A few weeks ago I suggested to a couple friends that we go see Giselle at the Kennedy Center. Great idea, right? Well yeah, it was such a good idea that they had already bought tickets..womp womp. Not being one to shy away from going solo, I bought a ticket for this past Tuesday. It's the Russian ballet for goodness' sake, I'm not gonna miss it because I have to go alone! Besides, as my mother pointed out, sometimes you absorb the dance better when you're watching alone. Complete focus and all that rot. So take that, friends who went without me!
Aaaanyway...check out the link above if you want a great plot summary. Now that that's been done I can get down to telling you about the best part of the ballet: murderous zombie spinsters. Yes. As most of my friends can tell you, I've always adopted the "embittered spinster" role, having been mostly single for most of my life, especially in those formative high school and college years when it seemed as if all the boys liked every girl except for me. FINE ASSHATS I DON'T LIKE YOU EITHER. Ahem. I've gotten past that stage in my life (it's funny how once you leave your women's college it's easier to find nice boys to be friends with, isn't it?) but I still relate to embittered spinsters. At the age of 23.
In Giselle's second act we find ourselves in the cemetery. Giselle has died of a broken heart because an asshat to end all asshats lied about being single, and about being a peasant. Apparently he wasn't lying about being in love with her, but I personally think cheaters of that order are universally con-men, so who really knows. In any case, Giselle is six feet under in a creepy, lake-side cemetery. At night, spirits of virgins who died before their wedding nights rise from the grave and trap men who cross their path, forcing them to dance to their death. Pretty sweet, am I right? It reminds me of Friday nights at DC9.
When the curtains rise you see a grave stage right, and a lake backdrop. There are some plant props upstage and a light fog on the perimeter. Some flashing lights appear, scaring away Hans (who appears briefly). Suddenly you can hear the lightest tapping sound, so quick it's almost like fluttering. Myrthe appears upstage left, en pointe, her feet so close together and moving so fast that she appears to be floating behind the plants. Even when she moves past them and you can see her feet, she still looks weightless. In this production she was wearing a white tulle dress, tea-length, with a jewel clip on the bodice (to distinguish her from the ordinary Wilis). Her solo dance was so beautiful that I wished a whole ballet had been written about her. This Giselle chick with the weak heart is not nearly as interesting as the woman who commands a fleet of dancing death zombie spinsters. Maybe I should start writing that play. Anyway, check out the videos below for a couple of interpretations of the dancing Wilis. And next time the Russian Ballet is in town, get tickets. Even if it's just for yourself!
Maria Alexandrova (Bolshoi Ballet) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwtkQjWWnss&feature=related
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