Love Lies Bleeding
Alberta Ballet

Review by Cynthia Hicks

 (Graham Hicks was unable to attend Love Lies Bleeding, the much anticipated Elton John commissioned ballet based around both the singer’s life and his songs. His daughter Cynthia, a 16-year dance and musical theatre program student, sent this review in his place for the Hicks on Six blog.)

Alberta Ballet did not just dance to the music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, but they lived the music.

The style of Elton John was not only on stage but spilling into the audience as well. The theatre lobby of the Jubilee Auditorium was full of audience members in big hats, quirky glasses, and of course hot pink boas.

From the second the lights dimmed down in the theatre, the audience was part of the show, screaming, cheering, singing and dancing with the performers on stage.

While Love Lies Bleeding was not autobiographical, it was far more than dancers simply  performing to his music. One male dancer with unbelievable stamina took on the character of Elton and strung the whole show together. Rarely leaving the stage, he did all of his costume changes in front of the audience. It was as if we could see Elton finishing one gig and running to the next.

This single performer with the help of the troupe were an artistic interpretation of Elton John in this contemporary ballet. Not only did they showcase Elton’s talent, but they demonstrated Elton’s personality. The dances brought us through Elton’s career-long struggles and highlights with media, sexuality, public demand, and music.

 Of course we can expect nothing but the best dance technique from the Alberta Ballet dancers, but it  was a pleasant surprise to see these professionally trained ballet dancers stepping into a whole new element of dance.

Several songs became a blend of Fosse-style contemporary and classical ballet movement. Other dances defied the laws of gravity with lifts no one would have thought humanly possible. The transitions from dance to dance were smooth and fascinating. Some happened in the blink of an eye as the show leapt from baseball costumes to glowing roller blades.

 The strength and flexibility of every dancer was astounding and never ending. Three males in the company were turning and leaping across the entire stage in 4 inch high stilettos! All of the women in the Jubilee Auditorium were envious of how well these male dancers could walk and perform in highly elevated heels.

 Not a single eye in the audience blinked during the evening’s highlight of Rocketman. The performers were dressed in blue astronaut-like costumes with shining lights they made them glow while dancing. The choreography did justice to this popular song making it one of the most memorable dances in the entire performance.

 It is unfortunate that Love Lies Bleeding had only two performances, this time round, in Edmonton. There was so much extraordinary dancing that one would have to go twice in order see the whole thing. Hopefully Love Lies Bleeding will return to the Jubilee stage as part of a North American tour of the show by the Alberta Ballet, for this show deserves to be seen by as many pairs of eyes as possible.