A Night at the Ballet: Giselle
Graphic by Isabella Hang
Recently at the Northrup Theatre in Minneapolis, MN Metropolitan Ballet celebrated 25 years by presenting the romantic tragedy ballet, Giselle. From March 23 to 24 the beautiful production featured star ballerinas from New York’s American Ballet Theatre, Skylar Brandt and Daniil Simkin.
Metropolitan Ballet Artistic Director, Erik Sanborn, spoke before the ballet, dedicating it to his daughter, Anna, who was a ballet dancer since she was 3-years-old. Anna died at only 8-years-old. As he told this story on stage he pulled out her pink ballet slipper. He expressed the sentimental value held in this ballet and its tragic story. He suppressed his gratitude to the artists and supporters over the last 25 years since founding the company.
Giselle is the story of a peasant girl who falls in love with nobleman Duke Albrecht as he disguises himself to be of her class. Under a trope of a love triangle, Albrecht forms a rival with Hilarion who is also in love with Giselle. Hilarion eventually exposes that Albrecht is meant to be engaged to Bathilde the daughter of the Prince. When Giselle realizes that her love is going to leave her she goes mad and dies of heartbreak.
The second act entirely takes place in the forest next to Giselle’s grave. Surrounded by other ghosts, Albrecht visits her grave, and Giselle appears as a ghost herself. The Queen of the Wilis tries to trap him and force Albrecht to dance to death. Instead, Giselle distracts him till daylight and saves his life. As she enters the stage in the white dress, she has a tulle veil over her head. Brandt glides across the stage with a haunting, still and precise movement.
The other dancers all had stunning matching white tulle dresses that flowed beautifully with their movements.
Brandt, who is from New York, has been a principal dancer at ABT since her promotion in 2020. She joined the company in 2009. Here she performed the lead role of Giselle. Her performance was captivating and emotional. Her technique as a dancer is beyond impressive.
Simkin who played the role of Albrecht is from Russia and joined the ABT in 2008. He was promoted to principal dancer in 2012. His ability as a dancer is inspiring. He plays the role well with drama and emotion. His strength and technique are admirable and amazing to watch, especially when performing the leaps on stage.
If ever presented the opportunity to see either of these two dancers perform live you don’t want to miss the chance.