Review: DON JUAN at Kinneksbond

Last Saturday, the Kinneksbond was proud to present the ballet Don Juan, once again delighting the audience with a production put together by the Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole. The show was preceded by the shorter story Les Amours d'Alexandre et de Roxane, a simple yet charming tale about the effects that love can have even on enemy nations at the peak of a conflict. You could see, however, that most of the company's efforts were put in the production of Don Juan, and rightfully so, because the end result was quite remarkable.

The epic legend of the famous libertine seems perfectly suitable for a ballet play. What better way to portrait the spirit of a womanizer, of a rakehell that does most of his conquering through body language and mannerisms? The dancers were exceptional at letting their characters' personalities be understood by nothing but movement, which is particularly commendable, given how often the general audience requires dialog or song in order to comprehend what a character is all about. When witnessing the interactions between Don Juan and Sganarelle you were not looking simply at the grace of their steps, nor at how they were progressing the narrative. Their bodies were openly and at all times telling you their emotions, their feelings and their beliefs.

For those who are familiar with the play and with the world of dance, comprehending the subtleties of ballet movements is usually not hard. But for the general public to be given such a clear understanding of a character in this type of art, that is indeed a challenge. And for that we applaud the Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole and all the artists involved in this project.

We would also like to give praise to the costumes used in the show. The scenery was constructed in a quite simplistic way, which is not uncommon in productions that need to use as much stage space as possible, but the outfits were just formidable. The wonderful choreography of the fighting scenes, for instance, was truly made epic by the swaying of robes and jackets. These are the little things that can turn someone curious about ballet classics into a lifelong fan.

Once again, thank you for a great night.

Image credit: Arnaud Hussenot

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