Ballet Northwest: Coppelia
Originally published on social media on May 13th, 2024
This was truly a weekend for the arts in my family, and it began with seeing Coppelia on Friday.
Ballet dancers really are some of the most impressive people on earth. Like how do they have the energy, the chutzpah, or literally all the millions of things it takes to pull off their performances without getting tired? What impressed me specifically about this performance was the fact that the majority of the company was in high school. The Ballet Northwest co. is blessed with an outstandingly talented group of individuals who performed very high quality work.
There is much more praise to be spread about this ballet, but I need to make a confession: I really hated the story. Let me explain: one of the core things I look for in a ballet is a story that touches my soul, that I find compelling, and or gives me something to root for. I found none of that in the story of Coppelia. I’m a little disappointed that the same writer of the Nutcracker, E.T.A Hoffman wrote this short story originally titled “Der Sandmann” aka “The Sandman”. Something about a man (Franz) falling out of love with a woman (Swanhilda), only to fall in love with a doll (Coppelia) is really off-putting to me. Then the idea of that everyone makes fun of the old toy maker, Dr. Coppelius, is sad until you find out that he is actually a psychopath who steals people’s souls in order to make toys come alive. There truly is no one to root for, because even if you root for Swanhilda, her character really is kind a mean girl. Besides, her love with Franz must not be genuine if he was able to fall in love with a doll. Need I say more? There is a reason why Barbie and/or Disney has not made a movie adaptation of this story, it’s creepy!
Creepy story aside, I really appreciated the artistry involved in Ballet Northwest’s production of this ballet. The dancing, the costumes, the set design, Léo Delibe’s score, were all gorgeous and made seeing the show worthwhile. There was an element of magic, especially captured in the third act, that transported you to a fairy tale. This production was stunning, I just wish that it was set to a different story.