New Australian Ballet artistic director David Hallberg presents where ballet began and where it’s going to with exciting double bill Counterpointe.
It combines American choreographer William Forsythe’s revolutionary work ‘Artifact Suite’ with the wedding bells of the third act of Marius Petipa’s ‘Raymonda’ depicts the wedding of the hero and heroine, sparkling with classical technique. The latter will be Hallberg’s first choreographic flourish at the helm of the Australian Ballet.
“The juxtaposition of 'Raymonda' and 'Artifact Suite' shows the evolution of classical ballet,” He says. “'Raymonda' adheres to tradition and pageantry, while Forsythe took this history and imitated it, creating a work that overwhelms both dancers and audience with gestural references given new meaning. These seminal works both counteract and perfectly complement each other.”