Michael Langlois
Fall 2014 Ballet Review
National and International Reviews from Ballet Review Fall 2014 On the cover: Bijayini Satpathy and Surupa Sen in Songs of Love and Longing. (Photo: Stephanie Berger, Baryshnikov Arts Center)
©2014 Dance Research Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 Miami – Michael Langlois 5 New York – Joseph Houseal 7 Brooklyn, NY – Sandra Genter 8 Toronto – Gary Smith 10 Miami – Michael Langlois 11 Toronto – Gary Smith 13 Salt Lake City – Leigh Witchel 14 Stufgart – Gary Smith 16 London – Larry Kaplan 17 Chicago – Joseph Houseal 19 New York – Alexandra Villarreal 35 21 San Francisco – Rachel Howard 22 Miami – Michael Langlois Dawn Lille 24 A Conversation with Sylvester Campbell Susanna Sloat 35 ge Limón Heritage
Ballet Review 42.3 Elizabeth Aldrich and Victoria Phillips Fall 2014 39 ge Body Politic Editor and Designer: 62 Michael Langlois Marvin Hoshino 40 A Conversation with Justin Peck Managing Editor: Jay Rogoff Roberta Hellman 50 Happy and Wretched in Boston Senior Editor: Don Daniels Joel Lobenthal Associate Editor: 52 A Conversation with Valerie Camille Joel Lobenthal Joseph Houseal Associate Editor: 62 Tales of the Second City Larry Kaplan 40 Jonelle Seitz Copy Editors: 68 A Conversation with Mike McKinley Barbara Palfy Naomi Mindlin Harris Green Photographers: 74 Spring Awakening Tom Brazil Costas Susanna Sloat 78 Paul Taylor 2014 Webmaster: David S. Weiss Karen Greenspan Associates: 90 ge Legacy of Shiva Peter Anastos 97 London Reporter – Clement Crisp Robert Greskovic 13 George Jackson 111 Music on Disc – George Dorris Elizabeth Kendall 116 Check It Out Paul Parish Nancy Reynolds James Sufon David Vaughan Edward Willinger Cover photograph by Stephanie Berger, Baryshnikov Arts Center: Sarah C. Woodcock Bijayini Satpathy and Surupa Sen in Songs of Love and Longing. Miami Nacho Duato, and Alexei Ratmansky. It was a Michael Langlois fascinating bit of musical and choreographic programming to have Peck of New York City For those who pay attention to such things, Ballet with Britten’s String Quartet follow di- Miami City Ballet’s second program at the rectly on the heels of Balanchine and Bach. Adrienne Arsht Center was called “See the What could those comparisons possibly lead Music.” The music, in this case, began with one to conclude? In my case, it was that Con- Bach’s Double Violin Concerto and was fol- certoBaroccoisaballetyoucanneverseeenough lowed, after a pause, by Benjamin Britten’s of, and that Peck, at twenty-six, has already String Quartet No. 1. Later we heard a record- created in the pas de deux Chutes and Ladders ing of Maria del Mar Bonet sing five Catalan (2012) a work that can follow a masterpiece songs, and to close the program we had Rach- and truly hold its own. maninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Opus 45. I’m going to skip ahead here to my overall The choreographers, in order of appear- impression, which, at nearly three hours, was ance, were George Balanchine, Justin Peck, so good in every respect I almost thought I was back in New York. What did the local audience Ballet Review is a nonprofit journal published by the DanceResearchFoundation,Inc.Itissupportedinpart enjoy most? Nacho Duato’s Jardi Tancat. Why? by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, My guess is that the Grapes of Wrath aura that the New York State Council on the Arts, The Fan Fox hung over the entire affair made them wist- and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, and individuals. ful for a time or a country they once knew,but Contributions to the Dance Research Foundation, Inc., I could be wrong. There are never any jokes 37 West 12 Street, Apt. 7j, New York, NY 10011, are tax- in a Duato ballet, that’s for sure, and while the deductible. movementispoeticitcouldn’thelpbutremind Board of Directors: Mary Sharp Cronson, Hubert Goldschmidt,RobertaHellman,MarvinHoshin o,Nan- me that Duato’s former boss, Jiří Kylián, did it cy Lassalle, Dawn Lille, Theodore C. Rogers, Barbara allwithahellofalotmorepanacheandasense E. Schlain, David Vaughan, David Weiss, Helen M. of humor. Wright. The greatest ballet on the program was, of * course, Concerto Barocco. No need to expound Editorial correspondence, review books, subscrip- on that here, and while I was hoping Ratman- tions, and changes of address to Ballet Review, 37 West sky would give Mr. B a run for his money, 12 Street, Apt. 7j, New York, NY 10011. Articles and pictures should be accompanied by a self-addressed, I must say I was disappointed and confused stamped return envelope. Phone: 212-924-5183. Fax: by his Symphonic Dances, a ballet I would like 212-924-2176. e-mail:
tonitismorephysical.ForAshtonit’smore Photo: Cylla vonTiedemann, National Ballet of Canada emotional. Several of the women in Watch her begin to dress in looser, more sensual costumes thatrevealskin,feeling,andpassion.Some of themen rip off their jackets and ties, discarding a look of commerce that seemed Watch her: Sonia Rodriguez. to trap them. In each of these compelling bal- Turgenev play of the same title. Instead, Ash- lets, what appears to be an ordered environ- ton suggests a romantic idyll that remains a ment is toppled from its moorings. sorry substitute for physical passion. It’s all A Month in the Country’s young and beauti- very prettified and elegant, but we don’t re- fultutorBeliaevupsetssurfacecalminacoun- ally sense the fire underneath. try house, replete with heavy chandeliers, There are three elegant and rhapsodic pas busy wall decoration, and shimmering cur- de deux set to ravishing Chopin music. Two of tains that billow at a large, French-style win- these are danced to perfection by Greta dow. Beyond that window a garden suggests a Hodgkinson and Guillaume Côté as the mis- world of less restricted life. A bird in a gilded tressofthehouseandherwould-belover.Côté cage hangs just left of center stage, an image also superbly dances a dramatic moment of of entrapment. confession and desire with Lobsanova’s Olga, When Natalia Petrovna, a bored and beau- the family ward. tiful woman married to an adoring but elder- One of the National Ballets’ most skillful ly husband, falls romantically for the hand- dancers, Côté has his usual difficulty ex- some young man hired to teach her young son, pressing deeper dramatic meaning here, sub- this ordered world falls apart. Not only does stituting charm, yearning, and a look of Natalia long for Beliaev, but so does her son earnest concern for darker emotions. Never Kolia, expertly danced by Francesco Gabriele mind, in this case it’s enough. Anyone who Frola. Her young ward Vera (Elena Lobsa- looks this good in form-fitting trousers and nova), as well as Katia, the household maid, tapered Cossack shirts can be forgiven almost (Alexandra MacDonald) also share fantasies anything. about the young man’s porcelain beauty. Hodgkinson offers cool assurance as Na- fall 2014 9 talia, finding a deep well of sorrow at the center of this vain, but beautiful, woman. At later performances, Xiao Nan Yu gave a sweeter, warmer account of Natalia’s lost youth and cry of the heart. Some see the ballet as dated, or antique. In fact it isn’t. It just comes at desperate Photo: Daniel Azoulay, Miami City Ballet feelings from a more genteel, less visceral place. It’s been too long since The National Ballet danced Ashton’s exquisite work and itoughttobeprogrammedagain,verysoon. Watch her, by Alberta choreogr apher Barton, was specifically created for The National and as a result it sits superbly on its dancers. Although there are several cen- Episodes: Patricia Delgado. tral roles for women, danced brilliantly by miere fro m present day, but also the time it Sonia Rodriguez, Svetlana Lunkina and Jenna takes to seduce today’s viewer into believing Savella, this is an ensemble piece that shows in characters who act and dress and dance in off everyone to fine advantage. Watching so a fashion that already would have appeared many dancers moving with gorgeous syn- quaint three decades ago. chronicity, yet always providing individual Itmightbedifficult,evenundernormalcir- grace notes of meaning, is special indeed. cumstances, to buy into a bunch of pretty- Barton’s choreography, sometimes aggres- boygangmemberswearingKedsandT-shirts. sive and visceral, yet always lyric and fasci- Or mimed violence made manifest by ballet nating,hashiddensecrets.Armsareusedbril- dancers during an era of mixed martial arts liantlyandBarton’ssudden,tightstepsagainst and Game of Thrones. Or odd discrepancies be- the sweep and resonance of Lera Auerbach’s tween dancers who occasionally sing in char- DialoguesonStabatMater,afterPergolesi,are acter via microphone like today’s Broadway thrilling. performers, but then suddenly and mysteri- ouslydon’t(whilesomedisembodiedvoicethat Miami is meant to be them rises from who-knows- Michael Langlois where). But if we then add the lack of plot de- velopment and time to suspend one’s 2014 dis- If we married Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo belief in a 1950s turf war waged by assorted and Juliet and Garry Marshall’s Happy Days, the alumni of The School of American ballet, then sitcom about 1950s America, presumably we the whole endeavor becomes a parody. would have a child that looks something like How can we genuinely feel for Tony and West Side Story Suite, the concert version from Maria or their plight when their romance is Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (1989) of his 1957 reduced to a speed date at Johnny Rockets? musical (choreographed with Peter Gennaro) Where MacMillan’s Romeo continues to chal- that Robbins restaged for New York City Bal- lenge both dancer and viewer, Robbins’ mod- let in 1995. Yes, that’s a mouthful, but there ern-day version of this tragic love story ap- are a mouthful of problems with this twice- pears hopelessly dated. What might have removed distillation of West Side Story, as per- seemed racy choreographically or conceptu- formed at Miami City Ballet. ally in 1957 simply isn’t anymore. We’ve seen Let’s start with the most obvious problem: too much. We’ve lived through too much. And time. And by time I mean not simply the fifty- dance – even Broadway dance – has come a seven years that separate West Side Story’s pre- long, long way in fifty years. 10 ©2014MichaelLanglois On a less bitchy note, the dancers of Miami Toronto City Ballet threw themselves into this period Gary Smith pieceanditwasexcitingtowitnesstheirtrans- formation into actors and singers. The audi- How smart to have Evan McKie from Stuttgart ence in Miami seemed to find WSSS as reward- Ballet perform the role of Lensky in The Na- ing as MCB’s marketing department seemed tional Ballet of Canada’s beautifully staged to want them to so, my opinion aside, I think production of Onegin. McKie’s presence in this it’s safe to say it was a success. Cranko masterwork gave the entire company What was truly revelatory on this program something to aspire to. With his pure, clean was Balanchine’s brilliant 1959 black-and- line and strong technique, he is the master whiteballet,Episodes,aworkcreatedtwoyears danseur noble of his generation. A visceral after Agon and thirteen years after The Four Romeo, an elegant Siegfried, and a dark and Temperaments. Set to a score by Anton Webern, haunting Onegin, McKie has the talents of a Episodes toys with the distinction between hu- dazzling dancer as well as an astute actor. manity and mechanization, between turning McKie’s Lensky was light as air, peppered in and turning out, between flexion and ex- with quicksilver turns and airborne flights of tension, up and down, black and white, flat fancy. It was dramatically shaded and gently and on pointe. nuanced. There was sincere pain and fear in Episodes is a conversation between seem- his duel scene. It was a performance that ad- ingly disparate ideas in much the same way hered to the technical demands of the role, but that Webern’s twelve-tone music is a conver- soared far beyond such necessities. sation about the hierarchical nature of music Noteverything,however,wasperfectinthe andthetensionbetweena norderedtonaluni- National’s production. Some casting choices verse with prescribed rules for behavior and did not allow the ballet’s drama to unfold per- something else that appears quite radical but fectly. McGee Maddox has an earnest manner is, in fact, simply a different order with its and attractive stage presence. He’s an intelli- own rules of behavior. gent and thoughtful actor. What he isn’t, at AtonemomentEpisodesseemstobeallabout leastatthismoment,isaperfectOnegin.Mad- angularity and geometric planes, but in an in- dox hasn’t the capacity for exploring the dark stantthatconceitexplodesintosomethingan- soul of such a committed narcissist. He miss- imalistic, pornographic, anarchic. Woman is es the smug assurance and polished élan that manipulated, twisted, bound, spread open, make Onegin both seductive and lethal. pierced. Balanchine was nothing if not ob- Inthemirrorpasdedeux,forinstance,M ad- sessed with women and in Epis odes he takes dox doesn’t become the fantasy of Tatiana’s that obsession and turns it inside out, show- dreams. This is essential for the sexual con- ing us a kaleidoscope of her attitudes: domi- text of Cranko’s ballet to work perfectly. We nant and submissive, powerful and frail, coy must know Tatiana is besotted with her vi- and impudent. sion of Onegin. What we see of him when he These black-and-white Balanchine babes, leaps through her bedroom mirror must be withtheirendlesslegs,thrustingcrotches,and Tatiana’s dream image, the fantasy of Onegin dainty little black belts cinched tight around she holds in her heart. We must feel her inner their nothing waists, hair pulled high and fire burning, her heart thumping. For that to tight to magnify the angularity of their faces, happen it’s essential we have an Onegin who they are smoking hot and oh-so-eternally inspires a necessary whiff of perfumed ro- aloof that you can only dream of possessing mance, as well as lusty obsession. them. And dream you will because that’s what Maddox is excellent in the final scene when Balanchine did and that’s what he wanted us he returns to Tatiana many years later, a bro- to do. ken man. With his heart in his hand and his ©2014GarySmith 11 desire very obvious he is now everything she enough to resist. She made us believe for a ter- lusted after in her youth. A strong partner, rible moment she might throw away every- Maddox manages Cranko’s difficult lifts and thing. When she ripped up the love letter One- sudden shifts of weight and balance. In the fi- gin had given her, she pressed its tiny pieces nal scene he finds the fear and longing of a intohishand,breakinghisheartandherown. man who has squandered love, living for the Hodgkinson has developed such stunning superficial. acting powers that everything combines here Xiao Nan Yu does not come to the role of tocreateaTatianao fenormousrangeandpas- Tatiana easily. Her first appearance is young sion. You are reminded of Ekaterina Maxi- and girlish. She is believable reading her ro- mova’s lethal performance, as well as that of mantic book in Madame Larina’s lovely gar- Natalia Makarova, dance actresses capable of den. As she stretches on the grass she dreams bringing a role brilliantly to life. Her Onegin, ofpassionateencounters.Yet,whenshemeets thehandsome,alwayseasytowatchGuillaume the handsome and elegant Onegin, this Ta- Côté, did a fine job of telegraphing the man’s tiana looks pained and upset. She substitutes weakness and arrogance. Trouble is, Côté is an anguished look for acting. It doesn’t work. justtooboyishtoconvinceusofOnegin’sdark- This aspect remains throughout the ballet’s er soul. party scene that follows, so we can’t believe Neither Alejandra Perez-Gomez, nor Re- she has even a whisper of lust for this man in bekah Rimsay dance Madame Larina with the his handsome coat and formfitting tights. authority Victoria Bertram once brought to Later, in the mirror scene, she dances pret- this role. Real character artists can’t be made tily with the figure of Onegin that passes from mere dancers. Thankfully there is still through her gilded mirror. But where is the Lorna Geddes to give a nuanced take on Tati- real surrender? What we see is far too inno- ana’slovesick old nurse. Performances such as cent. The dancing is pristine. But where is the this one need to be cherished. passion? Shouldn’t there be passion? Isn’t this Both Jillian Vanstone and Elena Lobsanova, dance about rapturous surrender? alternatingasOlga,Tatiana’ssister,werefine. At a later performance, Greta Hodgkinson Each danced with radiant warmth, but nei- found precisely the fire necessary to make ther found the sadness in the dueling scene. Tatiana more than a lovesick child. In the The National’s young corps de ballet danced Mirror Pas de Deux, Hodgkinson melted into with energy, technique, and wonderful exu- her imagined lover’s arms, as if being enfold- berance, giving this Onegin essential spirit. ed by his masculinity was more than a dream. At later performances Naoya Ebe danced In the final act pas de deux with her husband Lensky well, but he failed to allow the dra- Prince Gremin, nicely played by Etienne Lav- matic underpinnings of the character to reg- igne, Hodgkinson was the dutiful and loving ister. wife. Her Tatiana had settled for a more com- The by now familiar new designs by Santo fortable, less troubled kind of love. Loquasto, with birch trees everywhere, are When she was suddenly confronted by her appealing enough though they drive the eye old dream of a lover, the older, still desper- upward away from the dance. And Tatiana’s ately handsome Onegin, she struggled not to bedroom is too busy with furniture and flow- melt into his arms. We knew how much her ers. The important mirror, which acts as the old dream had died hard. We knew the fight conduit to the dream man Onegin, looks more inside, struggling to resist temptation, yet like a doorway. longing to give in to her fantasy come alive. Let’s hope The National Ballet does this Hodgkinson balanced these emotions bril- Cranko work again – and soon. Hodgkinson liantly, keeping us on the edge of our seats, needs to have an opportunity to perform Ta- fearing, yet hoping, she might not be strong tiana again, before it’s too late. And wouldn’t 12 ballet review it be lovely to have McKie back, this time in anotherdancer’s performances of The Fire- thetitlerole?ThatwayTorontocouldseewhat bird with clean precision: birdlike on her first Paris Opera Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet audi- entry, with oblique glances and turned-in ences have been raving about. passés. But when she stopped before leaving, remembered something and gave Tilton the Salt Lake City magic feather, it was a flash of human person- Leigh Witchel ality. Katherine Lawrence played the charac- ter as more feral; she kept a nervous animal Like a city restoring an old church and throw- distance from Ruud even as she bowed to him ing in a few extra carvings for good measure, when summoned. Ballet West revisited its history for its fiftieth Christensen’s monsters wear monkey and anniversary season, but added a little extra Chinese-influenced lion/dog masks. Kostchei gilt and polish. Willam Christensen’s version is human, but with a fake nose and long, me- of The Firebird made its debut in 1967 when tallic nails. Beau Pearson relished the oppor- the company was still Utah Civic Ballet; it tunity to play a costumed villain. His cruelty became Ballet West the following year. The was carefully considered: a dangerous stroke work was revived by Bruce Caldwell, a cur- across Rex Tilton’scheek with a sharp nail. It’s rent ballet master who danced the part of wasn’t frightening, rather it was effective in the hero Ivan Tsarevich, and the company’s the same way as an adventure serial – you original ballet mistress, Bené Arnold, with knew Ivan was in the den of the bad guys. some changes that she felt were in further- Kostchei didn’t capitulate immediately ance of Christensen’s wishes. Lush costumes when the Firebird appeared. He tried first to according to designs by Ronald Crosby were capture her,but she was too powerful, and she finally realized by David Heuvel, and the pacified the monsters with a slow suspended princesses, who once danced in soft slippers, turn in arabesque. Christensen compressed were now on pointe. theactionslightlytofitStravinsky’s1945suite, RonaldCrosby’soriginalscenicconceptions putting the breaking of the egg containing were more naturalistic than Alexandre Golo- Kostchei’s soul in an abbreviated form at the vine’s for Fokine, but still placed us in an or- end of the Berceuse. iental fantasy: the spires and onion domes The stone knights reanimated, and the cur- of the city peeked out through the distance. tain descended briefly to ready for the coro- Statues – knights petrified by Kostchei – lined both sides of the stage. At the same time the production felt like the era of its creation: the 1960s. The first scene for the princesses was a
shampoocommercialastheycontinuouslyran Photo: Luke Isley, Ballet West theirfingersthrought heirlonghair;thecoro- nation crowns came from a margarine ad. Christopher Ruud’s father, Tomm, also danced the role of Ivan Tsarevich, and the son is just as beloved by the audience in Salt Lake City. Here he was a Grade A ham, doing vivid, almost silent-movie emoting. In another cast, Rex Tilton played Ivan callow and without irony. Beckanne Sisk, a young dancer on a quick rise in the company, had to pinch-hit several The Firebird: Katherine Lawrence and times that weekend. She danced her own and Christopher Ruud. ©2014LeighWitchel 13 nationandthereturnoftheprincessesintheir Salt Lake City is a musical town, and the new costumes of brocaded finery. The Fire- performance was enhanced by strong accom- bird leapt across the diagonal to bless the paniment from the Utah Chamber Orchestra. union, and Ruud worked his cape at the cur- tain call. Stuttgart Christensen’svisionwasbothhistoricaland Gary Smith practical. He was bringing the ballet to a new company, and made a straightforward adap- Making Shakespeare dance isn’t easy. Just ask tation of Fokine’s original, with a few of his Alexei Ratmansky. His Romeo and Juliet for The own touches. Although Balanchine pares out National Ballet of Canada interpolates folk far more, you can see similar moments in both dance and fussy footwork. It’s too much about his version and Christensen’ s, such as when dance when it should be about drama. As a re- the Firebird was pulled back in bourrées by sult the tale turns on passionless storytelling. Ivan, yet reached away – an echo of common Where is the power of Shakespeare’s story? ancestry to the Fokine. Missing in meaningless motion. It’s not just Ballet West has recently achieved some enough to make steps. Something must pro- celebrity for its participation in the reality pel choreographic invention if the story is go- television series Breaking Pointe. Several of the ing to be told. So, you can’tdance Shakespeare, company’s dancers, such as Tilton, Sisk, and right? Yes, you can. That’s where storytelling Ruud, are familiar faces from it, but there choreographers such as John Cranko and John are also some particularly fine dancers not Neumeier come in. followed by the show, among them Arolyn Take two of their successful ballets based Williams. In a clean, musical productionf o on the works of Shakespeare: The Taming of the WhoCares?,WilliamssharedPatriciaMcBride’s Shrew and Othello. Each dance, but they dance role with Christiana Bennett. Williams, like with meaning – not just steps. Each of these McBride, is smaller and gamine, but she in- works, danced by the Stuttgart Ballet, brings vested the role with subtle, mature sensuali- Shakespeare to life. Each choreographer al- ty. Her “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” teased the audi- lows his characters to move in dramatic and ence with sharp timing and footwork; in “The interesting ways. The way they move always Man I Love,” she was smitten with Pearson as tells the story. in a Broadway musical. The Taming of the Shrew is that rare thing – Bennett colored the duet a slightly darker a comic ballet. Judging by how few of these shade, resisting Christopher Sellars as he there are, you wonder if a story ballet can tru- pulled her back, as if hesitant that this was a ly turn on a comic point of view. Well, it can. good idea – an echo of the Firebird. Bennett Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée comes instantly to played with the music, syncopating unself- mind. It is arguably the best example of a bal- consciously, and translated her tall stature let with humor at its core. It’s funny, sweet into strength in fearless chaîné turns swing- and deliberately romantic. The comedy is so ing into arabesque. entrenched in character and movement that As for the men, Pearson looks like a deer the story tells itself. in headlights in classical roles – as if he still In Shrew, Cranko employs the same device doesn’t believe that he’s a ballet dancer. His to give the comedy important edge in that sto- shining moment was a goofball “Liza” where ry of shrewish Katharina and determined hecouldusethatwhat-am-I-doing-herequal- Petruchio. That he does so, without sacrific- ity and turn it into a character. Sellars had an ing the darker aspects of Shakespeare’s play, amiable style that married Broadway loose- is astounding. Shrew works as a ballet because ness with cleanly placed technique, snapping Cranko doesn’t sacrifice character, or story, his turns neatly on the beat. in exchange for show-off steps. The ballet re- 14 ©2014GarySmith mains fixed on its powerful, central charac- used the sexual fire of Cranko’ s pas de deux to ters. No attempt is made to soften Kate’s acer- make the audience and Petruchio realize she bic personality. No attempt is made to make isamatchforanything.Dancingwithrecently Petruchio a soft and simple suitor. retired Filip Barankiewicz, Kang ignited the In the choreography, Cranko makes it clear stage. For his part Barankiewicz proved he these are magnificent equals. No matter how could still dance this acting role with truth much Petruchio attempts to destroy Kathari- andphysicalcommitment.AhandsomePetru- na’s will, we like him. Similarly, Katharina chio, the glint in his eye always let us know may appear to be an aggressive man-hater, he had no intention of losing this sexual tug- but we know underneath she has a heart that of-war. longs for romantic salvation. Alexander Jones, young and virile, gave the Feminists decry Shakespeare’s play and same role a sexy point of view. Having enor- denigrate Cranko’s ballet, suggesting these mous fun throughout, he treated the ballet as works present a cruel portrait of a woman if it were a romp. His Katharina, that incred- forced to humble herself for a man. But ible spitfire Alicia Amatriain, matched him Cranko’s contention, as with Shakespeare’s step for step, grin for grin, snarl for snarl. She play, is that these two giants are equal adver- lived inside the skin of this force of nature and saries. That’s why when the drama ends we the ballet reached fever pitch when she tore know they’re going to be fabulous lovers. She into the confrontation scenes like some feisty is “conquered” only because she lets Petruchio fighter facing glory in a Latin bullring. think he has bested her. In this way, Cranko Othello is another matter altogether. Deep, has created a ballet that serves the story’s dark, filled with foreboding, the ballet, like every intention. the play, quivers with danger. In the choreog- In Stuttgart’s performances of Shrew this raphy John Neumeier never shies from the seasonSueJinKangandAliciaAmatriainmade evil at the center of the work. In his pene- Kate quiver with expectation, bristle with trating dance version he allows jealousy, de- ception, and desire to overrule trust and common sense. As in Shakespeare’s play, the wicked Iago schemes with such vil- lainous hatred that the trusting heart of Othello is bruised beyond recognition. Like the play, the ballet turns on Iago’s
Photo: Bernd Weissbrod, Stuttgart Ballet evil control. Evan McKie dances the char- acter’s dark heart with such icy threat that the drama enfolds the audience in a cloak of wickedness. McKie is the kind of dancer who strips away flesh and sinew, revealing the white glint of bone. Here, hepresentsamaskofphysicalbeauty,jux- taposed with a black soul and heart. The Othello: Alicia Amatriain and Jason Reilly. evil machinations here come from a very rage, and ultimately suggest deep-seated de- real and honest place. McKie’s elegant frame sire. Each performer danced the role in a sim- moves like quicksilver, so the exterior is fas- ilar,yetverydifferentway.Kang,foundasoft- cinating even when we realize the soul inside ness at the center that lurks behind every is withered and diseased. thrust and jab. She attacked the choreogra- As the duped Othello, Jason Reilly has such phy,but she always found the heartbeat of the masterly control of movement he makes us character. She made Katharina human. Kang understand the reason this man is loved and fall 2014 15 trusted by his peers. There is such author- ity about Reilly’s Moor that when he is brought down by Iago, we weep for him. Reillymoveswithpanther-likegrace.Heal- ways emphasises the character’s otherness.
He uses physicality to suggest masculine, Photo: Johan Persson, Royal Ballet visceral passion so the emotional context of the role always provides the underpinnings of the dance. At the very heart of this fearsome melo- drama, Alicia Amatriain folds herself into the arms of fate. She is the greatest dance actress of her age. Amatriain never em- broiders a character with surface filigree, always choosing to act her roles from the inside out. Her beautiful, elongated move- ;e Winter’s Tale: Steven McRae. ment, stretched arms, and powerful emotion- brimmingjoyofyo uthandromanticlovethat’s al undertow make this faithful recreation of rampant in Bohemia. Shakespeare’s most tragic love of all truthful. In the sections set in Leontes’s court, per- Making Shakespeare dance may not be easy mutations of plot give Wheeldon a structure but when the strings of creation are tugged by onto which to hang movement – literal, con- the likes of Cranko and Neumeier, the plays stricted choreography that establishes char- live in terms of choreographed movement. acter and moves along the ballet’s convoluted The dance is an ally in the telling of the tale. narrative. But in act 2’s Bohemia, McRae’s Never is it just movement to be clever or breezy self-assurance and his accomplished noticed. That’s why it works so well. That’s technique combine with Wheeldon’s lighter why it finds every shade and nuance without inventions to lift the ballet into the realm of benefitofwords.YoucandancetoShakespeare pure dance. as long as you’re given the right steps. It is The material for Florizel and Perdita who poetry in the purest form. lead an ensemble here is a kind of folk and character dancing. Steps flirt continually London with becoming classical choreography but Larry Kaplan never quite get there, even though for a brief moment we think we might be watching Le Christopher Wheeldon’s generally absorbing Corsaire. Overall it’s pleasing and enjoyable, a adaption of Shakespeare’s romance The Win- welcome contrast to the clotted dance moves ter’s Tale set to a varied and imaginative score that dominate the ballet’s outer acts. by Joby Talbot showcases the gifts of sever- McRae’s dancing brightens the proceed- al Royal Ballet principals, Edward Watson ings throughout. He flies around the stage in (Leontes), Lauren Cuthbertson (Hermione), arching turns andsoaring jumps, and in his Zanaida Yanowsky (Paulina), and Sarah Lamb double work with Lamb he uses the lightest (Perdita). But no one in the ballet comes off touch for their semi-acrobatic lifts and prom- better than Steven McRae (Florizel), de facto enades. It’s like he’s made of air: standing theyoungromanticlead.McRae’ssunnycoun- still music flows out to us through his upper tenance, his open, harmonious line, and his body, arms, shoulders, eyes, and head. What’s easy command of the stage signal the shift most appealing is that McRae seems to be in act 2 from the constricted atmosphere of one of those dancers about whom you feel Sicilia, and Leontes’ warped psyche, to the he’s only showing a part of what he can do – 16 ©2014LarryKaplan he has hidden reserves of power to dazzle the one of the oldest tropes in Western art: mor- senses he’d be happy to demonstrate when the tals competing under the judgment of a god. choreography calls for it. Pan,consideredthegodoftheatricalcriticism, is the shirtless athlete Eric Miranda, with a Chicago bottom half a perfectly construed set of hind Joseph Houseal legs, complete with fur and hooves. Pansuggeststheyarenotuptosingingabout It was a great time for period performance in Louis XIV, and should set their sights on con- early March, with a perfect storm of profes- quests of love. What follows is a sensitivity sional expertise in music, staging, gesture, contest between shepherds in front of a satyr rhetoric, dance, set, costume, architecture, making fun of them. Very well sung (indeed and hair. all about superlative vocal perfo rmances), the How many times do we see the architecture goodhumorneverlost,andthedancethatthey and hair working together? The hair was break into always near. amazing, each character with a distinct sev- The small ensemble featured some of the enteenth-century hairstyl e. Even the men’s very best working in baroque performance in hair looked wonderful cascading in black the world – each as admirable as the next. locks.Thebeautifulartistryofthehairstyling What a group! Creatively and interpretively, is an indication of how much attention to Haymarket delivers a synthesis of top talent. detail was put into this Haymarket Opera There really is not space to discuss at length Company production of Marc-Antoine Char- the achievements of each of these artists, but pentier’s 1683 entertainment in two parts, La let me name them here briefly. Petite Pastorale or Le Jugement de Pan, a diver- Craig Trompeter is the general director and tissement, plus Actéon Pastorale en Musique. musicdirectoro fthecompanynowinitsthird Thewholethingisabiglaughbutonlyworks season. Ellen Hargis is a globally recognized as a folly if all the precise mannerisms and authority on baroque gesture and rhetoric. musical idiosy ncracies are mastered. It is a She has performed as a soprano with the Mark gorgeous excuse for beautiful music. Ulti- Morris Dance Group and is also codirector of mately Actéon will go bear hunting and that The Newberry Consort, which, in early Feb- willleadhimtospyonDianabathing,andpoor ruary, performed an exact musical recon- handsome Actéon, what a way to go. He turns struction of a fifteenth-century French feast into a stag, just as Ovid describes, and is hunt- entertainment, with a scholarly and beauti- ed and killed by Diana’s huntress followers. ful audiovisual show in a cathedral. As the lights come up on the lovely mobile Baroque dancer, scholar, and choreogra- multipaneled set designed by Academy of pher Sarah Edgar brings a European educa- Rome fellow architect David Mayernik, an tion in baroque dance and music to an inter- eight-piece orchestra begins playing on au- national career in baroque performance. The thentic period instruments. In this intimate twoworkingtogethercreatedaseamless,com- opera house setting, the sounds, volumes, and plete, and authentic style of moving, standing dynamics of seventeenth-century music still, dancing, and being on stage. It was true transport us. Then like a beach ball out of con- to the age: Dance was like sword fighting and trol, a large galumphing bear comes tearing everyone fought. Dance was like society pres- through the audience and across the stage, entation and everyone was being presented in patently ridiculous, a shadow of things to society.Thedancewasofapiecewiththehigh- come. ly formal, gestural vocabulary and manners Whatnextbuttwoshepherdsarguingabout of their lives. Here, the dance rose from the who could sing better, and getting the half- action and returned back into it. Perfect. How goat god Pan to judge them. So begins again often does a stage director with expertise in ©2014JosephHouseal 17 followers lament the tragic loss of the dead, handsome man. And in his prime, too. . . . The irony of the scene can get lost in the sheer sadness and beauty of the music. The women’s singing was all clear and full of wit and bounce. In particular, so- prano Alexandra Olsavsky delivered a re-
Photo: Charles Osgood, Haymarket Opera Company fined and detailed dramatic performance without ever over-playing her part. In fact, no one overplayed their part, or made a joke too broad. Great singing ensconced in a sil- ly but still artistically rich story. There is ample opportunity for too much in a recon- structed entertainment such as this. Haymarket Opera Company. Baroque opera was a balance of the arts. baroque rhetoric and gesture work with a Modernity leaking into it with missing ex- world expert in baroque dance? More often pertise in one or another aspect of perform- now, we hope. ance, modifies if not threatens, this balance. Meriem Bahri designed the costumes, each Dance and movement are routinely the weak a different one, no two alike. This is an artist link in modern productions. Not here. They who loves her work. Self-taught, she has were the strength upholding the entire work. worked with many dance groups and one oth- Haymarket reached a zenith of skill, polish, er period performance company in Europe. andentertainmentinauthenticbaroquestyle, Her upcoming gig with Elements Contempo- which is to say it was perfe ctly calibrated. rary Ballet’s The Sun King, is due in the fall. The significance of making all this magical These costumes looked like everyday clothes cannot be underestimated. One of the sons of unless whimsy was called for. The movement the wealthy Chicago Pritzker family bought a looked like everyday life. The singing was too FrankLloydWrighthouseinarundownneigh- good to be true. The set was clever, a real borhood, fixed it up, and declared it a foun- baroque contraption equaling whatever uni- dation. Then he bought a derelict old show verse was needed. theater and bar built in the 1920s, the Mayne It isn’t fair that the hair and wig artist Theater. He restored the whole thing, includ- Samantha Umstead did not get a bio like all ing a rebuild of the entirely wooden two-hun- the other creative artists. The hair was flaw- dred-seat, horseshoe-shaped theater. Guests less. My kabuki teacher in Kyoto years ago sit at tables for two on the orchestra floor. The used to say about the perfection of mastering lowerhorseshoeisrimmedwithtablesfortwo, a dance: it isn’t finished until it has a bow on and an upper horseshoe balcony has tables for it. In this truly incredible baroque perform- four rimming the rail. It is a beautiful little ance, Ms. Umstead put the bow on it. opera house where you can also eat before or The cast included the sophisticated British after,anddrinkduringtheperformances.Ide- countertenor Biraj Barkakaty and the early al for baroque opera. music specialist and in-demand evangelist of The singers and musicians were not am- Bach oratorios, Swedish tenor Olof Lilja, who plified, and the delicate style created among carried both the opening farce and the fol- them was everywhere to be appreciated. Last lowing faux tragedy where he, as Actéon, is year, the Pritzker scion made arrangements killedbythefollowersofDianaforseeingthem forTheHaymarketO peratobearesidentcom- nude. My favorite musical section of the opera pany at the Mayne, which has a regular ros- is when the goddess and her arrow-cleaning ter of musical acts of all stripes. Some people 18 ballet review comejustforthebarandrestaurant.Itisabout company relished its shock value and the three blocks from my apartment. I never promise of spectacle. thought I would live to see the day when a As Monaco’s first successful ballet troupe baroque opera company – a rather amazing since the Ballets Russes, Les Ballets de Monte- one – would be resident in a little wooden the- Carlo almost has a responsibility to entertain aterinourlakesideneighborhood.Whatmore its public with delusions of grandeur. Per- does any person want from life? haps this is why Maillot’s LAC falls flat. In an attempt to dazzle viewers with eye candy, the New York ballet loses what imbues Petipa’s interpre- Alexandra Villarreal tation with beauty: compelling, clean chore- ography that evokes a puritythat is absent in Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s LAC ambitiously the daily grind outside of the theater. combines sex, intrigue, eclectic choreogra- ToreimagineSwanLakewithatrendierplot, phy, and proficient dancing that nevertheless Maillot collaborated with writer and Prix leaves audience members hungry for sub- Goncourt winner Jean Rouaud to isolate the stance as they exit the auditorium. iconic from the forgettable in the original tale Over the past two decades, choreographers and to add twists and turns that might sur- seem to agree that Petipa’s story ballets re- prise even the most well-versed ballet aficio- quire revisions to remain pertinent to the nado. The result is a love story that is more twenty-first century. Vladimir Derevianko reminiscent of a soap opera than any amorous has his Giselle(2000) and Matthew Bourne just encounterfromreallife.Whileitretainssome completed his highly celebrated Tchaikovsky of the magical realism from its previous form, trilogy with Sleeping Beauty (2012). it becomes so contorted and exaggerated that Interestingly,artists are too invested in the it is more comparable to a trashy airport ro- fairytalelandscapetoletgooftheclassicscom- mance than a masterpiece for posterity. pletely. One might ask, given the misogyny Naturally, when Maillot edited the story- and prejudice in these stories, what qualities line, he also altered the order of the ballet. The inspire choreographers to nostalgically rein- ball scene is plopped into act 1, Tchaikovsky’s carnate fables from the past. One might also score is interspersed randomly with “addi- wonder how exactly taking ballerinas off tional music” by Bertrand Maillot, and the pointe or replacing their tutus with skirts dancing is rudely interrupted by sporadic makes movement modern. But these are ques- special effects seemingly for glamour’s sake. tions for another day. For now, the attention must fall on Jean- Christophe Maillot, artistic director of the Monte-Carlo company, and LAC, his rendi- tion of Swan Lake. After a ten-year creative process that aimed to make the narrative more relatable for a contemporary audi-
ence,Maillotpremieredhisworkin2011and Photo: Doug Gifford, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo recently presented it here at City Center. Maillot exists in the shadow of the mas- termind behind one of the greatest balletic endeavors in history, Sergei Diaghilev, and his Ballets Russes. Based in Monaco, the old Ballets Russes satisfied its sponsor’s affin- ity for the exotic and sexy, and with reper- tory like Nijinsky’s The Rite of Spring, the LAC: Mimoza Koike and Alvaro Prieto. ©2014A lexandraVillarreal 19 Everything is re-envisioned, and frankly, it’s in LAC. Therefore, the Queen is painted as a done rather poorly. complex character, and Koike portrays her as LACopenswithaprologuethatincorporates an independent, strong woman who will not film into the mix of the many mediums Mail- be defeated by her husband’s infidelity. With lot implements to bring Odette and Siegfried sustained arabesques as well as determined to life. Shot in black-and-white, the artsy footwork,Koikeisaforcetobereckonedwith. footage feels like it’s trying hard to assert the Her solos are worth sitting through the lewd interrelation and mutualism between dance and degr ading pas de trois. and other genres of expression. Children run Maude Sabourin also has immense control, around teasing each other while the King, restraint, and attack within her actions as Queen, and Her Majesty of the Night (Roth- Her Majesty of the Night, although unfortu- bart’sparallel)su pervise.EnragedwhenSieg- nately her choreography is too gimmicky and fried shows more affection for Odette than hercostumetoodistractingforviewerstocon- Odile, Her Majesty of the Night kidnaps the centrate on her capacity. young Odette and morphs her into the White Act 2 introduces Odette, and though at mo- Swan. After the projection concludes, the ments the production still feels cheap, it is at screen billows to the ground in an aestheti- least more lovely and fluid. In the White Swan cally pleasing manner that cannot distract pas de deux, Anja Behrend is truly ethereal as from how cliché Maillot’s vision appears al- she swirls in neoclassicallifts and turns. Her ready. never-ending lines are poetry in themselves; Then, Maillot proceeds with a court scene she would look equally masterful and majes- that is more like a confused orgy. The Pre- tic in whatever role or venue. Her costume, tenders throw themselves at Siegfried while designed by Philippe Guillotel, is innovative, he refuses their advances. Especially sensu- if overdone, and her feathered fingers make ousistheVoraciousone,playedbyGaëlleRiou, her limbs even longer, though they occasion- who is, not so coincidentally, the most curva- ally break the clarity of her gestures. ceous dancer in the fifty-person company. Unlike Petipa, Maillot does allow his Odette Riou is stunning, passionate, and incredibly some joy,which gives her a much-needed sec- capable, but all of her skill is hidden behind a ond dimension. When Siegfried professes his red dress and a siren facade that give her few love for Odette, Behrend hints at a smile, and liberties to showcase her ability. as they dance together,the pair shares a child- Interspersed between butt slaps and crude like innocence and seems to be playing at caresses are several ensemble pieces that are love. Behrend battements and then Bourgond altogether not terrible. They are dominated matchesher.Butshemustnotbedefeated,and by Siegfried (Stephan Bourgond) and his so she kicks a bit higher to win their compe- friends the Hunters, and the choreography is tition. Though refreshing, this new Odette is hardly noteworthy (it alludes to Jerome Rob- in no way touching or poignant. She is still bins’ Fancy Free and West Side Story), with care- mystical and removed from humanity, and free runs and pelvic thrusts that somehow Behrend’s lightness fosters a sense of perfec- seamlessly transition into cabrioles and oth- tion that alienates her White Swan from spec- er classical steps. However, it is a pleasure to tators. watch a high-flying, charismatic male corps The third act is more drama, more tricks, that is also technically proficient. and more changes. There’s very little dancing, But the saving grace of the first act of LAC but that’s all right because multiple deaths is Mimoza Koike, who plays the Queen. Mar- and a whirling black sheet spice things up. A ital tensions between the royal couple, some condensed version of the fourth act is tacked ofwhichrevolvearoundtheKing’saffairwith onto act 3, and when the ballet concludes, it herMajestyoftheNight,areamajorsubtheme fades away into ephemerality. 20 ballet review If Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s LAC is in- woman cavorts in the spotlight. In its second tended to be lavish, it succeeds. If it’s meant go at the ballet in the spring (following debut to be anything more, then any social com- performances last year at home and on tour mentary or depth was lost behind the sets, in New York), SFB took full possession of this costumes, and scandal that would make Peti- staging, by Maina Gielgud. pa roll in his grave. If it is true that Julius It was especially satisfying to see several Reisinger’s first Swan Lake was abhorred and ballerinas who have grown out of the corps reviled, then who knows? Perhaps Maillot’s test their technique with panache. Sasha De rendering has more redeeming values (other Sola, now a soloist, began her career as a smil- than its dancers) for another choreographer ing blond cannonball of energy. In Suite en eventually to discover and investigate. But, Blanc’s Pas de 3 (as in every other role she tack- for now, why try to fix what isn’t broken? led this season) she danced with a confidence Classics endure for a reason, and, at least verging on vulgarity. Yet there was also great for Maillot, it’s time to respect them for what eleganceinherarmsheldunusuallytotheside they are and to find new topics to explore. of the head, hands resting behind ears for the arabesques, and a beautiful stillness on her San Francisco long soutenu balance. Rachel Howard Her cohort, soloist Dores André, is also a re- cent promotion, and is lately cast in just about SanFranciscoBallet’smenareknownfortheir everything because of her cheerful capabili- stylishclassicismincontemporaryworks,but ty. Her romp through the castanet-accented its women are not afforded as much opportu- Pas de 5, which is built on the allure of a wide, nity to develop their individual chops. Much stretched second position in big jumps and of the recent repertory asks the women to echappés, was powered by muscular gym- move like postmodern Slinkies (Christopher nast’s legs. Wheeldon or Jorma Elo) or to be twisted by Meanwhile, whether because of injury, or muscle men like Gumbies (Wayne McGregor artistic director Helgi Tomasson’s eagerness or Liam Scarlett). to develop young talent, corps member Koto Despite its confectionery lightness, then, Ishihara was thrust into the Serenade solo. Suite en Blanc, created by Serge Lifar for the Just three years out of the San Francisco Bal- Paris Opera Ballet in 1943, has proven a sig- let School, she bobbled her fouettes in one nificant repertory acquisition. In this fanta- small moment of nerves, but held a beautiful sia, set to excerpts from line in her long attitude Èdouard Lalo’s 1882 ballet balances and really made a Namouna, a large corps mostadmirabledebutofit. flanks a series of diver- The company’s greatest tissements with Ziegfield glory was claimed by its Follies-likeformationsar- imported principals. Sa- rayed on an upstage ter- rah Van Patten, recruited Photo: Erik Tomasson, San Francisco Ballet race and opposing stair- fromtheRoyalDanishBal- cases. let as a soloist while still in The men do heavy duty, her teens, is SFB’s resident carrying the ladies on one Suzanne Farrell incar- shoulder, but they are nation. Van Pattan, part- more often just window neredinthepasdedeuxby dressing, tossing off dou- Tiit Helimets, made regal- ble-tours on the sidelines ity into something moral while an unaccompanied Suite en Blanc: Mathilde Froustey. and soothing. ©2014RachelHoward 21 The dancey-dance highlights went to Ma- sky) had concocted this paragraph the way thilde Froustey, hired last year from the Paris they did the first act of Don Quixote, it would Opera Ballet, where she first learned the Cig- be printed on 145-year-old paper and I would arette solo. Now twenty-eight and seemingly be dressed in a sweaty old matador’s costume at the height of her powers – how could she borrowed from the American Ballet Theatre possiblybeanybetter?–sheastonished.Those warehouse back in New York! You would be long arms, so fluid, and the soft freedom in reading it in English but mouthing the words the shoulders creating a cat-like impression. withafakeSpanishaccentwhiledrinkingsan- Never have I seen a dancer combine such swift gria made by Carlo Rossi! [Applause] precisioninthelegswithsuchlusheaseabove. An at the end of every sentence I would in- I especially remember her way of stepping sertanexclamationpoint!Eve nifit’snotmuch right out of a pirouette into little hops on of a sentence! And when I do this I will throw pointe, as light and easy as a laugh. my hands in the air with impunity, saying, Crowning all was a principal dancer less “Look at my wondrous prose! Pay no atten- fetishized than local box office darlings Yuan tion to how pedestrian it actually is!” [Ap- Yuan Tan and Maria Kochetkova: Sofiane plause] Sylve. French, tall, broad-shouldered, never Curtain. End of act 1. Intermission. I need “pretty” but always womanly, Sylve was a a drink. And, no, I don’t care if the champagne prime wonder this season, unusually moving is second-rate, the glasses are plastic, and it as Myrtha in Giselle, bringing bite to Wayne costs an arm and a leg. McGregor’s Borderlands and to Agon. In Suite en It has been a long, long time since I’ve seen Blanc’s Flute solo, she seemed to be dancingr fo Don Q and it was definitely a happy-hour bal- the thrill of the wind in her hair. Finishing let for yours truly, even though it was only one spinning circuit of the stage, she caught 2:45 p.m. So, as I drank my crappy, overpriced a final pique turn next to the wings, and I’d champagne and mused about Miami City swear I saw her whiz through five rotations. Ballet’s portrayal of this classic tale, I could She is femininity as sheer independence and not help but recall the many performances I power, never preening. appeared in as a member of ABT back in the In the lobby after the performance, knowl- 1980s. Who could forget the fireworks of Gel- edgeable observers admired the dancing, but sey and Misha, or Cynthia and Fernando, or scoffed at the ballet as shamelessly “pretty.” I Patrick Bissell and Cynthia Harvey, so the don’t understand this. Such shamelessness is Miami City Ballet dancers will have to forgive so worn-on-the-sleeve that it becomes wink- me for comparing and contrasting. ing wit. The corps’ lateral profiles playing off Suffice it to say; the first act of this ancient the Egyptian flavor of Lalo’s music is intelli- productionf o Don Q with sets and costumes gent fun. So is the extension of logic in the borrowed from ABT was a bit like attending classroom’s classical dance language. the Mass Games in North Korea with Dennis On seeing Suite en Blanc, it seemed not ab- Rodman and Kim Jong-un. As I stared incred- surd to me that Balanchine was passed over ulously at the absurdity of it all, marveling at as director of Paris Opera Ballet in favor of the predictable climaxes and the predictable Lifar. Had I been a balletomane in that age, I applause that invariably followed each pre- might have placed my bet on Lifar, too. dictable climax, I smiled. Such antediluvian charm. Miami There were no fewer than ten debuts in this Michael Langlois final effort of Miami City Ballet’s season, and with all of those asterisks staring me in the If Léon Minkus and Marius Petipa (with some face, and its being a matinee to boot, I was not questionable reediting from Alexander Gor- terribly sanguine about the prospects. I was 22 ©2014MichaelLanglois won over, however, by the increasingly confi- tinction and nuance. It all matters. Every sec- dentdebutsofbothJenniferLauren(Kitri)and ond. Every glance. Dancers sometimes forget Kleber Rebello (Basilio). this because from the stage a theater can seem These dancers have technique big enough so vast. for the leads. Rebello, one of the many Brazil- Now that my place is in the audience, I am ians who inhabit the ranks of MCB, is a soft, all too aware of just how exposed Kitri is, par- lyrical dancer who turns like a dreidel and ticularly at the beginning of the ballet when surprises with his attack. He is a true gem and we are trying to get a sense of who she is. As Miami is lucky to have him. He was a very theafternoonworeon,however,Lauren’scon- subdued Basilio, however, whose characteri- fidence seemed to grow and by the time she zation didn’t make a terribly distinct impres- arrived at the altar in act 3, she tore through sion.I think it’s safe to say, however, that he her variation and her fouettés (throwing in doubles as she pleased) as if she were vying for a gold medal at Varna. As for the remainder of the cast, Carlos Miguel Guerra, portrayed the cape-wielding egomaniac known as Espada. He bulldozed his way through the choreography and the crowd
Photo: Leigh-Ann Esty, Miami City Balletwith a startling array of odd grimaces more suited to a stress test at Mount Sinai Hospi- tal. He needs to watch himself on video to cure himself of this habit. Jeremy Cox’s turn as Gamachewasamincing,gayambrosiasocloy- ingly queer I didn’t know whether to be ap- palled or amused. In act 2, Emily Bromberg, made her debut asQueenoftheDryads.Shec ameupabitshort in the well-known variation that includes a Don Quixote: Jennifer Lauren and Kleber Rebello. series of écartés on pointe that flip into atti- will develop into a stellar Basilio once he ac- tude derrière. Those glitches aside, it was nice quires some experience and more dramatic to see her doing something substantial. With coaching. a bit more strength she’ll be wonderful in this Miami City Ballet, after all, has not typi- role. Sara Esty won the Joey Heatherton look- cally been a repository of the “classics,” and alikecontestwithherportrayalofAmour,flit- the finesse required for these roles to read to ting about the stage in her pixie white hair, the back of house without becoming a bur- casting a coke-addled air over every scene she lesque requires tremendous confidence, skill, touched. Delightful. and, yes, coaching. This was what made Misha When all was said anddone and Kitri and theremarkableBasilio,Albrecht,andsoforth, Basiliowereridingoffintoaquestionablemat- that he was – not simply his ability to dance rimonial future (he is a hairdresser, after all) beautifully, but to convey a thought or an I walked outside into the perfect South Flori- emotion to the farthest reaches of a theater da sunshine of my tropical homeland and re- the size of the Met. alized I enjoyed this Don Q in spite of myself. Lauren, like Rebello, seemed a little uncer- Yes,it’sterriblydatedandsilly,butthere’sstill tain about the dramatic aspects of her Kitri. enough well-known and well-crafted chore- She appeared rushed, and occasionally dis- ography, and enough really fine dancing from connected. The tiny interactions between the this genuinely gifted troupe, to keep the old two lovers and the hoi polloi needed more dis- Spanish galleon afloat. fall 2014 23