Starstruck ballet. Music by George Gershwin and Chopin. Choreography by Gene Kelly reconstructed and embellished by Christopher Hampson. Directed 2021 by Oscar Sansom at the Scottish Ballet. Stars Sophie Martin (Star Ballerina/Aphrodite), Christopher Harrison (Choreographer/Zeus), Bruno Micchiardi (Pianist/Eros), Javier Andreu (Sweetheart Man/Lifeguard), Roseanna Loney (Sweetheart Woman/Girl with Ponytail), and Nicholas Shoesmith (Stagehand). Also features dancers Aisling Brangan, Grace Horler, Grace Poulley, Melissa Parsons, Kayla-Maree Tarantolo, Rimbaud Patron, Noa Barry, Hannah Cubitt, Alice Kawalek, Amy McEntee, Xolisweh Ana Richards, Anna Williams, Matthew Broadbent, James Hobley, Jamie Reid, Simon Schilgen, Eado Turgemen, Alarón Venegas, Pablo Dorado Calderon, Stevie Winning, and Helen Katamba. Jean-Claude Picard conducts the Scottish Ballet Orchestra. Designs and set by Lez Brotherston; lighting by Lawrie McLennan; artistic collaboration by Patricia Ward Kelly; guest rehearsal coaching by Alexandra Worral. No credit for the video file. Released 2022, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
This is a merger of classical ballet and American movie dancing. It originated in the 1960 Pas de Dieux by Gene Kelly that was commissioned and performed by the Paris Opera Ballet! No film exists of Pas de Dieux. But there were eyewitnesses to the dancing and some documents. So the Scottish Ballet dreamed up a reconstruction and mild expansion of Kelly’s piece, which is now called Starstruck.
Kelly was a star during the era of my long-deceased parents. So how could the woman pictured below be his widow in 2021? Well, Patricia was Kelly’s 3rd wife. She married him in 1990 when he was 73 and she was 31. Kelly died a few years later, and Patricia has been promoting his memory ever since.
An American in Paris:
Pas de Dieux told a story of how Aphrodite got bored living with Zeus on Olympus. She went AWOL with Eros to have some fun on earth. (AWOL = absent without leave.) When Zeus caught on to this, he straightened things out fast. Choreographer Christopher Hampson expanded on this by making Starstruck about a ballet company making a piece called Pas de Dieux. The choreographer of the ballet company then becomes Zeus in the Pas de Dieux and the star dancer of the ballet company becomes Aphrodite, etc.
It’s not hard to understand the ballet in the ballet in the abstract. But it can be tricky for a newbie in the audience to keep track of who is who. I’ll try to give you some pointers on this.
Below is Christopher Harrison, who plays the roles of choreographer and Zeus:
Below left is Harrison as the choreographer. Below right you see him as Zeus (the Greek battle helmet is a big help):
Next below is Sophie Martin, who plays the Star Ballerina and Aphrodite. In the real world, she is the Queen Bee of the Scottish Ballet:
Below left is Sophie as Star Ballerina. On the right she is playing Aphrodite:
Below left is Bruno Micchiardi as rehearsal piano player; on the right he is Eros (with his little wings):
Next below is a shot of the Starstruck company showing off for the star ballerina:
And next is a shot of mortal girls playing on the beach right before Aphrodite arrives and starts creating havoc. The misadventures of the gods and the mortals happen fast:
And below are two shots of the finale to Starstruck:
To conclude, here’s a shot from the bonus extra of the real choreographer Christopher Hampson talking about Gene Kelly. (Don’t get Christopher Hampson confused with Christopher Harrison, who dances the role of choreographer/Zeus on the stage.)
Dance critics were happy (3 or 4 stars out of 5) with Starstruck live. It got the award as “Best Dance Film for 2022” from The Critics’ Circle. Why does nobody get credit for the video file? Maybe this was pieced together from work by a number of staff videographers.
We are lucky to have this revival of an almost-lost piece from Gene Kelly. But it could use more work on telling a coherent story. At about an hour, this is a bit short to be marketed as a Blu-ray title by itself. But it was great to learn more about The Scottish Ballet. B is as high as I can go for this as stand-alone Blu-ray title. (f this were in a box with other good stuff, I might grade this B+.) Because this title is not a contender for an A, I did not invest time in “running the numbers” and determining the video pace. But I think the pace is probably too fast.
Here’s a trailer for the live show and another for the TV version:
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