Summer 2015 Review

©2015DanceResearch Foundation,Inc.Allrightsreserved. 4 Brookly n – Susanna Sloat 5 Berlin – Darrell Wilkins 7 London – Leigh Witchel 9 New York – Susanna Sloat 10 Toronto – Gary Smith 12 New York – Karen Greenspan 14 London – David Mead 15 New York – Susanna Sloat 16 San Francisco – Leigh Witchel 19 Boston – Jeffrey Gantz 21 New York – Harris Green 39 22 San Francisco – Rachel Howard 23 London – Leigh Witchel Ballet Review 43.2 24 Brooklyn – Darrell Wilkins Summer 2015 26 El Paso – Karen Greenspan Editor and Designer: 31 San Francisco – Rachel Howard Marvin Hoshino 32 Chicago – Joseph Houseal Managing Editor: Roberta Hellman Sharon Skeel 34 Early American Annals of Senior Editor: Don Daniels The Sleeping Beauty Associate Editor: 54 Christopher Caines Joel Lobenthal 39 Tharp and Tudor for a Associate Editor: New Generation Larry Kaplan Michael Langlois Webmaster: 46 A Conversation with Ohad Naharin David S. Weiss Copy Editors: Leigh Witchel Barbara Palfy* 54 Ashton Celebrated Naomi Mindlin Joel Lobenthal Photographers: Tom Brazil 62 62 A Conversation with Nora White Costas Nina Alovert Associates: 70 The Mikhailovsky Ballet Peter Anastos Robert Greskovic David Mead George Jackson 76 A Conversation with Peter Wright Elizabeth Kendall Paul Parish James Sutton Nancy Reynolds 89 Indianapolis Evening of Stars James SuXon David Vaughan Leigh Witchel Edward Willinger 70 94 La Sylphide Sarah C. Woodcock Jay Rogoff 98 A Conversation with Wendy Whelan 106 London Reporter – Clement Crisp 110 Music on Disc – George Dorris Cover photograph by Costas: Wendy Whelan 116 Check It Out and Nikolaj Hübbe in La Sonnambula. the prince and Clara, but they make no claim twenty-firstcentury,althoughhisvocabulary to sovereignty over the other creatures. and line are in many ways closer to Petipa and All clamor around the homecoming prince Cechetti than Balanchine was. Or, rather, Bal- and Clara and urge them to tell their story of anchine extended and revised the Petipa aes- war and love. Afterwards, in what is perhaps thetic to form a new continuity. the only moment of gravity in the entire Ratmansky alternates the old-school Rus- evening, Drosselmeier and the Sugar Plum sian aesthetic with post-postmodern pastiche Fairy show the young couple a house, whose and slapstick to create a new discontinuity. thresholdtheysolemnlycrossto- gether,like bride and groom. Out front, everyone . The Arabian variation is par- ticularly telling. In a Nutcracker that is largely about the tribula- tions and rewards of love be- tween a man and a woman, this variation parodies in another Romantic-Realist vignette the consequences of trying to divide your love among four wives or concubines. Four women start out vying for the pasha’s atten- tion. As he continues to play one against the other, however – rather than commit himself ex- clusively to one, as they request – the women wax angry. In a de- cisive show of female solidarity,they all aban- (MerepostmodernismwouldnottolerateRat- don him at once, leaving him in a heap of frus- mansky’s friendly and generative intercourse tration at center stage. with classicism.) The adult Clara and Nutcracker Prince How is that possible? Who could have fore- (whom we know well already as a result of the seen that the academic vocabulary of ballet action’s many flash-forwards) emerge from would survive into our century? Then again, thehousetodancethegrandpasdedeux.Clara who could have foreseen that it would survive iscrownedintokenofherbondwiththeprince into the twentieth? Never mind. Just be grate- and perhaps of her belonging to this utopic ful that New York City once again has a Rus- land of joyful fairies, flowers and bees, poli- sian-born man of the theater who not only chinelles, and lovers. At the very end, Clara knows the ins and outs of and pointe wakes from her dream in the Stahlbaums’ work but also has a vision of human action house. But she will never be the same again. and intercourse worth aspiring to. And this is all danced brilliantly in the zip- py, ironic, hyperclean style with which Rat- El Paso mansky has revived the art form over these Karen Greenspan past ten years. It is refreshing to have narra- tivedramaturgythatreallymakessenseagain. Here on the west Texas border, along the Rio But his is the real miracle – au- Grande, in an area known for college basket- thentic, complexly musical, astonishingly in- ballandsometimesprickly,ordangerous,bor- ventive and fresh, unquestionably of the der tensions with neighboring Ciudad Juarez, 2 ©2015KarenGreenspan the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) cel- with the sea-nymph Galatea. Unfortunately, ebrated its centennial anniversary on August the cyclops Polyphemus has also been smitten 30, 2014, with a cross-cultural collaboration by Galatea’s beauty.Unable to control his jeal- called“OperaBhutan.”Dancersandmusicians ousy, Polyphemus hurls a huge stone at Acis from “The Land of Gross National Happiness” and kills him. The chorus consoles Galatea, traveled halfway around the world to join in- convincing her to use her semidivine powers ternational vocalists and opera directors as to transform her dead lover into a flowing well as a chorus and orchestra comprised of stream, immortalizing him. UTEP students and faculty (including some Once the Bhutanese expressed interest in from Juarez). Together, they performed the hostingitsfirstoperaproduction,Mr.Carpenè George Frideric Handel opera, AcisandGalatea, approached Italian stage director, Stefano based on a Greek myth retold in Ovid’s Meta- Vizioli, who was enticed by the novelty of the morphoses. project and its potential for learning and As I walked to the venue to attend a dress reaching beyond the ordinary. Next, they rehearsal, my jaw dropped as I realized we would have to find a sponsoring partner. were entering the university’s huge Don After several rejections from various opera Haskin’s Center, a basketball arena that seats companies, Mr. Scott reached out to UTEP,re- 12,000 people. I am not used to that level of calling the curious link between the school opera attendance – even in my hometown of and DrukYul, or the Land of the Thunder Drag- New York City. Dr. Diana Natalicio, UTEP’s on.Onehundredyearsago,thewifeofthefirst President for twenty-six years, smiled as she dean of the school, Kathleen Worrell, read a told me they hoped for at least 7,500 to attend 1914 National Geographic photo essay, describ- the free event, “a gift the school is presenting ing the travels of Jean Claude White, a colo- to the community in celebration of our cen- nial officer stationed in the Raj, who trekked tennial.” across the isolated mountain kingdom of In 2004, early music specialist and conduc- Bhutan. She likened the Himalayas to El Paso’s tor Aaron Carpenè had the novel idea to pro- Franklin Mountains and convinced her hus- duce the first Western opera in Bhutan. He ap- band that Bhutan’s architecture would be a proached Preston Scott, consultant to the goodmodelforuniversitybuildingsthatneed- Bhutanese government and curator for the ed reconstructing after a fire. SmithsonianFolklifeFestival,andin2009they Sincethen,UTEP’sbuildingsconformtothe proposed the idea to Bhutanese officials. The unique style of Bhutan – battered walls taper- project would be a collaboration uniting ele- ing outward at the base, a wide reddish band mentsoftheirperformingartstraditionsw ith painted around the upper portion of the fa- the Western operatic form. The opera Acis and cade, Bhutanese designs dotting the band and Galatea, with its story based on Ovid’s Meta- the painted borders around the windows, and morphoses, seemed the perfect platform as it red roofs that seem to float above the tall walls shares many universal themes that resonate crowned by golden pinnacles. Over the years in Buddhism – love, suffering as a result of this relationship has been nurtured to include anger and attachment, and death leading to frequent cultural events, student exchange, transformation. and now – Opera Bhutan. This baroque pastoral opera, composed by Seeking ways to strengthen the school’s George Frideric Handel, originally premiered relationship with Bhutan beyond its archi- in 1718 as a courtly entertainment for a pri- tecture and because of her own vision for her vate gathering in the English countryside. students and the larger El Paso community, in Sungi nEnglish(whichisBhutan’ssecondlan- 2012 Dr. Natalicio threw her support behind guage), the opera’s simple plot is a tragic love Opera Bhutan and its creators. With a student triangle. Acis, a young shepherd, falls in love population of 23,000, whose demographics re- summer 2015 27 flect those of the region – 78 percent Mexican characters, chorus, and Bhutanese dancers American and another 8 percent who com- made their entrances at audience level (below mute across the border from Juarez – she is the stage) and proceeded around the stage be- committed to creating the highest education- fore climbing up or leaping onto it. alopportunitiesforahistoricallyunderserved Backstage in the RAPA dressing room, usu- population. ally quarters for UTEP’s famed basketball Through Opera Bhutan, UTEP students, players, I couldn’t help but notice the cultur- performing in the opera chorus and orches- al dissonance between the posters of UTEP’s tra (along with some faculty), would work star players plastered on the walls keeping professionally with international vocalists company with the sacred masks and in- and opera directors, travel and work abroad strumentsoftheBhutanesedancers.Iwatched in a completely foreign culture when the pro- as the dancers donned layer after layer of cos- duction premiered in Bhutan, and create an tume infused with Himalayan Buddhist sym- invaluable experience for their own commu- bolism – colorful silk skirts, shirts, collars, nity on the occasion of the university’s cen- belts, sashes, wigs, and crowns – fully trans- tennial celebration. Dr. Natalicio acknowl- forming themselves into performers of a sa- edged, “Creating a dissonance by producing a cred tradition. Others were horsing around, baroque/BhutanesefusionoperaontheTexas/ cracking jokes, and tooting on the ten-foot- Mexico border will cause people to scratch long dungchen (telescoping, brass horns fre- theirheadsandbecurioustolearnmoreabout quently used in Himalayan rituals). us.” The plan was to premiere the opera in On the evening of the centennial perform- Bhutan in October 2013 and a year later in ance the arena began to fill with students, fac- Texas for UTEP’s centennial. ulty, families from El Paso and from Juarez, The directors wanted to achieve an au- friends (some of whom worked on the pro- thentic expression that would honor each cul- duction in Bhutan), and alumni of all ages. ture’s interpretation of the thematic materi- The RAPA dancers opened the evening al. Mr. Vizioli was adamant that this not be with two sacred dances, Pacham (Dance of the musical colonialism. To that end, the main Heroes) and Drametse Nga Cham (The Drum production team traveled to Bhutan and met Dance of Drametse). The latter is designated with Mr. Tshering, Principal of Bhutan’s Roy- byUNESCOasaMasterpieceo fIntangibleCul- al Academy of Performing Arts (RAPA). He re- tural Heritage and Humanity. Cham is a form counted how Mr. Vizioli described the story of , much like prayer or medita- of Acis and Galatea and blocked the opera into tion–thatreinforcesBuddhistbeliefsandval- scenes. Together they decided where to in- ues, and is believed to accumulate merit for corporate elements of the country’s sacred the performers and spectators alike. This pre- dance, folk music, and . Mr. Tsher- performancetreatgavetheaudienceaglimpse ing selected elements from their repertory into the powerful experience of cham. that enriched the telling of the story from the TomoreeffectivelyintegratetheBhutanese Bhutanese perspective. cultural elements into the Handel opera, Mr. Vizioli envisioned staging the produc- Vizioli reimagined the story set in the early tion in a manner that would capture the at- 1920s with a group of young European travel- mosphere of a Bhutanese tsechu (sacred dance ers visiting Bhutan for the first time. Galatea, festival). In these outdoor courtyard per- sung with playful virtuosity by Francesca formances the audience is arranged around Lombardi Mazzulli, was portrayed as a mem- the performance space at the same leve l of and ber of the group of Western tourists. She made incloseproximitywiththeperformers.Hence, her initial entrance through the yellow silk the stage for the opera at UTEP was built jut- curtains (reminiscent of Bhutanese temple tingoutintotheaudience.Sometimesthemain and tsechu decor) carrying a copy of the his- 28 ballet review toric issue of National Geographic from April dancecostumes)–meninredandgold-striped 1914, as if using the photo essay to identify the gho (wraparound, belted, knee-length robe monasteries and fortresses in the surround- with wide, white cuffs) and special embroi- ing foreign landscape. deredknee-highboots,andMs.Wangmowore The chorus, Galatea’s Western traveling a salmon-colored brocade kira (long, narrow, companions, dressed in 1920s period attire, wraparound skirt) topped off with an elegant performed pleasing choreography set by Ital- matching silk tego (women’s jacket). The folk ian choreographer and period dance special- dance and song hada magical quality as the ist, Gloria Giordano. Ms. Giordano explained folk dancers encircled Acis and Galatea, who that the choreographic challenge for her was were seated on the floor performing a mir- to give a specific historical context that re- roring sequence that communicated their en- flected Vizioli’s directorial choice to set the rapt state. story in the early 1900s as opposed to the No sooner than we were carried away with baroque period of the music. She integrated the soaring emotions and music of the young steps and formations from English country lovers, than the winds of change and turbu- dances with the later forms of the quadrille lencedancedthroughintheformofBhutanese and to define a stylistically later period masked performers. Wearing wrathful, red from that of Handel. masksandtiger-skinskirts,theydancedbare- The Bhutanese performers supported the chested, using hooked sticks to loudly beat actionastheWesterntravelersplayedouttheir large hand drums. Their entrance, with drama. The female Bhutanese vocalist, San- pounding drums and frightening costumes, gay Wangmo, sang a newly composed song set an alarming and sinister tone – foreshad- with a hauntingmelody called “The Four owing impending doom for the idyllic love af- Friends,” based on a Buddhist teaching about fair. the interconnectedness of all beings. She was Thechoreographywasacombinationoftwo accompaniedbyfourBhutanesemaskeddanc- sacred dances attributed to a Bhutanese fif- ers wearing multicolored silk skirts, silk tops, teenth-century saint, Pema Lingpa. Bhutan- and animal masks, dancing an ersatz sacred esebelievehereceiveddreamrevelationswith dance. The introduction of this mystical, mi- choreographic instructions for these sacred nor-key melody immediately following the dances that depict spirits who search out previous upbeat baroque chorus was a jarring and subjugate obstacles and negativity. The experience. The transition might have been dancersboundedandhoppedinacircleasthey accomplished with more subtlety had the struck the hooked sticks against the drums; chamdancers initially performed in silence. then their torsos swooped in full arcs. The However, the presentation captured the exot- drumssignifywisdomwhilethehookedsticks ic sights and sounds of Bhutan. represent compassion, which unite in the At times the masked dancers moved about striking of the instrument to create aware- the main players in a slow surreal fashion. ness. With their mythical presence, they served as Two silk-skirted Bhutanese dancers on a kinetic stage set, facilitating the characters’ opposite sides of the stage blowing the dra- progress through the plot. matic ten-foot-long dungchen heralded the A contemporary Bhutanese love song was entrance of the monster Polyphemus, played woven into the story with an accompanying by Jacques-Greg Belobo, origi nally from Ca- folk dance. The movements were gentle and meroon. With his rich bass voice, he sang of flowing with fluid hand and wrist gestures – his intense attraction to Galatea. always made to look effortless in typical All of a sudden, two atsara (Bhutanese jes- Bhutanese style. The dancers dressed in their ters) sauntered onto the stage. These jokers, traditional attire (different from the sacred staple characters at the festivals in Bhutan, summer 2015 29 typically use uninhibited, irreverent antics to dressed in traditional folk costumes) carry- pokefunattheperformersandaudiencemem- ing a giant, blue, silk cloth and placed it over bers alike. Costumed in red pajamas and red Acis. In an exquisitely staged metamorphosis, masks with a fabric phallus flopping around Galatea emerged from her grief and wrapped on top, they were cleverly integrated into the herself in the blue silk, as if it were an all-en- sceneinwhichPolyphemusbemoanedhislack compassing cloak. Performing their effort- of success with Galatea. less-looking folk-dance choreography with Inspecting Polyphemus’s manhood and delicately rotating wrists, the Bhutanese en- sniffing up his cloak and body parts to assess circled her. The chorus unfurled the remain- their freshness, the atsara made fun of his pa- der of the blue cloth to cover the entire stage thetic attempts to woo her. They humorously and gently manipulated it to create the vision aidedDamon( friendandadvisortoall),played of a rippling stream. As Galatea released the and sung with skill and assurance by Brian cloak, she turned upstage to walk amidst the Downen, as he advised Polyphemus on im- ripples,havingtransformedherloverandhav- proving his chances with Galatea. ing been transformed by loving. This finale The opera hit a moving climax as Acis, con- was breathtaking, as the chorus celebrated, vincingly played by Thomas Macleay of Cana- singing that Acis (now a flowing stream) will da, and Galatea sang a public declaration of forevermore be, “murmuring still thy gentle their love, in what began as a duet, “The flocks love.” shall leave the mountains.” These sublime Opera Bhutan’s syncretic interpretation strains were joined by a jealous Polyphemus, was affecting on many levels. The process em- whotransformeditintoanemotion-filledtrio, ployedtocreatethepieceentailedthought,di- until he could no longer contain his rage and alogue, cooperation, and compromise – skills killed Acis, crushing him with a boulder. we sorely need in the domains of family, do- In a well-crafted and poignant transition, mestic, and global relations. Artists from dis- a solitary, barefoot, Bhutanese flute player tinct cultures learned and contributed their walked onstage performing a traditional tune unique expressions of shared themes and val- as Acis lay dead. As he finished, four masked ues – amplifying the range of expressivity. dancers in the white skeleton costumes of the The opportunities for the varied audiences Bhutanese Durdag (Lords of the Cremation to gain exposure to new sights, sounds, and GroundsDance)performedsectionsofthissa- expressions raised the potential for resonat- cred dance around Acis’s dead body. They ing connections. Both East and West sacrificed shook the fingers of their floppy white gloves some cultural purity for the sake of the pro- and twisted their bodies back and forth. These duction, but the collaborative process itself lords are believed to dwell in the cremation was an authentic artistic expression. Most of grounds to help liberate those who have de- the cultural transitions worked well; a couple parted. couldhavebeensmootherandprobablywould A solo vocalist, Kencho Wangdi, dressed as have been, had more performances allowed anenlightenedlama,accompaniedthedancers the production to ripen. and sang as he circumambulated the stage. He The Opera Bhutan directors are creating chanted a mournful melody with lyrics, com- waves in the opera world, and have received posed by the revered eleventh-century yogi proposalsformoreinterculturalcollaborative Milarepa, that spoke (once again) of the in- projects – The Magic Flute in Cambodia and terconnectedness of all beings. Orfeo in Japan. The UTEP student performers After a moving choral procession and and their families, some of whom cross the lament, the chorus convinced Galatea to im- border every time they travel to and from mortalize Acis by transforming him into a the university, have been utterly changed by flowing stream. The Bhutanese entered (again participating in a creative process drawing on 30 ballet review artistic and cultural expressions that tran- role,afterdeliveringarivetingact1lastspring. scend political boundaries and geographic (Her mad swung Albrecht’s sword borders. The university offered an unprece- around so hazardously that she ripped the dented opportunity for exposure and learn- velvet dress worn by Bathilde, a gesture the ing to its students, the surrounding commu- wardrobe department is surely relieved she nities,andtheBhutanesecollaboratingartists did not repeat.) and audiences. Froustey came to San Francisco last season Remarkably, this Western classical myth of on a two-year sabbatical from the Paris Opera Acis and Galatea served as a perfect vehicle to Ballet, where she was not elevated from sujet. illustrate the Himalayan Buddhist view of the Many in the Bay Area are praying she will find transitorynatureofthephysicalworld.Opera San Francisco sufficiently fulfilling to defect Bhutan has taken this tale of transformation permanently, all the more so after her second through love and added its own unique story act of Giselle showed such depth. of reaching across cultures – achieving an ex- TiitHelimets,Froustey’sAlbrecht,connect- pression that transcends the ordinary. ed with his Giselle through glance and ges- ture. His minutely fluttering feet during his San Francisco marathon series of entrechats are a wondrous Rachel Howard expression of terror. Froustey has said she wanted to work to- Insatiable patrons were ward conveying both the lightness of Giselle’s well fed by artistic director Helgi Tomasson’s ghostly form and the heaviness of death, casting generosity for Giselle: six casts over and she succeeded movingly. Certain optical- the course of an eight-performance run. (And illusion steps that she had not mastered last a seventh Giselle was scheduled, but Lorena year were magical this time, like the series of Feijóo had to cancel due to injury.) I was able entrechats where Giselle must appear to be to catch just two Giselle-Albrecht pairings, battedaroundthestagelikeawispinthewind. but left the War Memorial Opera House deeply Equally important, in each passage she has sated. built an escalation – a particular touch or look Mathilde Froustey had her second go at the from Albrecht sending her into greater des- peration to save him, and a morefrenziedenergyinher famously silken ports de bras. Yet suddenly, when the sun had risen and the Wilis had fled, Froustey became againdeadweight.Inthelift when Albrecht lays the ful- ly stretched Giselle across his arm, which with many ballerinas reads like mere display of a pretty pose, Froustey became a true corpse. Her return to the grave was not so much the fading of a ghost as the de- composition of a body. Frances Chung also de- 31