Russia’s Weak Choreography

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31412, 4 July 1967, Page 2

Russia’s Weak Choreography

(N.Z. Prets Association—Copyright?

LENINGRAD, July 3. The weakness of Soviet ballet is its choreography, and today this is perhaps as clearly recognised in Russia as in the rest of the world, the “New York Times” news service reports.

Soviet ballet was very active creatively during the twenties, thirties and forties, but surprisingly little has survived.

These early decades do, however, offer one work almost universally accepted as a masterpiece. This is Leonid Lavrovsky's ballet to Serge Prokofiev’s score, "Romeo and Juliet” Of the three Soviet ballets seen during Lenigrad’s White

Nights festival, it was “Romeo and Juliet” which made by far the strongest impression.

It is more a dance drama than anything else. Its careful production and vivid dance images, the scope of its story and the sheer vigour of its characterisations all serve to make it a supreme example of the Fokine-style dance drama, which, although now understandably neglected, once had a large part to play in the history of world dance. The lovers in this performance were both dancing the ballet for the first time. Emma Minchonok’s Juliet danced and acted with a poignant urgency. Here was just the feverish passion needed to make Juliet convincing. John Markovsky’s Romeo, ardent and headstrong, was also a performance of great promise.