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EVERYTHING ABOUT ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLETS GISELLE WAS GENIUS!
REVIEW
I will never forget this, Giselle. I will always see this Giselle as unique, standing on its own and reinvented in a way that was made compelling, strengthened by not one element but all of the effects to make it a superb work of art. Bravo a thousand times to the English National Ballet.
Akram Khan’s stunningly directed and choreographed work was nothing less than brilliant; waves of exquisitely inspired dance were deeply felt through its display of outstanding technique married to poetry in motion danced by exceptional artists. Khan’s poignant perspective set the stage for something far more haunting than I anticipated. If one ultimately gives themselves over to this new narrative, chances are they are in some etheric place of inspiration where they can escape and leave their body wrapped up in the creation.
Complementing Khan’s masterful direction and choreography were the spellbinding compositions and sound design by Vincenzo Lamagna, who created stirring nuances that emerged from Adolphe Adam’s 1841 original work. In this Giselle, there are no noblemen or peasants but migrant garment workers and landlords. Their backdrop is a “wall” with hundreds of handprints given to desperation. Love turns to despair as we realize that Giselle is being duped by Albrecht, the man she loves…
