsythe use classical technique as their starting point, he is capable of thinking them through further, often taking them to the extreme. An example of this is his 11-minute piece The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, created for three female and two male dancers. In it, solos, pas de deux, pas de trois and ensembles alternate, with no plot, to the virtuosic and sublime final movement of Schubert's (“Great”) Ninth Symphony.
The work, which today is already considered one of the most challenging short ballets to perform, pays tribute to classical technique. Joining In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, it is the second of Forsythe's pieces to make it into the Hungarian National Ballet's repertoire.
"Agile, ethereal and precise." (Krisztina Horeczky, Tánckritika.hu)
First girl
Second girl
Second boy
Études
Études is one of choreographer Harald Lander's most outstanding creations, one that he crafted for the Danish Royal Ballet in 1948. Beginning with the five positions of ballet and exercises beside the bare, it goes on to show certain parts of the rehearsal process, finally culminating in the grand finale of the completed Performance. Études depicts the everyday work of ballet dancers in its full reality and grandeur: the beauty and aesthetics of classical ballet and the joy and thrill of Dance.
“Both ballets are extreme compilations of vigorous ballet technique. Those ballets require virtuosity in bursts, often punctuating less onerous scènes d’action; these ballets require a lexicon of the toughest dance vocabulary, from start to finish….In particular, one must applaud the excellence of the ballet masters for the overall magnificence of the corps de ballet across both works.” (Graham Watts, Bachtrack)
Conductor
First male soloist
Second male soloist