Most classics in the ballet repertoire deal with one perennial subject — love. Marius Petipa’s Giselle is no different. Armed with a timeless theme with throws of betrayal, heart break and a commentary on society and class, this has always been one of the crown jewels of romantic ballet, something that the Shona Dee Academy of Dance will take you on a journey of in Bengaluru. We speak to the production’s illustrious director, Shona D’sa about the piece that she hopes, will wow the audiences.
“We have always attempted happy stories – Swan Lake, Cinderella and The Nut Cracker, for instance. After 15 years of that, we decided to take on a tragedy, something that will challenge us,” says Shona. Giselle has always been a piece that captivated this ballerina ever since she was a kid. “It’s one of the reasons I took up ballet in the first place,” confesses the dancer who is a lawyer by profession, but traded her black coat for ballet slippers.
At 174 years, this production is one of the most challenging, yet, commonly performed ballets on the world stages. The story follows a peasant girl, Giselle, who falls in love with Count Albrecht who poses as a villager, so she’d love him back. On discovering his true identity, the distraught maiden kills herself, invoking the German legend of ethereal creatures called Wilis, specters of young women who’ve passed before their death.
These creatures are known to dance all men that cross their path to death and it falls upon Giselle to save her love, forgiving him so she finally might find peace. “The audience can relate to it because most of them have had their heart broken, have been double-crossed or stabbed in the back. But what I hope they will take away is the beauty of the whole thing – for them to be wowed,” says Shona. “The most challenging part was of course, the choreography – to incorporate the original,” she adds about the piece that she’s worked on for over four months, with her troupe of 50.
Since a piece of this nature can get hardcore and heavy duty, expect a 10-minute lighter foot-tapping hip-hop, Latin number with a twist on the classical Broadway after, which is sure to have you take home memories of magical grace and crisp soaring jumps.
Giselle will be staged on April 20 at 7 pm at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall.
