By Serene Serhan
On their second and last day of performance, the Ukraine State Ballet group’s rendition of Giselle earned them a five-minute applause from an enamored audience.
For those who missed their two days at Jerash, the group is planning on another visit to Jordan in September, said the director Maria Mesherekova.
Meanwhile, following Saturday’s performance, Jerash festival’s director general, Akram Masarweh said, “although the attendance to such elite functions are minimal, the festival will keep inviting them.”
“Such ballets are the essence of this festival,” he explained to the North Theater audience.
For the time being, the number of visitors to cultural events has been slowly but steadily increasing.
A unique factor of the Ukrainian State Ballet’s performance of Giselle is that the group steers away from embellishment, focusing solely on the classical version of the masterpiece.
“The group does not believe in enhancing the script in order to impress the new generations, they believe in presenting it the way it was supposed to be presented,” explained Mesherekova on Friday.
Consequently, aside from the group’s immaculate performance, another factor played a major role in the ballet’s success; its original creators.
In 1843, composer Adolphe Charles Adam and script of writer Theophile Gautier gave birth to Giselle, a ballet that was destined to become a unique and innovative piece of work.
The play fulfilled its destiny and more.
Since its inception, the ballet has become a pillar for ballerinas and a work that all works are measured by.
Some of the main themes discussed in the ballet include dualism, duplicity and destiny; subjects which were very controversial and taboo in the 1800s.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
