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Calgary Herald
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Review: Alberta Ballet shines with whimsy and charm in updated version of classic Don Quixote
Article content Alberta Ballet artistic director Francesco Ventriglia promised that his 2025 season finale production of Don Quixote would be an 'over-the-top rainbow of colours' world premiere, and the company certainly delivered on that for opening night. Article content Article content The Jubilee Auditorium was alive with Spanish dance, fine handmade costumes, bejewelled traditional tutus and waistcoats, and replete with some pretty slick traditional ballet. While it has been a long and gruelling season for Alberta Ballet, requiring fine-tuning and upgrades of personnel throughout the year, the results Thursday night largely spoke for themselves. A young corps and an established group of veteran soloists took on the challenge of performing Ventriglia's re-imagining of Petipa's 1869 masterpiece with a lucidity and grace that blended well into often nuanced extravagance, thanks in large part to Gianluca Falaschi's eye-catching costumes and Italo Grassi's bright set designs. Article content The goal of this splashy production was pure fun, and there was a lot to be had from the very start. Starting in the Act I square set in Barcelona, filled with as much local colour as we might expect to see, the ballet made its immediate impact on an attentive audience. Article content We were plunged into more of a fantasy of Spain, one more likely to be dreamed out of a novel by a cheerfully dreamy Quixote pursuing his ideal love, Dulcinea. Don Quixote's character was danced and acted with a sympathy rarely found in a young Quixote by a remarkably evocative Yaroslav Khudych, who ably substituted the traditional 'old man' role for a young dreamer. I think I prefer it this way: A young Quixote off on his dream adventure, surrounded by a young dance company projecting a youthful and vibrant atmosphere. It worked well throughout and displayed more of Ventriglia's vision of the company's future for the next decade, one that restocks the pond with new talent. Article content Article content Article content However, it is usual in Quixote to focus on the lovers Kitri and Basilio, danced with a practised aplomb by Alexandra Hughes and Aaron Anker. Their onstage romance is offset by a strong corps of supporters, sailors and fisherwomen, ladies and bridesmaids, matadors and, in Act II, some very nattily attired Romani (gypsies), who all seemed to collectively nurture the young lovers despite blocking figures Gamache and Lorenzo (Rikuto Kubota and Zachary Boresow). Through it all was the commedia dell'arte troupe led by Sancho Panza (Mirko Melandri) and assorted Friends (Hinata Takahara, Hotaru Maruyama). Article content Article content The action remained convincing throughout: It is a tricky matter to make the narrative thread of the lovers' story flow unbroken from start to finish, and often directors lose the thread through the labyrinth of so much choreography. By Act III, when we are presented with variation after variation and one pas de deux followed by a grand solo followed by the next at the wedding scene, it can feel overwhelming, but entirely in a way that ballet fans enjoy. What I appreciate about Ventriglia is his not making complexity feel like a burden, but rather conveying the simpler tone of an art that conceals art. There is more work and time poured into this production than meets the eye, and the grand ballets of Act III, which rounded out the love story with unexpected pith and welcomed nuance, brought the story full circle and to a satisfactory close. Article content Article content The hardworking corps de ballet seemed to respond well to this approach, paying fastidious attention to the choreography's avalanche of detail. And make no mistake – there is a lot of choreography throughout this show, enough for both the eye and ear to provide an aesthetic feast. Ludwig Minkus' music, so often looked down upon in ballet circles as too trite or supremely melodic at best, is certainly a mischaracterization. We do not pay adequate attention to the richness of Minkus' harmonic rhythm combined with lush orchestration. Article content Quixote is a polished mid-Romantic era score. To hear Minkus is to hear and see pure colour, and it is that colour that moves a musically trained Ventriglia to design a show around the supremacy of light and hue in which both sonic colour and costume colour direct his choreographic intent. Article content And yet, regardless of the sheer volume of dance this show has to offer, the centrepiece still fell squarely on Act II, featuring Quixote's shimmering dream within his fantasy: the Kingdom of Dryads, one of the most moving scenes in all of classical ballet. Here, the company was at its best, especially Luna Sasaki's ethereal Cupid, my favourite of the whole night. Alexandra Hughes was splendid again, playing her own double in the Dulcinea variation. While not quite the dreamy underworld of La Bayadère, the Act II Dryads scenes are a balm of soft light. Traditional yet restrained choreography created for each of the soloists, and especially a divine corps de ballet of 12, is quite an accomplishment for dancers and stagers alike. It led easily to the fun Tavern scene in Act III and the wedding scene's elegant joy, thanks to an excellent corps of bridesmaids and a very fine lovers' pas de deux. Article content However, it was the overall feel of the ballet that gave us a lot to celebrate. Matadors and, in particular, a very fine Espada – danced and acted consummately by Caleb Durbin – blended fine staging with groove and engaging accent. Perhaps the best of all were the Fandango dancers who took balletic colour to a whole new height. The resplendent Fandango scene reminded us that music, literature, movement and merriment are the healing miracles acted out through dance to soothe our conflicts, especially those gargantuan windmills that exist within all our minds, waiting to be conquered with art.
Calgary Herald
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
'Mariko is a diamond': After 17 seasons, Alberta Ballet principal dancer Mariko Kondo's final performance will be in Don Quixote
Article content Mariko Kondo says she is trying not to think about the end. Article content Article content As the date nears for her final bow as a principal dancer at Alberta Ballet in Don Quixote, she is attempting to keep her mind on the task at hand. But sometimes the reality sinks in. Article content 'For now, I still feel the same,' says Kondo, in an interview with Postmedia. 'I'm just going through my daily routine. Nothing has changed. But recently, I have been going through my photos and my memories. It's quite emotional. It's bittersweet.' Article content Article content After 18 years with Alberta Ballet, Kondo's final Calgary performance will take place on Saturday at the Jubilee Auditorium. She is performing the role of Mercedes in artistic director Francesco Ventriglia's new adaptation of the famous ballet, which will run from Thursday to Saturday. Mercedes dances with bullfighter Espada in the ballet, firing up the production with a sultry and celebratory dance backed by an entourage. Article content Article content After performing in the Nutcracker in 2023, Kondo took a year off after a dance injury. While she initially thought the injury would put an end to her career, she battled back because she was determined to finish on her terms and 'say goodbye from the stage.' Article content Article content Most recently, she performed as Glinda in last month's Alberta Ballet production of The Wizard of Oz. Earlier this month, she performed in Dubai after Alberta Ballet was invited by the United Arab Emirates to perform A Thousand Tales Ballet. Choreographed by Ventriglia, it included pieces from Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. Article content Article content Kondo played the White Swan. Article content 'I didn't think of going to Dubai at the end of my career,' she says with a laugh, 'But it was something I had never experienced before. The city and the beautiful opera house. Everything was more than I imagined.' Article content But Kondo says the timing feels right for her to take her final bow. Article content 'The injury was a big thing for me,' she says. 'I was injured in 2022 and I had pain since, but somehow I danced. But it is time for me. I don't know, but I just feel physically and mentally, it's a good time.'
Khaleej Times
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Canada's Alberta Ballet wows Dubai audience with performance of A Thousand Tales
Following a hugely successful premiere back in 2023, the new, contemporary ballet A Thousand Tales marked its return to Dubai, UAE on April 4 and 5, 2025, in a restaging that charmed audiences across the GCC region and beyond with its enthralling mix of classical charm, timeless narrative, and spellbinding musical score. Organised by SAMIT Event Group, with direction and choreography by Francesco Ventriglia and music from Alexey Shor, A Thousand Tales follows the White Rabbit from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as he goes on a quest in service of the Prince from Cinderella, attempting to find the true owner of a golden shoe dropped by a mysterious unknown woman who stole the Prince's heart. Along the way, he meets with a wide variety of characters from seminal childhood tales known the world over, including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Puss in Boots, The Three Musketeers, and many more, with some offering assistance and others challenging him in his noble quest. Taking on the role of writer, director, and choreographer, Ventriglia was the creative lead behind the production, arriving in Dubai with Canada's Alberta Ballet dance company, whom he heads as artistic director. "Dubai is an incredible place", Ventriglia said, "and for us to come here now, it's amazing because it's an opportunity to show the work that Alberta Ballet has been doing, and to make sure that the name of the company can be internationally recognised. It's the first time ever that the company has come to Dubai and I think that we are the first Canadian ballet company performing here, so we're really very proud to be representing the country here, and A Thousand Tales is such an amazing show! It's an event for everyone, of every age! It's a fairy tale, but it's also a real ballet, with real dance technique and ballet technique which is actually very challenging, but it comes across beautifully". Ventriglia also took the time to single out the ballet's musical score, around which the entire production was constructed, remarking that "it was really the easiest thing in the world to choreograph to Alexey Shor's music, because it's so beautiful. I really love Alexey's compositions, and in fact I keep telling him that we need to do a new ballet together again some time because I really love his works, and it's so natural to create dances for this music. It's not simple music but it's perfect for ballet. The way it's constructed is very clever; there's a narrative to it, and the collaboration with him has been incredible from day one!" These sentiments were shared by the rest of the production team behind the show, with Roberta Guidi Di Bagno, the globally-acclaimed mind behind the ballet's stunning sets and costume designs, declaring that "the music is so descriptive! I'm absolutely in love with Maestro Shor's music because I think he is so poetic and so danceable, and the way Francesco translated it into ballet is just pure art!". The renowned Valerio Tiberi, meanwhile, who was the lighting designer for the production, had similar things to say, as he noted that "the music is really great; it's got all these melodies, with different rhythms and different colours and it's really wonderful. I think Francesco created a very nice combination to tell the story, because there is a comprehensive story behind the ballet, and the music is the main base, with everything else on top to help with the storytelling aspect you know". Taking centre stage during the shows themselves, meanwhile, were the dancers of Alberta Ballet, who made up both the entirety of the corps de ballet, as well as the vast majority of the principal roles. These included Aaron Anker, in the role of Prince Florian, and The Beast; Alexandra Hughes as Cinderella; Luna Sasaki as The Beauty, and Snow White; Scotto Hamed-Ramos as Aladdin, and Rothbart; Caleb Durbin as Prince Charming; Mariko Kondo as Jasmine, and the White Swan; and Mario Galindo from Spain's Compañía Nacional de Danza as the White Rabbit. "This is my first time visiting Dubai, and I'm thrilled to be here", Anker said, in comments that were echoed by many of his castmates. "It's really cool, everything's huge, the streets are huge, the buildings are huge... the scale of everything is massive, and the architecture and the design of everything is so amazing and beautiful!" "The ballet itself is really great", he continued, "I think it's a brilliant way of sort of bringing together a lot of stories that people recognise. It's a fun story, and the music, well, first of all it's beautiful, really, really lovely music, and it's always a great treat to dance to beautiful music. I 100 per cent believe that the music is first, the music makes the dance, because as a dancer you're not really much without the music! So yes, to me the music comes first and then we add to it, so it's really great that it's a beautiful score which fits perfectly with the story, and it really reflects the characters as well, which is cool". Conversely, Shor himself, the man behind the music, was also left impressed by the proceedings on the stage, with the composer exuberantly praising the vision which his own art helped inspire. "I think Francesco has done an absolutely amazing job", he said, "and he's brought together such a fantastic team and a really amazing cast of dancers! I love the way he's interpreted the music and added his own vision to it, and the end result is just a truly magical experience in every way! As a composer it's a genuine honour to see my music being transformed in this way and forming the heart of this ballet, and I would really like to congratulate everyone involved for all the hard work they've put in to make this all come to life." Having reached yet another shining milestone in its journey, A Thousand Tales now looks to continue building on its success with new theatrical runs in different venues across the globe over the months to come. To keep up-to-date with all the latest information, do make sure to follow the production's social media channels, and official website at
