“First Position,” “Brahms Paganini,” “Hey-Hay, Going to Kansas City”
Kansas City Ballet
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
March 13, 2008
by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2008 by Leigh Witchel
Kansas City Ballet, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, chose to start off its next half-century with a risky proposition – a New York season at the Joyce Theater. The company, founded by Tatiana Dokoudovksa and also run by NYCB alumni Todd Bolender, has been directed since 1996 by William Whitener, himself a former member of the Joffrey Ballet and Twyla Tharp’s company. Whitener brought his familiarity with modern dance and its choreographers of that time with him. That is reflected in the repertory choices; the company has performed five dances by Tharp and next season it will commission a work by Karole Armitage. Kansas City Ballet needed a New York appearance more than we needed to see them; they’re a decent municipal company doing what they ought to be doing.
The first question for a company contemplating a New York season is inevitably, “What to bring?” A dance by Tharp was an obvious choice; the company brought “Brahms’ Paganini,” made in 1980 with Whitener himself dancing the first section alternating performances with Richard Colton. Whitener set that section on the company; Shelley Freydont set the quintet that makes up the second half.
By 1980, Tharp had choreographed not only on Mikhail Baryshnikov, but also champion skater John Curry. “Book 1,” the opening male solo, was obviously influenced by that work. It is a marathon studded with turns, and a male solo thirteen minutes long isn’t just an artistic statement, but an exercise in craft. Turns may be there for aesthetics, but also because a dancer can turn longer than he can jump. Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair, a long, thin drink of water, made it through the whole thing and seemed delighted. He looks very young and is very coordinated, but there was a youthful lack of focus to the performance. It was not from an inability to concentrate, but his inexperience in leading and focusing an audience, a matter of stagecraft that comes with experience.
“Book 2” is danced by two couples in Ralph Lauren’s casual outfits, and also one woman (Stefani Schrimpf) in white shorts. Staying apart from the couples, she danced loose solos at the margins of the stage. The quartet looked less at home with the choreography than Schrimpf; there were hunched shoulders occasionally.
Even with the Tharp rarity, the company’s visit seemed calculated not to wow New York but to garner support at home. The other works brought were of less interest here than in a home season. “First Position (A Reminiscence)” was a classical divertissement to Glazunov that Whitener choreographed in honor of Dokoudovska and Bolender. It’s straight ballet with fluent combinations. There are four movements, each of which have no plot, but a situation reflecting the rites of passage of a young male ballet student played by Matthew Powell.
“First Position” was an exposing test for the company – and at times it looked it. The ballet is within the dancers’ technical capacity, but their classical style – ports de bras especially – tended to be dutiful rather than organic. It could be the pressure of a New York debut, but they danced with frozen smiles. Whitener’s choreography for Powell, a diminutive man, feminized him by giving him steps traditionally in women’s variations. In a situation where a company wants to come off as experienced and capable, bringing a ballet about apprenticeship could be dangerous – why remind us? This work would have more context at home. Schrimpf brought a welcome, mature glow to a pas de deux. She distinguished herself in every ballet that evening; she’s a natural performer. Her attractive body is muscular and womanly; she might never have gotten into a New York company.
“Hey-Hay, Going to Kansas City” by Donald McKayle ended the evening with historical recordings of Kansas City jazz, men in bright shirts, loud ties and suspenders, and women in high heels and period street dresses. The dance is a series of episodes; people outdoors warming themselves by a fire in winter, a sultry couple dancing in a ballroom or a trio drunk after a night on the town. It was a pleasant work and “King Alcohol” was refreshingly a bit different from other drunken dances. Best, the dancers danced freely and showed a natural flair and comfort (particularly Charles Martin) they didn’t show in the other works. It reminded me of another regional company. More than a decade ago, when Ballet Chicago was in existence as a professional company, I saw the dancers stiffly perform “Square Dance” and cut loose in “By Django.” Audiences like social dancing and popular music – it feels less foreign to them, and in Kansas City that’s no less box-office than “Double Feature” is at New York City Ballet. It feels less foreign to Kansas City’s dancers too and therein lies the difference. NYCB’s dancers know they own “Square Dance” or “Symphony in C” but Kansas City Ballet also looks like a ballet company, not a fusion company – something I didn’t expect from Whitener. Ballet is Kansas City’s birthright too; it has been for 50 years now. At some point they have to decide that all of it is theirs.
copyright © 2008 by Leigh Witchel
Photo by Steve Wilson, Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair in “Brahms’ Paganini”