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Young and Old

"Romeo and Juliet"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 9, 2009

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2009 by Mary Cargill

ABT celebrated Frederic Franklin's 95th birthday by giving the audience another chance to see this consummate artist mime the Friar in Kenneth MacMillan's popular "Romeo and Juliet".  His entrance was greeted with warm and sustained applause, which he managed to acknowledge while keeping in character.  He made his every gesture a powerful plea for peace, and his appearance was a highlight of the second act, which can make the ballet seem as if it should be called "Romeo, ou les Harlots".
The young lovers were Cory Stearns and Hee Seo, making their New York debuts.  Both are very young (Stearns is a soloist and Seo in the corps) and very talented dancers.  Youth certainly helps to generate sympathy in the often overwrought and under-choreographed work, and there were many touching moments, especially in the final scene, when the lifeless Juliet is hauled around.  But young performers tend to dance the work, and since much of the choreography is of the "do a step and repeat three times" variety more experienced scenery chewers can act their way out of the many dead spots.

Keigwin + Company

“Natural Selection,” “Love Songs,” “Triptych,” and “Bolero NYC”
Keigwin + Company
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
June 25, 2009

by Kathleen O’Connell
copyright © 2009 by Kathleen O’Connell

Larry Keigwin has wit, theatrical smarts, and an enthusiasm for giving his audience something delicious to watch. The program he served up during his company’s recent run at the Joyce Theater was perfectly suited to an early summer evening: it was as quaffable as a glass of crisp white wine and hook-laden as a set of good pop songs.

The program opened at full throttle with “Natural Selection.” Six dancers in white linen and chiffon slugged it out over mates, tore after one another in a frenzy, and literally climbed the walls. It was an exhilarating ride but not an exhausting one, thanks to Keigwin’s supple musicality: he knew when and how to downshift his dancers into a measured counterpoint against Michael Gordon’s beautiful but relentlessly tense and propulsive “Weather One.” Not that Keigwin shied away from pyrotechnics—at a moment of climax, the quicksilver Ying-Ying Shiau, supported by two men, ran up the backs of a clawing huddle of dancers and raced horizontally along the back wall of the stage—but he detonated them shrewdly. There were arresting leisurely images, too: at one point, the dancers moved across the stage in a continually replicating arc of backbends, crawling through it in turn as if it were an endless tunnel.

Shepherd's Delight

"Sylvia"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 29, 2009

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2009 by Mary Cargill

With the emphasis on "today's audience" and the necessity of filling seats, ballets can sometimes seem to be a mirror, only capable of reflecting the audience's whims, and today's whims includes lots of males doing lots of jumps, or women as pretzel.  But art is also a magical telescope with the ability to look both forward and backward, to what might be possible and also to bring the past to life.  There is no astronomer through whose telescope I would rather view the past than Sir Frederick Ashton.  "Sylvia" is his twentieth century take on Tasso's pastoral paradise, where love can conquer all, reflected through the nineteenth century prism of Delibes' luscious score.  There are echoes of Ashton's beloved "Sleeping Beauty" in both the atmosphere and in the actual choreography.  Like Petipa's Prince, the hero, Aminta, is guided and protected by a benevolent supernatural power, and he doesn't really have to do anything but be his loving and noble self.  Evil exists, but is controllable; there is no feeling, as in the romantic  sensibility of ballets like "Swan Lake", "Giselle", or "La Sylphide" that the hero is out of his place, that he wants something unattainable, or that some irrational force is against him.  In Ashton's and Delibes' calm Attic world, love may be capricious but once it conquers, all is well.

From Rags to Riches, and a Swamp; the Royal Ballet's "Manon"

"Manon"
The Royal Ballet
Opera House
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
June 23, 2009

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2009 by Alexandra Tomalonis

 If the Royal Ballet has a signature work these days, it surely must be "Manon," MacMillan's 18th century retelling of the greedy courtesan who must choose between love and riches, and makes all the right choices at the wrong times. The staging is by the company's director, Monica Mason, and exhibits an admirable attention to detail. The company obviously still believes in the ballet, which is beloved by many fans. I'm one of those who thinks, at best, it would be a good one-act ballet. It has some very nice pas de deux and a lot of filler, but the opening cast -- Tamara Rojo as Manon and Carlos Acosta as Des Grieux, the young student who loves her -- danced with such passion and commitment that they transcended the filler.

Stuck in His Narccisstic Cul-de-sac: Vladimir Malakhov as Percy Shelley in Patrice Bart´s ballet “The Flaming Heart”

"The Flaming Heart"
State Ballet Berlin
Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Berlin
June 20, 2009

by Horst Koegler
copyright@ 2009 by Horst Koegler

“Percy Who? That was the unanswered question which seemed written on the face of many a dumbfounded Berlin ballet-fan, when the Berlin State Ballet announced as its latest premiere „The Flaming Heart“, with Percy Shelley as its protagonist. Wolfgang (Goethe) or Friedrich (Schiller) might have been OK. But Percy? With that, for a foreigner, unpronouncable second Christian name Bysshe?  Hardly ever heard of! 

And so they had to wait for the programme book to be informed that he lived  from 1792 through 1832 and is considered one of the most important British poets of the romantic age. And there they could also read that he came from a noble family, studied at Oxford and became one of the most debated free thinkers of his time, an agnostic and anarchist, and, first of all, a notorious womanizer, who seduced his ladies by the dozen, married them, left them, drove them into suicide, while, maybe, loving even more his bosom friend, Jefferson Hogg, if not his poet pal Lord Byron. And there they could also read that he spent his last years in Italy and got ship-wrecked on a sailing spree, after which his corpse was washed ashore, to be finally burnt at the stake, but his heart refused to catch fire and thus blazed as filthy smoke to heaven.

Swan Song

"Swan Lake"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 27, 2009

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2009 by Mary Cargill

In an ideal world, anyone producing a "Swan Lake" would sign an agreement stating: 1.  "Swan Lake" is a German fairy tale set in the Middle Ages; 2.  Petipa/Ivanov are better choreographers than anyone else; and 3.  Siegfried does not spend the first act auditioning for "Spartacus".  But we do not live in an ideal world, and have ABT's somewhat confused and overly hot version, which fortunately does keep the lovely second act and the Black Swan pas de deux more or less intact.  So for most of Nina Ananiashvili's actual dancing in her farewell performance, we saw "Swan Lake".  And what a swan she is, luminous, shy, regal, and fluid.  She was swannier in the lake side scene than many other dancers but never made those rippling arms into a party trick.  There was a spontaneity about her dancing, a pure, unmannered style that had not changed since she first appeared in New York with the Bolshoi all those years ago, and there were so many lovely moments.   I especially remember her quivering leg movements, as if her heart were beating through her dancing, saying perhaps, just perhaps this time she will be saved.  And her despairing arms in the last act, miming "I must die" were shattering. Her Siegfried, Angel Corella, was ardent and involved--he is the only dancer I have seen to actually appear to see the swans fly by during his fussy and lugubrious melancholy first act solo.  He has soared higher in the past, and jumped more cleanly, but there is an open-hearted charm in his dancing and a rare generosity of spirit that captures the audience.

With a Whiff of Nostalgia

Uraufführung 2009
Pina Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal after their return from Chile
Opernhaus Barmen
Wuppertal,
June 20, 2009 (performance – first night was June 12)

by Horst Koegler
copyright @ 2009 by Horst Koegler

Compared to its fellow Iberians of Argentina and Brazil, Chile´s contribution to the history of world ballet has been rather meager. Actually its longest entry in the ´Theatrical Dance´ section of the country´s appearance in the ´International Encyclopedia of Dance´ deals with the exile existence of the Ballets Jooss under the direction of Ernst Uthoff, which dates from the 1940 season, later growing via the school, established by Uthoff into the Ballet Nacional Chileno. touring the country and abroad,  with Uthoff´s wife Lola Botka and Patricio Bunster as its top-stars. Later on the Santiago born Lupe Serrano became one of the most popular ballerinas of American Ballet Theatre, but her influence on the dance scene of her home country was nil. Michael, son of Ernst Uthoff, another home-grown Chilean product, made it to the states, studied at Juillard, started his career as a dancer with Joffrey and became the artistic director of the Hartford Ballet Company, but never looked back to his roots. Short  attempts at forming an indigenous Chilean company, for instance under the Hungarian Ivan Nagy or, during the early ´nineties under Marcia Haydée, proved too short-lived, to develop an identity of its own. So Chile remained until today, dance-wise, a country to come and go.

Identity Matters

"Chroma," "A Month in the Country," "DGV: Danse a Grand Vitesse"
The Royal Ballet
Opera House
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
June 23, 2009

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2009 by Alexandra Tomalonis

The Royal Ballet is becoming an almost-frequent visitor again (another gift of Michael Kaiser's direction), but even though we're seeing them once every two years or so, it's hard to take the company's measure on the basis of two programs danced in a single week. The company opened this time with a curious triple bill, two nearly-new pieces and one masterpiece that should be a company treasure. The two new works, to rather similar highly percussive scores, made Ashton's "A Month in the Country" seem an uneasy companion rather than a ballet that should show the company at its best, and made me wonder who is the Royal Ballet today?

Oh, the Places You’ll Go

“Fanfare”

Naomi Goldberg Haas/Dances for a Variable Population

Whitehall Terminal for the Staten Island Ferry

New York, NY

June 24, 2009

By Martha Sherman

Copyright © 2009 by Martha Sherman

Sitelines 09, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s performance series of site specific work aims to show us there’s almost no limit on where we can dance. Naomi Goldberg Haas/Dances for a Variable Population brought dance to the Whitehall Terminal for the Staten Island Ferry, and demonstrated definitively that there are also no limitations on who can dance. This eclectic troupe of women are tall, short, young, old, fat, thin, lithe and lumbering. Each one is worth watching alone, paired and most richly in ensemble, where the sensibilities of the whole reflect as they mirror, support and play with each other in movement. The short, satisfying world premiere of “Fanfare” was beautifully suited to the space in this unfettered and multi-stage celebration.

 This was a performance that invited its audience to move around, trail the dancers, and experience the movement. Even the costumes were democratic, dancers all in mixed white outfits, looking quite comfortable (and Carol Chave’s mane of shoulder length white hair was a particularly apt and well-coordinated accessory). 

Be In the Gray With Me

“Be In the Gray With Me”
Pam Tanowitz Dance
Dance Theater Workshop
New York, NY
June 18, 2009

by Kathleen O’Connell
copyright © 2009 by Kathleen O’Connell

No ideas but in steps— to paraphrase William Carlos Williams—would be a fitting summary of Pam Tanowitz’ “Be in the Gray with Me,” and that is a compliment. Her elegant and fluent new work isn’t “about” anything—there’s no Big Idea lurking in there—but it’s no exercise in empty step-spinning or hollow atmospherics. In the process of probing matters of form and craft—How can traditional material be broken down and intelligibly reassembled? When should dancers move in unison, in canon, or at random? How should they take the stage and how should they leave it? How should the dancing start and how should it end, if end it must?—Tanowitz created a step-focused work that engaged both the mind and eye.

Flights of Fancy

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

New York City Ballet

David H. Koch Theater

New York, NY

June 18, 2009

By Martha Sherman

Copyright © 2009 by Martha Sherman

As the lights fell and conductor Maurice Kaplow raised his baton, the magic of the violins dripping with fairy dust caught us once again. Part of the enduring magic of Balanchine’s ballet is the anticipation of new casts, an eternally youthful ballet continually rejuvenating itself. There were many debuts on Thursday evening, and several strong fresh solos. Theresa Reichlen, giving her first performance as the fairy queen Titania, brought the two essential elements of this character with her – a regal bearing combined with the lightness of fairydom. Whether entering with a diaphanous train, or sinking into her fairy bower, Reichlen is dancing royalty. Her precision among the lilting attendants was both light and powerful. Her partner, Andrew Veyette as Oberon, also danced a powerful solo, especially the relentless beats of his entrechats-six. Surprisingly, their duets (as well as her duet with debuting Cavalier, Justin Peck) were unsteady, with some landings and balances that were compromised. 

Of the several other debuts of the evening, the most charming was Brittany Pollack’s Butterfly, all sweetness and speed, centering the delicious fairy swarm who are still cast from every age at the School of American Ballet. In Jared Angle’s debut in the second act Divertissement, his partnering of Jenifer Ringer was steady and powerful and their elegant duet was the most poised performance of the evening. Savannah Lowery, in her debut of the other queenly role as the huntress Hippolyta, had the strength and power for the role, but did not deliver the precision it required.

Explorations

Arka Ballet
American Dance Institute
Rockville, Maryland
June 20, 2009

by George Jackson
copyright 2009 by GJ

With a behemoth, the Bolshoi Ballet, in town could a small classical company performing in a modest studio theater make a dent?  Arka's impact was due to its dancers' interest in exploring styles and cultures, and its director's choice of apt repertory. Distinctions between different types of ballet dancing (Royal Danish, Maryinsky, International Romantic) were conveyed with care. The nuances of love in contrasting societies (old Oriental, genteel European, modern Latino) were addressed seriously. Worthwhile and varied fare well prepared was what the audiences attending this 10th anniversary Arka program saw.

Going Back

"Le Corsaire"
Bolshoi Ballet
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
June 17, 2009

by George Jackson
copyright 2009 by GJ

Going back to 1899 in order to restore "Le Corsaire" had its reasons. Wanted was a peak version of the often altered old ballet, plus documentation. The changes Marius Petipa made that year came at a  time when he had also been doing his wonderful work with the great Tchaikowsky and Glazunov scores. Moreover, choreographic notations and other pieces information about that "Corsaire" have survived. The current Bolshoi production by Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka uses the 1899 data with discretion. The result is certainly worth seeing in its entirety - once. Is it, though, something to go back to a second time? 

Pirates, Flowers and Dancing Girls

"Le Corsaire"
Bolshoi Ballet
Opera House
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
June 17, 2009

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2009 by Alexandra Tomalonis

 Like many of the few surviving 19th century ballets, "Le Corsaire" has had many lives. Inspired by a poem by Byron, born in France (1856) as a vehicle for Carolina Rosati with choreography by Joseph Mazilier and a score by Adolphe Adam, "Le Corsaire made its way to St. Petersburg shortly thereafter, where first Jules Perrot, then Marius Petipa, staged several versions. The production that the Bolshoi Ballet is presenting this week is based on Petipa's last version, from 1899. The sets (by Boris Kaminsky) and costumes (by Yelena Zaitseva), are based on the 1899 designs, and are gorgeous. The corsairs (pirates) are dressed in Greek costumes -- white shirts and skirts over dark red trousers and boots; the women's dresses in the character dances are not only beautifully designed but have flow, and their tutus, especially in the Jardin Animé scene, manage to look old-fashioned without being fussy, and eminently danceable. It's a beautiful production, and the company dances it with a zest and confidence that makes you love them.

Dancing on Air

"Airs", "La Sylphide"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 17, 2009

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2009 by Mary Cargill

The imaginative pairing of Paul Taylor's celestial "Airs" and August Bournonville's magical "La Sylphide" makes for a very satisfying evening.  Of course, it is a lot to ask of a company to look completely comfortable in two different and distinctive styles, and no one would take ABT for either Paul Taylor dancers or Danes.  "Airs", though, had a serene and forthright glory, led by Simone Messmer as the odd girl out.  It was cast from corps and soloist ranks, including many who had made such an impression in the fall season's Taylor success "Company B".  Among these were Joseph Phillips, who danced the playful and flirty pas de deux with Kelley Boyd like an all-American faun.  Roddy Doble (who had been so exuberant in "Company B") coped well, though not quite effortlessly, with the difficult partnering.  Messmer, who had been such a magnificent Myrtha is last week's Giselleathon, combined weight with a glorious sense of movement, seeming to carve through the air, and create a separate space for herself; there is loneliness, even in Taylor's paradise.