Jardin aux Lilas (Lilac Garden)

When one discusses Antony Tudor, it is impossible to mention him outside of the context of his two most recognized and critically-acclaimed works, Lilac Garden and Dark Elegies, both of which he produced before he was thirty years old.  Having already witnessed one of these pieces, Dark Elegies, when it was performed at IU this year, I cannot wait for the chance to see a production of Lilac Garden.  Having not witnessed it in person, I will be relying primarily on critical reviews for this post.  For a much more in-depth view of these two ballets, as well as two Tudor's other well-regarded works, Pillar of Fire and The Leaves Are Fading, I would recommend taking a look at The Choreography of Antony Tudor: Focus on Four Ballets by Rachel S. Chamberlain Duerden, which I also used to write this post.

The basic plot of Lilac Garden follows Caroline, a young woman in Edwardian England who is engaged to a man she doesn't love.  At a party in a garden, Caroline encounters a man she truly loves.  They steal away to privacy at certain moments in the piece, while Caroline's fiance meets up with an old flame of his own.  The piece culminates in Caroline being led away by her fiance to her life of comfort and convenience, devoid of passion, just after being given a bouquet of lilacs by her lover.  The piece was very well received by American audiences when it was brought over to Ballet Theater, with Claudia Cassidy of the Chicago Tribune writing,

"With a ghostly company of other guests as background, their pas de quatre reaches some of the most evocative moments known to ballet.  Then the lover thrust a wealth of lilacs at the girl, the man she must marry wraps her cloak about her, and with an intercepted yearning, the lovers part.  In its way, this is balletic perfection."

 In Lilac Garden one can see some of Tudor's signature elements that comprise his movement vocabulary.  One of these elements would be his use of realistic gesture, the use of everyday movements to support the plot and themes present in the piece (Chamberlain Duerden 28).  For instance, there is a section of the ballet where Caroline can be seen smoothing her hair and dress in an attempt to present a state of serenity and calm to the reception guests.  This use of gesture can be seen as clearly dramatic in structure, a technique probably acquired from Tudor's time as an actor.  Another element of Tudor's choreography is the idea of music as a co-collaborator of a piece, saying, "With me, music must become a partner." (33).  Although, he did this in a way that was not "mickey-mousing."  Instead he sought to contrast the music in new ways, using movements that were just a little bit off the overall tone of the music.  This partnership of music can be seen in the attribution of Caroline to the violin in the piece, nigh-ubiquitous, the lynch-pin that holds the plot together (35).