Sometimes I feel like I live a charmed life; in a serendipitous moment at the Berlin Airport, I happened to meet the American Choreographer David Parsons, who was in Berlin for the premiere of Triple Bill, while we waited in line to disembark the plane.

I was in Berlin in March 2006 for the annual international travel show, International Travel Berlin (ITB), and as it happened, I was free on the night of the premiere. I went to the theater and was fortunate to get tickets to see the Staatsballett Berlin perform Mr. Parson's ballet, The Envelope, as well as the ballet, Out of 99, by the Choreographer Leo Mujic, and the ballet, The Second Detail by Choreographer William Forsythe, at the premiere of Triple Bill at the Deutsch Oper Berlin. The Staatsballett Berlin focuses on classical ballet, but in a bold change of pace, this season they are also performing contemporary pieces.

Triple Bill began with Mr. Parson's piece, The Envelope, with Music by Gioacchino Rossini, Costumes by Judy Wirkula, Lighting by Howell Binley, Rehearsing by Jaime Martinez, and was performed by Martin Szymanski, Natalia Munoz, Gevorg Asoyan, Marianne Illig, Maria Giambona, Alexander Grain and Denia Montagnoli. The Envelope was a fun, whimsical piece, where there is a conflict over an envelope that is yours, then it is mine, then everyone wants it, then no one wants it, and finally we have to guard it. The audience clearly loved the opening ballet, laughing at the humor, which reminded me of days I have spent at the post office, and rewarded the dancers with multiple curtain calls.

The second ballet was Mr. Mujic's Out of 99, with Music by Robert Schumann, Clara Wieck and Johannes Brahms, Electroacoustic Composition by Arne Vierck, Stage and Costumes by Thomas Mika, Piano by David Johnson, and was performed by Nadja Saidakova, Johanna Hwang, Soraya Bruno, Ronald Savkovic, Martin Buczkó, Leonard Jakovina, Rainer Krenstetter, Artur Lill. Vladislav Marinov, Mario Hernandez, Sven Seidelmann and Marcin Krajewski. Although I was a bit confused as to the theme of this ballet, the audience loved it, and again rewarded the dancers with multiple curtain calls.

The third ballet of Triple Bill was The Second Detail, with Choreography, Stage, Lighting and Costumes by William Forsyth, Music by Thom Willems, Rehearsing by Noah Gelber, and was performed by Elena Pris, Nadja Saidakova, Maria Seletskaja, Alessandra Pasquall, Mariane Joly, Ariane Ernesti, Bettina Thiel, Martin Buczkó, Ronald Savkovic, Mario Hernandez, Arshak Ghalumyan, Robert Wohlert, Dominic Rosario Hodel, Vladislav Marinov. This ballet was well executed and was also enthusiastically received by the audience, who seemed more than pleased with the performances and for the change of pace by the Staatsballett Berlin.

The Staatsballett Berlin may focus on classical ballet, but the dancers clearly demonstrated that they enjoyed venturing out into the contemporary world of dance with the inspired choreography of David Parsons, Leo Mujic and William Forsythe.

Staatsballett Berlin
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www.staatsballett-berlin.de

Please read the articles on Berlin in the Destinations, Restaurants and Chefs' Recipes sections, and past articles on Berlin in Destinations, Hotels & Resorts, and Music Scene sections.

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