Narrative Ballet and Two of the Best Roles in Dance Drama

Two reviews of recent performances of Brontë-related ballets:

Cathy Marston's Wuthering Heights reviewed by The Guardian:

Cathy Marston is one of the few choreographers of her generation committed to remastering the story ballet, and Wuthering Heights represents her most exciting attempt to date. Ignoring previous melodramatic attempts on Emily Brontë's novel, Marston goes straight to the eye of the narrative storm, paring it down to emotional and symbolic essentials.
Using a semi-abstract score by Dave Maric and an equally reduced set - slabs of free-standing rock and a hanging mesh of rope - Marston's approach may appear cool, but from the opening scene, where Cathy and Heathcliff tumble freely on the moors, surrounded by a chorus whose dancing evokes both elemental solidity and airy wildness, Marston uses all her choreographic intelligence to portray the passions of her characters. Her use of the chorus is central. When Heathcliff is forced to leave Cathy, his violent, angular reactions are echoed by the three men who surround and box him in.
Yet Marston can be equally good at focusing the dramatic spotlight. The trio of Cathy, Heathcliff and their victim Isabella displays a dense drama of abasement, desire and revenge. There is brilliantly original material here, given fine performances by Switzerland's Bern:Ballett, yet it doesn't quite fulfil Marston's mission of delivering a new style of narrative ballet.
The problem is that she doesn't know how much of a storyteller she wants to be. At times, she gives us too much plot - the character of Hindley makes confusing and unnecessary appearances - or too little, skimping on pivotal moments, such as Cathy falling for Edgar. This only works as a Wuthering Heights ballet for those who have read the novel. (Judith Mackrell)

And the Ballet Magazine reviews the Northern Ballet Theatre's performances of yet another Wuthering Heights ballet: David Nixon's.

I think WH is one of David Nixon's biggest achievements during his tenure at NBT. Just as Romeo & Juliet and A Christmas Carol are still essential parts of the company's repertoire, I suspect WH will be entertaining audiences for many years.
Dance seems the perfect medium for a story of obsessive, destructive love and this production doesn't disappoint. For a start it has a clear, accessible narrative, very effective use of a dance vocabulary for each of the characters, a stunning and evocative set as well as a lush, romantic score by Claude Michel Schonberg. It really is staged so well - the wedding scenes especially effective (heathcliff's arrival always has a real frisson that reminds me of Adam Cooper's arrival at the ball in the second act of MAtthew Bourne's Swan Lake...)
And there's a new generation of dancers to tackle what must be two of the best roles in dance drama. At Thursday's matinee in Hull Georgina May danced Cathy with the aura and technique of a principal dancer. And Tobias Batley was a revelation to me as Heathcliff. He gavesuch a strong, dramatic performance that I can't believe he's somehow slipped under my radaro so far. Heathcliff's seduction (if we can call it that) of Isabella was rutal but compelling.... I wonder what questions the teachers in the school party in the stalls had on the bus back to Bridlington..... How marvellous to see a young British dancer have the chance to perform such a challenging
At Thursday's evening performance, Keiko Amemori was the perfect cathy, a genuine "wild, wicked slip" whose delicacy contrasted so much with Chris Hinton-Lewis's passionate Heathcliff. A different reading to Tobias Batley's, he brought out the pathos in the character while showing the demons that drive Heathcliff to destruction.
Another excellent production in what's a brilliant season. A nice innovation in the programme too, with great group pictures of the company instead of the usual mugshots. (Claire Suddaby)

Categories: Dance, Wuthering Heights