Vanguard – Australian Ballet

Overview

There's nothing quite like the ballet to make one feel bumbling and ungainly, and in a strange, magical way, there's nothing quite like ballet — when it's good — to make one feel weightless and a little giddy. Of late, the Australian Ballet have been adept at the latter, and its latest production, Vanguard, is a dazzling triptych of style, skill and passion spread throughout three very different works: The Four Temperaments (1946), Bella Figura (1995) and Dyad 1929 (2009). Each piece unique, the staging of three allows us to see not just the past, present and future but also the diverse ground that the company is happily traversing.

The Four Temperaments is a landmark abstract ballet from the legendary Georges Balanchine, daring in its time and still so clean and modern now. Comprised of five parts, theme and the four humours — Melancholic, Sanguinic, Phlegmatic and Choleric — Balanchine's effortless precision is nicely realised. The darkly romantic Bella Figura sits boldly in the middle, much more richly mysterious than its bookends. Jiří Kylián's ballet focuses on a mix of strong and swirling gesticulations, sensuality and a welcome self-knowing humour. Here, the curtains fall and frame and interact with the dancers, adding drama to their dreamy, partially naked grace.

Returning to the company’s repertoire is the third and final ballet, Dyad 1929, created specifically for the Australian Ballet in 2009 by British choreographer Wayne McGregor, and this rendition is even more enjoyable than I remembered. Five years on, it's still an angular dazzler that invites each dancer to hold a unique space on the stage. The piece is dedicated to the memory of Merce Cunningham, and it's clear that his vision was of great influence to McGregor, with Dyad 1929 (the sister piece to Dyad 1909) as coolly energetic as its frenetic score by Steve Reich.

If you’ve just seen First Position, the latest in the long chorus line of limber tween and teen dancing documentaries, this serves as a neat double (quadruple?) bill. First, the agony of overstretched limbs and exhaustively long hours caught on camera, followed by a live display of strength and beauty. Vanguard has been put together so effectively, you'll not just leave feeling buoyant; you'll probably want a restorative ice bath, too.

Photo by Branco Gaica.