Paquita

The performance turned out brilliant, beyond any expectations. It has three acts; the first is a fully fledged ballet in which meticulous pantomime alternates with dances according to the old scheme. However, the scheme is full of beautiful moves from the time when the Russian Paquita was born, cleared of the subsequent stupidity of the «ballet of achievements»; the pointes in the rounds do not go up to the knee, but to the ankles, the vectors are delicate, the legs are not pulled over the head. And the action is loaded with emphases like the promenade of the soloists with little accurate jumps, dense strides, hands over the dancers’ heads: discreet little things that make the old-time ballet really old.

This is a grand curatorial project, the meaning and meanings of which go far beyond the narrow workshop framework, (.) but at the same time far from any kind of snobbery, a full-blooded spectacle, a spectacular show, paradoxically sharpened by the audience success: have we seen for a long time a curtain raising Before each of the three acts was accompanied by a burst of applause?