For Ballet Victoria (BV) artistic and executive director Paul Destrooper, opening BV’s season with an original interpretation of Frankenstein was a no-brainer.
“This is the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s novel,” Destrooper explains. “And I think it’s kind of fun that, also, she was the first female writer to start a whole genre with essentially a bet she had going with another writer of creating some fantastic, scary novel.”
The novel tells the story of a scientist, Dr. Frankenstein, who builds a creature during an unorthodox science experiment. Destrooper feels this story is still relevant because it features so many archetypes of humankind.
“Appearance, provenance, and then, of course, back then there was the beginning of medicine and electricity, and all these things. It had that kind of surreal, science fiction kind of thing, and it’s still true today,” says Destrooper. “And it has a lot of the themes also that begin with companionship, love, and kinship, and the lack of it in life—in this case it’s essentially self-destructive for both men.”
The decision of what types of stories are good to adapt to ballet is one that boils down to the essence of the piece, according to Destrooper.
“Without words, you kind of leave a bit more freedom of interpretation to the audience,” says Destrooper. “It’s a little more like poetry—suggestions, ideas, and images—and then people extrapolate their own interpretations from that.”
Still, there is something extra intriguing about the idea of a ballet centering around Frankenstein’s creature, who conjures up the mental image of a bumbling, clumsy monster—an image that seems counter-intuitive to ballet.
“It’s fun to have somebody that learns to walk, and move, and to control his body, into someone who can control his body, and move and dance,” says Destrooper. “I think that’s the fun part of mixing some contemporary dance, and even kind of hip-hop… It’s very jagged, very angular, contracted. You know, it’s almost, like, spastic. And then it breaks as he learns to control his movement; just as he grows and starts to learn more about life and connection with others, and realizes his existence is learning, his physicality becomes more appropriate.”
Although the movement in Destrooper’s Frankenstein may be unconventional, he includes a specific addition to his interpretation of Shelley’s story.
“I do mix another very great classic in this program, which is Giselle, which is very traditional and ethereal,” says Destrooper.
Giselle is a classic ballet about a woman who falls for a scoundrel and subsequently dies of heartbreak when she learns he’s engaged to another woman. Destrooper weaves the two stories together by having Frankenstein harvest Giselle’s heart when he’s in the cemetery collecting parts for the creature.
“In this case, we’re playing more with the power of the women and their strength,” says Destrooper. “And then I give a love interest to both the creature and to Giselle.”
The blending of multiple genres and stories is not something new for Destrooper, who loves combining his passions—sports, poetry, movies, horseback riding—to create something new, which provides some unexpected moments on stage—including a quick little homage to Star Wars in the second act—proving it’s not all tutus and classical music in the world of ballet.
“We come to the work which has beautiful tradition and beautiful technique, and it’s executed that way,” says Destrooper, “but we do bring a little humour and life into productions.”
GIVEAWAY!
The first person to email editor@nexusnewspaper.com with the name of their favourite scary novel or movie wins two free tickets to Ballet Victoria’s Frankenstein!
Frankenstein
Various times, Friday, October 26 to Sunday, October 28
Various prices, McPherson Playhouse
rmts.bc.ca