Paquita / Carmen / 5 Tangos

Carmen: a story of obsessive love

Say Carmen, and many people think of the femme fatale who dances on tabletops with a rose in her hair. But Ted Brandsen sees her more as a strong, independent woman. He created his Carmen in 2000 for West Australian Ballet, where he was artistic director at the time. The ballet, set to Rodion Shchedrin’s expressive arrangement of Georges Bizet’s famous opera, won the Australian Dance Award. In his choreography, Brandsen deliberately renounces all the clichés surrounding Carmen. He distils the story down to its core: an intense, destructive love between Carmen and Don José. Through sultry duets and dynamic ensemble scenes, the ballet inevitably builds towards a dramatic conclusion. 

Paquita: classical virtuosity with a modern flair

Marius Petipa’s Paquita, in its original 1846 version, is a rather long-winded love story about a Spanish Roma girl and a young officer. But the dazzling, pure dance section that the choreographer added in 1881 remains a favourite challenge for today’s dancers. This virtuosic Grand Pas Classique demands flawless technique. In 2012, associate artistic director Rachel Beaujean took a fresh approach to the ballet. “A work like this needs the panache that fits the times,” she says. Alongside the elegance and grandeur of Paquita, which is set at the Spanish court, expression, humour and acting skills are also of great importance. 

5 Tangos: repressed passion and cool distance

When Hans van Manen first encountered the music of Astor Piazzolla, it was love at first sight. He absolutely had to choreograph a ballet to it! In his 5 Tangos – set to five compositions by Piazzolla – Van Manen combines the repressed passion of the tango with the cool distance of classical ballet technique, deliberately avoiding any hint of ballroom or Latin folklore. With his electrifying work for fourteen dancers, he not only brought Piazzolla’s music to wider attention in the Netherlands, but also created a ballet that would become one of his most frequently performed choreographies worldwide.