Date and Venue June 9 2017, 8pm at Surrey Arts Centre, 13750 - 88 Ave

Reviewer Ed Farolan

What a wonderful show! The dancers had to take three bows for the Surrey audience who stood on their feet in ovation for the magnificent production of this ballet.

In the past three years that I've been reviewing their shows (Swan Lake 2016 and Cinderella 2015), I've been impressed by the quality of this company's productions. The discipline, the preciseness, and the overall performance of these dancers from all over the world not only awed the audience but delighted them during this two-hour performance.

Japanese dancer Yu Suzuki (Giselle) was so graceful in her movements and the series of pas de deux with Brazilian dancer Diego Ramalho (Albrecht) were amazing. I hardly saw any mistakes in their footing. Another dancer I was impressed with was British dancer Rebecca Middleton (Myrtha). That eerie look in her face and those ethereal dance movements only ghosts can do as they float in the air were outstanding.

In the first act, the set and the costumes were jovial and colourful, as they reflected the joy of the harvest season. In the second act, there's a stark contrast of mood, set and costumes. From the earthly harvest mood of the first act, the set opens midnight at a graveyard, and the ambience is supernatural and ephemeral as the ghosts of jilted brides rise from the dead to torment and kill graveyard visitors.

I was reminded of Swan Lake where all the dancers are in white and dancing in classical tempo to composer Adolphe Adam's music. It was a joy to watch these multicultural dancers' movements, something that's getting rarer to watch in the dance scene of today where most dancers take the easy way out and opt instead for undisciplined contemporary dance.

Kudos to Choreographer Irene Schneider for the exquisite choreography of this ballet, Accolades to Artistic Director Li Yaming and the production staff of this dance company for putting out another successful performance.

.© 2017 Ed Farolan