BALLET
" Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas." (Cambridge Theatre.) THE Marquis de Cuevas' Ballet is making a welcome return to London at the Cambridge Theatre. During the three weeks of its season it will present five new works, but at the premiere on Monday night our enjoyment did not come from the programme, which comprised only familiar ballets, but mainly from the per- formance of one of the dancers, and this in the last item of the evening. As a curtain-raiser we were presented with. about the most unlyrical and unmusical performance of Les Sylphicles I. have ever seen from a first-class company. It must be admitted that the danseuses were hampered by lack of space and by the music, but all the same they were without that poetic flow of movement which is the essence of this beautiful choreography. George Zoritch's performance was the one redeeming feature ; his splendid physique, ease of execution and personal style suggest a dancer of no mean potential. Night Shadow, effectively re-dressed, is a ballet which has disappointed me so often that I have come to the conclusion that it is simply pretentious. It aims at a certain profundity and achieves no more than a scratch on the surface. The Raymonda Pas de Deux, an exceedingly difficult arrangement for the ballerina, was danced by Rosella Hightower and George Skibine. It is always a pleasure to see the latter. He has a youthful gaiety and joy in his art which make him quite irresistible, even though at times he is untidy and careless in his execution. Rosella Hightower still retains most of the prodigious technical ability which was one of the highlights of the last de Cuevas season, but she has lost her fluidity and line because her movements end at the waist instead of being carried right through into her head and arms. It is worrying to see so sensitive and sympathetic an artist in danger of becoming another virtuoso. I remember The Enchanted Mill as being a clumsy and boring affair, but on Monday night it was completely transformed for me by the roguish interpretation of Harriet Toby as the Young Girl and by the unexpected brilliance of the newcomer, Serge Golovine. This boy, in his middle 'twenties, with a face not unlike Jean Babilee's, is most exciting. To judge from one appearance, he would seem to have everything necessary for the making of a great male dancer. His 'Was the deserved triumph of the evening, and it is with the keenest antici- pation that we look forward to his subsequent roles.
LILLIAN BROWSE.
Previous page
