“Four Seasons,” “Cantata”
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
Jacob’s Pillow Dance, Ted Shawn Theatre
Becket, MA
July 30, 2009
By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2009 by Martha Sherman
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal presents work from the classical full-length repertory but is more slanted to contemporary choreographers. In both works presented at Jacob’s Pillow, Bigonzetti called on the dancers’ ballet discipline and strength but used similar sharp angular movements, including elbows, squats, and rigidly shaped lifts. He also took advantage of every body part; rarely were dancers lifted by arms or torsos, but Bigonzetti instead used hips, backs, thighs as both lever and anchor.
As different as the musical scores were, both dances included disconcertingly similar early scenes with the full company dancing first individually, and then coming together as couples whipping their arms around each other in enthusiastic embrace. The dancers’ stomping feet, clapping hands, and finger snapping also accompanied parts of both pieces. These added to the energy of “Cantata,” but were distracting in “Four Seasons.”
In “Four Seasons,” the company felt crowded onstage in the opening and closing scenes. In his stated attempt to create something new with the iconic Vivaldi music, Bigonzetti jammed all of his dancers and all of his movement into these scenes. The first soloist, Vanesa G. R. Montoya in “Spring,” with her sharply angled elbows and arms and hands entwined above her head, evoked Diana the huntress and commanded the stage both in motion and in sculpted poses. The duet in “Winter” was danced by the tall, stately Marie-Ève Lapointe and Robert Deskins. Lapointe balanced, one long leg extended, as Deskins posed her angle by angle. He used her leg to stir the air; she covered herself, touching her face, breast, legs, both shy and coy. After they charmed each other, they were lightly blown off the stage by a Puckish, purse-lipped Jeremy Raia, who took the stage for his own solo. Though several parts were beautiful and well-danced, the ballet didn't work as a whole.
With the engaging “Cantata,” Bigonzetti created a more effective overall piece. The remarkable female quartet Gruppo Musicale Assurd joined the dancers onstage to sing and play accordions. They integrated with the dancers in a joyful energy, telling tales of men and women in relationship and community in an Italian folk celebration. "Cantata" began with soft humming in the dark. The opening lighting, designed by Carlo Cerri, packed the dancers and musicians into a tight box of light, against a wooden cross-hatched backdrop like a barn in eerie moonlight. The dancers and musicians softly sang in mesmerizing a cappella.
The dance stories moved between the songs, plaintive solos with accordion, foot stomping group numbers, and dialogue. They ran a gamut of sexual energies including playing, fighting, loving. The brightly costumed women wore their hair loose and long, and its sweep was integrated into the rush of movement. Having the full cast dancing in this piece didn’t feel crowded, but like a closely knit community. Whether they were dancing, or lounging on the edges watching the action, all were integral.
The relationships between men and women was part conflict, part seduction in strong lifts. In one scene, each male dancer lifted and rotated two partners, one on each hip; later two men twirled their partners in rigid 360 degree circles. The men hurled their female partners into a heap in the center of the stage; less in partnership than as a demonstration of their power over the women. Far from being overpowered, the women rose as a dense pack, , arms opened wide and tossing their heads with wild hair flying. If the men were bound to control, their women were just as strong.
The community in "Cantata" was also defined by relationships and competition within genders. The townswomen surrounded two female rivals, Lapointe and Thaïs Martinez Fraga, who danced energetically in parallel -- a catfight of gesturing and jerking without touching. They drew closer in a sensual connection, only to be interrupted by their macho companions.
The dancers and the musicians reveled in their characters and in the rousing music that framed their stories. Yet, Bigonzetti couldn't resist a cliché'd finale. The company wove themselves by their sharp elbows into a tight chorus line, and blew a collective kiss.
copyright © 2009 by Martha Sherman
Photo: Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal in "Cantata" by Karli Cadel
