“28
Variations on a Theme by Paganini,” “Without” by
Lisa Rinehart
Benjamin
Millepied Danses Concertantes
The
Joyce Theater
New
York, NY
December
9, 2008
copyright
© 2008 by Lisa Rinehart
Benjamin Millepied's 2005 ballet, "28 Variations on a Theme by Paganini" and his newest work, "Without" are no doubt a joy to dance. With the breathless quality of youth itself, they are athletic, musical and technically challenging -- heaven for a young dancer to wrap some muscle around. It is Millepied’s gift that he knows what to do with well-trained instruments. But he is too easily seduced by what his dancers can do and often tips the balance to favor style over substance. This is not harsh criticism in ballet -- an art from built upon nuances of style -- but one senses that Millepied is looking to do more.
"28
Variations on a Theme by Paganini" is driven by the thorny Brahms score of
the same name (passionately delivered by pianist Natasha Paremski), and it’s
all about motion. Five couples whirl in a frothy interplay that whizzes from
one lightly suggested back-story to the next. Happy pairs are whisked around in
canon, an energetic frolic for four men conjures Robbins, and short duets are
packed with turns, lifts and jumps.
With
all the activity, it’s telling that the strongest moments are the quieter ones.
When Isabella Boylston is carried diagonally backward in a series of small
simple lifts; her legs open demurely in second position, then closed in
parallel, we can register just how lovely it is. Millepied’s dancers probably
don’t need to catch their breath, but we do.
“Without”
is a moodier, more mature work set to a compilation of Chopin Préludes, Etudes
and one Nocturne (beautifully rendered by pianist Pedja Muzijevic). Millepied
creates a velveteen box with flat panels of dark fabric that ripple and sway as
ten dancers burst through from all sides. In bright, saturated colors, they pop
like jewels in a display case. Millepied self edits here and the group dances
are less frenetic. A simple lift with all five women suspended in a floating
second position is especially effective. A melancholy duet for Maria Ricceto
and Alexandre Hammoudi is weighted by Ricceto’s quiet intensity and Gemma Bond
is charming and funny in a lively, irreverent solo.
Finding
a voice is a choreographer’s greatest challenge, particularly in ballet where
gorgeous bodies can leave one gasping at a single tendu. But ballet needs
intelligent, skilled choreographers who understand ballet technique and have
something to tell us. Millepied has all the tools – he just needs to sit back
and decide what he wants to say with them.
