MONARCHY MEDLEY
Balett. Bravado. Beauty.
Monarchy Medley is a journey to a bygone and beloved era of luscious musical treats that have been enchanting audiences for over 150 years. The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was formed in 1867, a real union between two states, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary and included numerous nations living under the ‘same roof’.
It was one of Europe's major powers, a monarchy of colourful traditions, virtuoso dances, and rich dress culture. It was also the monarchy of danceable waltzes, polkas and galops composed mostly by the Strauss dynasty, the soundtrack to the Viennese way of partying at the time and melodies that later triumphed around the world like no other.
Monarchy Medley celebrates the monarchy’s versatility with a charming, uplifting selection of its musical and dance highlights. It is a gala event with eleven dances presented by a young, lively cast of ballet dancers completed with seven live orchestra pieces.
It is a fairytale glimpse into the noble life of balls, the whirlwind of polkas and the magic of a gypsy dance with a breathtaking variety of fascinating costumes. Majestic and playful, elegant and comical, dramatic and light, aristocratic and mundane, energetic and refined - a purely entertaining feel-good experience for the dance-loving audience.
A Quarantine Ballet
The last year was special in many ways for all humankind. The pandemic brought us an extended array of restrictions but also evoked new ideas, inspirations and solutions and lead us to new, untrodden paths. If it was not for COVID-19 our new ballet gala - or as we call it: our quarantine ballet - probably would have never been created.
This production is aiming to provide the audience with joyful, fresh amusement. Still, it is important for us that this entertainment preserves and presents the footprints and of this one of a kind era it was created in: a once in a lifetime experience with a range of unfamiliar thoughts, attitudes and emotions we globally all had.
The lack of social interactions, the claustrophobia of the lockdown and the uncertainty of the ever changing regulations and the sudden, forced social distancing was most palpable and dramatic for young adults.
That is why we have decided to provide them with an opportunity to create short films grasping this pandemic zeitgeist and present how it altered their life. In making the videos they establish a seemingly improbable harmony between the Monarchy-era melodies and the contemporary visuals. These short films - curated by stage director Máté Szabó - will be screened during the orchestral parts of the show.
