Or something more like "This! I want this! This look! This energy! This mood!" Like get a load of this amazing production of Prokofiev's ballet, Romeo and Juliet. First, shot:
And then chaser:
I first shared this at Mastodon, as I was absolutely mesmerized by the "Dance of the Knights" segment. Too short, though. It obviously got cut off when there was still roughly a minute and a half left of the song.
However, what really got me was the overall look of the production: all black, with the women also in all black dresses. The men are dancing with swords, their costumes just incredible in the stark silhouettes and the simplicity of the backdrop. And the women in their equally stripped down costumes and absence of headdresses. There's a very modern edge to the whole thing, which I just love even though I'm very much a traditionalist when it comes to classical music and ballet.
Oh, and did I mention the glasses? I'm a sucker for glasses on men. It's bad enough I'm gawking at male ballet dancers. But a male ballet dancer with glasses? More, please!
I've been so used to brightly colored and lush productions like this one from the Royal Ballet, which makes for an eye-popping experience if you were to watch the ballet in person.
That said, my accidental stumbling over the Ballet Zurich's production on Youtube is the one niggling at me. I'm thinking of using that as a springboard for Voices in the Briars, actually, and even if it's not an injection of the scene itself or the dancers or costumes, the overall atmosphere (brooding, forbidding, uneasy) and visual composition (stark, black with tiny hints of light and color, severe lines and stripped down silhouettes) will definitely feed the brain with the inspiration it needs.
Anyway, I thought to post these videos here not just for something fun for visitors, but also for my benefit. I want to be able to go back and watch all three for a study in contrast and a nudge in whatever direction this kind of artistry will send me. So exciting!
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