When I was looking to see what else Clarissa and I might go see when I visited her, I discovered that Matthew Bourne’s production of The Red Shoes would be at New York City Center—and that Sara Mearns of New York City Ballet and Marcelo Gomes of ABT would be making their debuts in the lead roles.  So that sealed the deal; I got us tickets for that as well.

I realized that I haven’t seen any of Bourne’s work, aside from the Swan Lake excerpt that’s in Billy Elliott, so I didn’t really know what to expect.  And it’s been years since I saw the film of The Red Shoes.  It was never a favorite of mine.  In fact, I have never really loved any of the ballet movies that have been made—they tend to be sad!  But The Red Shoes is special, and it’s in a league of its own as far as casting and choreography.  Moira Shearer was no slouch.

This production was immediately engrossing.  I was particularly impressed with one of the set pieces, a smaller curtain and proscenium arch that rotated, depending on whether the action was taking place onstage or backstage.  I thought that was terribly clever, and an economical way to convey something that could have been confusing.  When Act I ended, Clarissa and I just looked at each other.  “Wow!” we said.  “That was very dramatic!”  It was, but it was also wonderful.  Choreographically, I have no strong takeaways from the performance, but I found it to be compelling and interesting and very creative.  Clarissa was struck by the abandon that Ms. Mearns brought to the ballet within a ballet.  I enjoyed the many inside jokes, most of all when the principal dancer marked her part onstage, carrying her costume back and forth to help with lighting cues but doing no actual dancing.

My overall takeaway was of having been entertained.  It’s definitely a show, a production.  The costumes are great, as are the scenic elements.  I was curious to see how they staged the heroine’s death; it was simple but effective, especially in the use of rhythmic clapping to simulate the chugging of the train.  For me, the most memorable dance passage was the pas de deux for Mearns and Gomes in Monte Carlo, but that’s probably because I’m a sucker for a romantic duet!

The Red Shoes forces Vicky Page to choose between love and art.  The story is an extreme example, and a fictional one.  Yet there are certainly stories from the past of artists forced to commit fully to their art to the forsaking of all else.  Now, it’s very much the opposite.  So many dancers say that living—and loving—makes them better at what they do.  Of course, it’s the dancing that spurs them on.

The Red Shoes
October 27, 2017, 8 pm, at New York City Center