A model of dance finesse, Ballet Illuminations is a Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT) presentation that has been making its delicate presence felt at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) for the past decade.
“SDT began its annual visits to Malaysia for performances in 2010, with our first invitation from klpac,” says Janek Schergen, SDT’s Artistic Director of the show. “The audiences there welcomed SDT with a warmth and generosity that has led to our annual visits and now we find ourselves looking forward, each year, to our annual season in Malaysia. We like to offer you a balance of our repertoire’s highlights so you can experience us at our best!”
Choreography Compilation
Bestowing not just a nice dose of variety but appreciable depth into their performances this year, SDT is presenting a number of works from masters of ballet.
First on the line-up is famed choreographer George Balanchine’s Serenade, a piece inspired by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s score, Serenade for Strings. Blue is the core colour of this ballet, present on the background and on the costumes of 28 dancers, who work their way through four movements – ‘Sonatina’, ‘Waltz’, ‘Russian Dance’,” and ‘Elegy’.
Next is the evening’s centrepiece, Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, which was initially put together for American Ballet Theatre. 26 dancers, resplendent in their radiant outfits, unfurl their elegant movements to music by Tchaikovsky in a masterful showcase of ballet that never fails to leave audiences in awe.
Completing the evening is a ballet specially made for SDT by Timothy Harbour, a resident choreographer of The Australian Ballet, for the Singaporean company’s 30th Anniversary season in 2018. Latin for ‘the adoration of lines’ or ‘the glory of lines’, Linea Adora was crafted to a recent Philip Glass composition, and features every member of the company.
Helping Schergen bring these ballets to life is a seasoned artistic team that includes Ballet Master Mohamed Noor Sarman, as well as Principal Artists Chihiro Uchida, Etienne Ferrère and Kenya Nakamura. With shows spread over a weekend, there should be little trouble witnessing their brilliant moves first hand.
Ballet Illuminations
WHERE Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur
WHEN 8.30pm (6 Sept), 3pm & 8.30pm (7 Sept), 2 pm (8 Sept)
ADMISSION RM25-48
TEL 03 4047 9000
klpac.org