Movement and music

In many European countries where a symphony orchestra share a theatre and programme calendar with ballet and opera companies audiences can watch an opera one evening, a ballet the next and attend a classical music concert the following night. By contrast, in Thailand, only one orchestra has a permanent theatre and this doesn’t house any opera or ballet companies. Indeed the country’s opera and ballet companies are not in residence at any theatre.

For that reason alone, Bangkok Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) “Ballet Masterpieces with a Young Thai Master”, staged as part its “Great Artists Concert Series 2015” and in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday last month at the Thailand Cultural Centre, was a sheer delight for both classical music and ballet aficionados. In fact, the latter outnumbered the latter as the magnet of this concert was Ballet San Jose of Silicon Valley’s principal dancer, Bangkok-born and bred, Natnaree “Ommi” Pipit-suksun.

Under the baton of guest conductor Martin Andre and veteran concertmaster Siripong Tiptan, the orchestra got the audience into the mood for dance with the familiar score of Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” Suite 1 No. 6 – the balcony scene. It sounded quite a challenge for members of the orchestra and they didn’t actually reach the dramatic apex. That slight disappointment was diminished when Ommi and her Cuban partner Rudy Candia entered the stage to perform another familiar piece, the White Swan pas de deux from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”. This first piece clearly demonstrated why Ommi has reached the highest rank in a ballet company – her interpretation of Petipa’s choreography was effortless and full of passion and her technical prowess could not be faulted.

As soon as the Thai ballerina made a few steps, an audience member behind me accompanying her daughter uttered, “What long limbs!” in a tone that roughly translated as “My daughter will never have such long limbs. I married the wrong guy perhaps.”

While the two dancers were changing their costumes, the orchestra performed the overture from “Romeo and Juliet” and the first part of the programme wrapped after the pair performed the less dramatic and more technically demanding “Pas d'Andante and Strette-Galop” from Delibes’s “Sylvia”, with Balanchine’s choreography.

The second part opened with the pair exuding romance with their pas de deux “Meditation de Thais”, choreographed by Ballet San Jose’s Karen Gabay to the score of Massenet’s opera. The orchestra continued with Ravel and Faure and later the duo returned with the familiar “Carmen Suite”. While the orchestra sounded more at ease with this piece than at any other time in the evening, the same couldn’t be said for Ommi and Candia, who despite having mastered the technicality of the movements choreographed by Gabay, needed to work on their characterisation. It was the least sultry “Carmen” I’d ever watched.   

The memorable evening concluded with Suite 2 No 1 from “Romeo and Juliet” although it didn’t end with a bang as, like in many parts of the concert, the musicians were much less familiar with the score than the dancers who, hence, enjoyed performing it more.  

Another problem was the fact that the performance space was quite limited, not least because the orchestra was on stage rather than in the pit. And with the audience able to see dancers, musicians and the conductor at all times, Candia’s occasional moments of unease could hardly be missed.

Let’s hope that the young ballet dancers, and their parents, in the house that night will return for BSO’s next performance. Like in many other fields and in direct contrast to what’s happening in many other countries, our separation of young artists into specialised fields for their training makes it difficult for them to draw links and make connections to the rest of the artistic world.

 

A change of pace

- Next up in the BSO 2015 Concert Series is “Musical Rock”, for which Michael England will hold the baton and West End performer Jenna Lee-James, and two other singers, yet to be named, will perform hit numbers.

- It takes place on October 21 at 8pm at Thailand Cultural Centre’s Main Hall. 

- Tickets are now at Thai Ticket Major counters and online.

- For more information, visit www.BangkokSymphony.org.