ReviewTwyla Tharp's "The Princess & The Goblin" brings romance back to the stage

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet has opened its 73rd season with the Canadian premiere of The Princess & The Goblin, a story full of hope and romance. I mean romance in a sense that goes beyond the boy meets girl variety (although the ballet has a touch of that, too). The romance I'm talking about addresses the idea of the redemptive power of good over evil.

In Twyla Tharp's adaptation of George MacDonald's 19th century children's fairytale, Princess Irene, getting by with a little help from friends and family, manages to pull the subterranean Goblin dancers up by their pointe shoes and into the light. The Goblin people, who dress like homeless pirates, have the irritating habit of kidnapping children and carrying them off to their dark kingdom.

Irene and her companion, Curdie, set about to rescue the kids and in the process, rehabilitate the nasty Goblin. They also teach them some fancy footwork, which is where another species of romance enters the story. Tharp, a living legend in the world of dance, has said we have lost a feel for romance in our cynical age, and she uses this danced version of MacDonald's story as a way to reclaim that fugitive quality.

The Garden Party scene is all sumptuous elegance and the dancers who accompany Irene's Great-Great Grandmother and namesake, come directly out of the romantic ballet blanc tradition, all white and ethereal and very, very pretty. The cut of their costumes also shows a flash of thigh, a wink in the direction of Tharp's earlier and more frisky choreography.

There are moments, too, in the pas de trios with Curdie and a pair of female Goblin, when we're reminded that Tharp can set some of the sexiest moves in contemporary dance, but that tendency is underplayed here in favour of innocence and fun.

The Princess & The Goblin is, after all, a children's story and the bodies on stage are meant to be looked at and not desired. Which is why Irene, performed by Paloma Herrera, a leggy and easeful dancer who puts me in mind of Karen Kain, moves about the stage in a constant state of surprised discovery. Like all children, she is figuring out what the world is about and the charm of this ballet is that it lets us as viewers in on her wonder.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's The Princess & The Goblin runs until Oct. 21 at the Concert Hall.