National Ballet of Canada’s Hamlet

Hello Darlings, Dodging heavy rain last Friday evening, I set out to watch the North American premiere of National Ballet of Canada’s Hamlet, which runs through June 10th. Ballet has always been a part of my life. When my family moved to Canada from Ukraine, they enrolled me in a ballet academy where I danced for eight years. I may have retired my pointe shoes years ago, but my love for ballet continues.

In a similar way that I follow the art scene in Toronto, I also see many National Ballet of Canada performances. Thanks to their Dance Break program, members ages 16 - 29 can purchase tickets to any performance for $30 based on availability.

William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is well known for it’s dark story of revenge and torment. The play is choreographed into ballet by Kevin O’Day, the artistic director of Ballet Mannheim. The powerful choreography and Guillaume Côté wonderful performance brought the story to life more so than any Hamlet play that I have seen. The mix of symbolism and simple story telling through the movement of the dancers told the story of Hamlet clearly. The agony of the young prince was well executed through the masterful motion and skills of Côté. Like Côté, Heather Ogden is striking as Ophelia! Her fluidity of movement and understanding of her character gave life to Ophelia and her suffering.

The set and costumes created by Tatyana van Walsum were a bit disappointing since they did not seem to connect well to the story. The contemporary and minimalism approach seemed inappropriate for this time piece. Also, computerized take on classic music by John King was not to my liking at a certain point. Regardless of these two aspects, the performance was very forward and edgy for the company and adds an unexpected twist to their 2012 season. In its entirety, the show is wonderful and worth seeing! However if you’re expecting traditional spectacle with grandeur and time costumes, you may be disappointed.

I AM WEARING: H&M peter pan top // H&M skirt // Kate Spade Leena Satin Pumps // Juicy Couture Large Rhinestone Brooch

As for the outfit for the evening, I really wanted to wear my satin Kate Spade pumps and arranged the outfit around them. The grey H&M peter pan collar shirt was a perfect match to the shoes as it was simple yet interesting enough. I also added a pink and crystal Juicy Couture brooch to a collar to add a little sparkle. That sparkle was also reflected in the skirt.

{Images Courtesy by Vincent von Tiedemann & Cylla von Tiedemann for National Ballet of Canada}