Corybantic Games
{{short description|Ballet by Christopher Wheeldon}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox ballet
| name = Corybantic Games
| italic title = yes
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| choreographer = Christopher Wheeldon
| composer = Leonard Bernstein
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| premiere = {{Start date|2018|03|15|df=y}}
| place = Royal Opera House
| ballet_company = The Royal Ballet
| designer = Erdem Moralıoğlu
Jean-Marc Puissant
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Corybantic Games is a ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's "Symposium", with costumes designed by Erdem Moralıoğlu and sets designed by Jean-Marc Puissant. It premiered on 15 March 2018 at the Royal Opera House, danced by The Royal Ballet.{{cite news|url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/erdem-royal-ballet-costumes|title=First Look: Erdem's Costumes For The Royal Ballet|magazine=British Vogue|last=Freeman|first=Liam|date=14 March 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/mar/16/the-royal-ballet-bernstein-centenary-review-mcgregor-wheeldon-scarlett|title=Royal Ballet: Bernstein Centenary review – McGregor and Wheeldon at the top of their game|newspaper=The Guardian|last=Mackrell|first=Judith|date=16 March 2018}}
Production
Christopher Wheeldon had previously choreographed to Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's "Symposium" in a piece titled Corybantic Ecstasies, created for the Boston Ballet and premiered in 1999.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/16/arts/ballet-review-classicism-sweetly-and-authoritatively.html|title=Baller Review; Classicism, Sweetly And Authoritatively|newspaper=The New York Times|last=Dunning|first=Jennifer|date=16 March 1999}}
The 2018 Corybantic Games was commissioned for Bernstein's centennial. The title is a reference to Corybants, which according to Greek mythology, were the armed and crested dancers who worshipped the Phrygian goddess Cybele with drumming and dancing.{{cite news|url=https://dancetabs.com/2018/03/royal-ballet-bernstein-centenary-yugen-the-age-of-anxiety-corybantic-games-london/|title=Royal Ballet – Bernstein Centenary: Yugen, The Age of Anxiety, Corybantic Games – London|website=DanceTabs|last=Parry|first=Jann|date=18 March 2018}} The ballet made no reference to Plato's Symposium, the inspiration of Bernstein's score. It is performed by 21 dancers.
The set was designed by Jean-Marc Puissant{{Cite news |last=Craine |first=Debra |title=Dance review: Bernstein Centenary at Covent Garden |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/music/article/dance-review-bernstein-centenary-at-covent-garden-cn560d6cm |access-date=2023-05-05 |issn=0140-0460}}{{Cite news |last=Mackrell |first=Judith |date=2018-03-16 |title=Royal Ballet: Bernstein Centenary review – McGregor and Wheeldon at the top of their game |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/mar/16/the-royal-ballet-bernstein-centenary-review-mcgregor-wheeldon-scarlett |access-date=2023-05-05 |issn=0261-3077}} and the lighting was designed by Peter Mumford. Erdem Moralıoğlu, known for his own label, ERDEM, was brought in to design the costume. Moralıoğlu met Wheeldon at one of his fashion shows, and the two were introduced to each other through principal dancer Lauren Cuthbertson, a friend of Moralıoğlu. Moralıoğlu himself had seen several Royal Ballet performances, including Wheeldon's After the Rain and The Winter's Tale. He said the costumes of Corybantic Games are about "flesh, and youth, and life". It was also the first time he designed for men.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/t-magazine/fashion/erdem-moralioglu-ballet.html|title=A Fashion Designer’s Otherworldly Costumes for the Royal Ballet|magazine=The New York Times Style Magazine|last=Cook|first=Grace|date=15 March 2018}} Due to Moralıoğlu's involvement, the publicity regarding the ballet before its premiere was mainly about the costumes.
Original cast
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
- Matthew Ball
- William Bracewell
- Lauren Cuthbertson
- Tierney Heap
- Ryoichi Hirano
- Mayara Magri
- Yasmine Naghdi
- Marcelino Sambé
- Beatriz Stix-Brunell
}}
Critical reception
Corybantic Games received a range of positive to mixed reviews. The Guardian{{'}}s Judith Mackrell commented that Wheeldon was "working at the top of his game." Roslyn Sulcas of The New York Times wrote, "[i]t’s not perfect... but it's exhilaratingly full of creative force."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/arts/dance/bernstein-centenary-review-christopher-wheeldon-wayne-mcgregor-royal-ballet.html|title=Review: An American in London (Bernstein, That Is)|newspaper=The New York Times|last=Sulcas|first=Roslyn|date=March 16, 2018}} The Stage critic Neil Norman wrote, "[f]itfully engaging, amusing and overcrowded, it's a triumph of style over content."{{cite news|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/bernstein-centenary-review-at-royal-opera-house-london--fabulous-dancing|title=Bernstein Centenary: Yugen/The Age of Anxiety/Corybantic Games|newspaper=The Stage|last=Norman|first=Neil|date=16 March 2018}} The Daily Telegraph{{'}}s dance critic Mark Monahan criticised the costumes and called it "gaffer-tape chic".{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/dance/what-to-see/bernstein-centenary-review-royal-ballet-covent-garden-sleek/|title=Bernstein Centenary review, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden – sleek but slender tribute to a musical master|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|last=Monahan|first=Mark|date=16 March 2016}}
At the 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards, Aeternum won the award for Best New Dance Production.
At the 2018 National Dance Awards, Wheeldon was nominated for Best Classical Choreography.{{cite web|url=http://criticscircle.org.uk/national-dance-awards-2018/|title=National Dance Awards 2018|website=The Critic's Circle|accessdate=17 October 2020}}