Birmingham Royal Ballet Luna Review
October 4, 2024 | Birmingham Hippodrome – Birmingham, England
The prompt for Luna, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s (BRB) newest ballet, is simple in theory: depict womanhood, in all its beauty and complexities.
The creative team behind the ballet, however, took it a step further by recruiting five female choreographers to explore different themes and then come together to create a full night of dance.
Luna is the third and final installment of Carlo Acosta’s Birmingham trilogy. Acosta, BRB’s Artistic Director, previously created City of a Thousand Trades and Black Sabbath. Now, Luna shifts the focus to the stories and experiences of pioneering women in Birmingham.
But the ballet does not limit itself just to the city of Birmingham. Instead, it goes beyond, into space, and it touches on themes many women may interact with in their lives, no matter where they reside. It is an ambitious undertaking and features many other artists beyond the company dancers including projections, two opera singers, and a children’s chorus.
Birmingham Royal Ballet Luna Review
The whole ballet revolves around the luna, Latin for ‘moon.’
The moon has often been associated with femininity throughout history, and it acts as a central point for all the pieces. It becomes the axis around which all the dancers orbit.
It begins with ‘Terra,’ choreographed by Wubkje Kuindersma.
As the curtain rises, the children’s chorus stands at attention. This group reappears throughout the ballet and represents the children who will inherit the Earth. They sing to the audience, setting the scene and beginning the journey in a way that is both hopeful and somber.
‘Terra’ positions the audience on the Earth’s surface, looking up at the moon and feeling its constant presence over us. The piece consists of eight couples, entering the stage like the tide rising on a shore.
The dancers become the waves of the ocean, as a series of movements ripples throughout the couples. The smooth push and pull between the dancers turns into rough waters as the piece reaches its climax. The couples separate into new lifts and turns, creating a cacophony of movement.
The moon is complex, both flexible and headstrong, peaceful and chaotic. It foreshadows the themes that are to come around women’s lives and experiences.
As the company recedes into the background, matching the waves on the scrim, we transition to the next scene, ‘Learning to Dream Big.’
Choreographed by Seeta Patel, ‘Learning to Dream Big’ explores the power of education. Five young women are sent to bed, but instead of sleeping, they open their books and read, discovering new ideas and dreaming about their futures. Each dancer has a book that literally lights up, full of dreams and promise.
Whereas ‘Terra’ was serene and reflected the impartial natural world, ‘Learning to Dream Big’ is playful and whimsical. Grounded in its human characters, the five dancers exude charm and idealism, and I enjoyed watching their interactions with each other.
I can understand the magic of dreaming with your friends about your futures, and this piece reminded me of those moments.
Act I closes with the final scene titled ‘Unwavering.’ Choreographed by Thais Suarez, who also performed the main role, the piece shifts tone yet again to a dramatic intensity.
‘Unwavering’ explores the ways women face adversity, but out of it find creative solutions and come out stronger than ever before. The darker blues of the first two scenes transform to bright reds as Suarez takes to the stage with rapid, frenzied movements.
Norge Cedeno dances with Suarez as the father, encouraging and supporting her, and the intricate partnering captured my attention. At the end of the piece, Suarez is transformed, and from the smoke and ashes, becomes a phoenix ready to soar.
I was transfixed by Suarez’s choreography and powerful presence. Her tightly braided ponytail became an additional appendage which whipped around with her movement, and it accentuated her desperate, determined efforts to be free. It was a thrilling, dramatic conclusion to the first act.
Act II opens again with the children’s chorus, standing in an urban cityscape at night, before the scene transitions to the night sky.
As the viewer looks at the starry projection at the beginning of ‘Empowerment,’ it feels like the lone dancer onstage is one of those stars. At first she is alone, running almost frantically around the stage, and the stars in the projection begin to spin, reflecting the hectic energy that builds as other dancers join her.
‘Empowerment’ is choreographed by Arielle Smith. The earnest movements of the dancers makes it feel like they are all searching desperately for something. The theme of empowerment does not feel clear, as the dancers seem to regard each other with uncertainty and suspicion.
The accompanying trembling strings add a foreboding energy, with a crescendo and a sudden ending that leaves the audience quiet for a moment, perhaps uncertain whether the piece has concluded.
The penultimate scene, ‘Overexposed,’ explores female oppression. Choreographer Iraxte Ansa was heavily inspired by the work of Birmingham artist Barbara Walker when creating the work.
In the lead role, Yu Kurihara is stunning in a bright red dress which contrasts starkly with the all male company in white, sometimes faceless with their heads wrapped in cloth masks. The color contrast is intentional and something Walker uses in her work, identifying the masses in power in dull whites while dressing the underdog in vibrant colors.
Ansa creates fascinating ‘popcorn’ choreography between the men as they cling to Kurihara who contorts and bends her body fantastically as she is handled by the group.
At one point, Kurihara forces herself out behind the masses trying to hold her back, and it feels like a breath of fresh air to see her move freely without restraint.
The ballet concludes with ‘Luna,’ also choreographed by Kuindersma, making a full circle from the ballet’s beginning with ‘Terra.’
Now, the company is the moon, the stars, and the sky. With each lift the dancers seem to defy gravity, hanging in the air, and they float synchronously. As the piece builds in speed, the dancers demonstrate a flurry of fast footwork and a reinvigorated energy, one that is ready to reach for the unknown.
In a grand finale, characters from the previous pieces return to the stage, all to appreciate the power the moon brings. With the dancers, opera singers, and children’s chorus, it is packed onstage, and it reminds the viewer of the immense work required by the creative team to bring together so many diverse ideas and themes.
Luna aims to honor the women of Birmingham from the past and present and explore the hopes, struggles, and dreams of womanhood.
It attempts to bring together the visions of five choreographers into a full-length ballet. Each scene is strong with its individual message, but this can mean the tonal shifts are abrupt and unexpected.
Although Luna may not always feel cohesive, I appreciate the ambition to explore numerous themes, and the emphasis on giving each choreographer autonomy to create her own vision. In this way, Luna proudly embodies the essence of womanhood, encouraging cooperation, partnership, and empowerment to create a beautiful night of dance.
Featured photo for this Birmingham Royal Ballet Luna review of company dancers in Wubkje Kuindersma’s ‘Luna’. Photo by Katja Ogrin.
