Yugen (ballet)

Yugen is a one-act ballet by Wayne McGregor, to Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. The ballet premiered on 15 March 2018 at the Royal Opera House, danced by The Royal Ballet.[1]

Yugen
ChoreographerWayne McGregor
MusicLeonard Bernstein
Premiere15 March 2018 (2018-03-15)
Royal Opera House
Original ballet companyThe Royal Ballet
Genrecontemporary ballet

Production
External video
Yugen – pas de deux (Sarah Lamb, Calvin Richardson, The Royal Ballet), YouTube video
How Leonard Bernstein inspired Wayne McGregor's 21st century ballet Yugen, YouTube video
Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon rehearse ballets inspired by Bernstein, YouTube video

The ballet was McGregor's first new work for The Royal Ballet in two years, and was created for Bernstein's centennial.[1] The ballet is performed by eleven dancers.[2] The sets are designed by Edmund de Waal, a writer and potter, and features light boxes.[2] The costumes are designed by Shirin Guild, and all dancers are in red loose-fitted outfits.[2] The title of the ballet means the "beauty evoked with an economy of means" in Japanese (幽玄 in kanji).[1][2]

Yugen is a co-production with the Dutch National Ballet. The company was originally scheduled to debut the ballet in April 2020 but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands.[3][4]

Original cast

Original cast:[5]

Critical reception

The Guardian's Judith Mackrell wrote, "McGregor’s choreography is expertly musical, seeking out the lyricism of Bernstein’s melodies in long, floating lines, and riding its energies in such cleverly massed configurations that his modest ensemble can look like a tribe."[6] Roslyn Sulcas of the New York Times commented, "remains intensely responsive to the slightly strange fusion of sacred text and tone, with jazzy undercurrents in 'Chichester Psalms.'"[1] The Evening Standard's Emma Byrne wrote that Yugen "marks a new maturity: gone are the attention-grabbing pyrotechnics, and in their place just sumptuous, lyrical movement."[7]

At the 2018 National Dance Awards, McGregor was nominated for Best Classical Choreography.[8]

References
  1. Sulcas, Roslyn (16 March 2017). "Review: An American in London (Bernstein, That Is)". New York Times.
  2. Parry, Jann (18 March 2018). "Royal Ballet – Bernstein Centenary: Yugen, The Age of Anxiety, Corybantic Games – London". DanceTabs.
  3. "Dutch National Ballet Presents Three Premieres in Four Seasons Programme". BroadwayWorld. 11 March 2020.
  4. "Dutch National Opera & Ballet Launches Online Platform". BroadwayWorld. 27 March 2020.
  5. Norman, Neil (16 March 2018). "Bernstein Centenary: Yugen/The Age of Anxiety/Corybantic Games". The Stage.
  6. Mackrell, Judith (16 March 2018). "Royal Ballet: Bernstein Centenary review – McGregor and Wheeldon at the top of their game". The Guardian.
  7. Byrne, Emma (20 March 2020). "Royal Ballet Bernstein Centenary review: New Wayne McGregor work stands out". Evening Standard.
  8. "National Dance Awards 2018". The Critic's Circle. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
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