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A Tribute to Rudolf Nureyev

"Petrushka," "Songs of a Wayfarer," "Raymonda Act III"
English National Ballet
London Coliseum
25 – 27 July 2013

by Judith Cruickshank
copyright 2013 by Judith Cruickshank

It’s forty two years since Maurice Béjart created a duet for Rudolf Nureyev and Paolo Bortoluzzi to Mahler’s song cycle “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen”; “Songs of a Wayfarer”. The action shows a young man wandering through life, experiencing joy and sorrow, always accompanied by an alter ego who shares his experiences and finally reconciles him to death.  Nureyev was to dance it many times with many partners – though none quite as effective as Bortoluzzi – until very late in his career. 

The duet was the highlight of the performance given by the Paris Opera Ballet marking the tenth anniversary of Nureyev’s death.  Laurent Hilaire and Manuel Legris, dancers formed by Nureyev, gave a performance of such intense emotion that Béjart himself was almost reduced to tears. And it was certainly the highlight of English National Ballet’s Tribute to Nureyev programme, given just five performances at the London Coliseum.

Bearing Witness

"ID: Entidades," “Chapa Quente”
Companhia Urbana de Dança
Ted Shawn Theater, Jacob’s Pillow Dance
Becket, MA
July 11, 2013

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2013 by Martha Sherman

Given their roots in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, you might expect conflict in the high-energy dancing forms of Companhia Urbana de Dança. But their mix of athleticism and skill is anything but angry. The slums have borne great power within this crew. With nothing to lose, the dancers take hip hop movement, mix it with the beat of Brazilian salsa and capoiera, and thread it through the discipline imposed by choreographer Sonia Destri Lie, to demonstrate the power they’ve each assumed through dance.

A Danish Désiré

"The Sleeping Beauty"
American Ballet Theatre
July 6, 2013 matinee
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY

By Carol Pardo
Copyright ©2013 by Carol Pardo

Alban Lendorf is a prince, though not, perhaps in the long, lithe, linear mode, most familiar to American audiences. Lendorf, not yet 25 and a principal with the Royal Danish Ballet, is on the short side with a square-ish head. His line has softer contours than we’re used to, mezzotint rather than etching, but he’s the real deal. And he brought traditional Danish values—burnished male technique fully integrated with strong characterization—to a production that needs all the help it can get.

A Delightful Doll

Coppélia
Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet
Erika Mikirticheva, Sergei Polunin, Anton Domashev
London Coliseum
11 – 14 July, 2013

by Judith Cruickshank
copyright 2013 by Judith Cruickshank 

I’m ashamed to admit that I couldn’t remember who danced Swanilda and Franz when Roland Petit brought his production of "Coppélia" for the Ballets de Marseille to London in 1977. A little research shows that the roles were taken by the gifted Cuban ballerina Loipa Araujo and the excellent Denys Ganio  A shocking failing you might say, to overlook dancers of this calibre, but my excuse is that the production was dominated to such an extent by Petit himself as Coppelius that the other performers faded into second place.

Ties That Bind

"The Painted Bird Trilogy Cycle"
Pavel Zuštiak + Palissimo Company
Ellen Stewart Theater at LaMama
2013 LaMama Moves! Festival
New York, NY
June 26, 2013

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2013 by Martha Sherman
                             
Pavel Zuštiak is an artist continually in search of home. He describes himself as a stranger in both of his countries – the one he was born into, Communist Czechoslovakia, and the one he chose, the United States, landing in New York. In his “Painted Bird Trilogy,” three discrete yet connected pieces were seen together for the first time. Loosely inspired by the Jerzy Kosinski novel about a boy’s terrified journey in the midst of the Holocaust, every character is lost, but seeks community and home. Each scene is its own powerful story, yet together they create an emotional, impressionistic landscape – always harrowing, sometimes hopeful.

The Power of Love

"Sylvia"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 25, 2013

By Carol Pardo
Copyright ©2013 by Carol Pardo

Frederick Ashton’s "Sylvia" is built around its ballerina. Sylvia is, by turns an impudent and independent Amazon; a calculating temptress who frees herself from captivity; and finally a woman fulfilled, united with her beloved. But until the final act solo, this ballet named after its heroine was all about the men who love, desire or protect her.

Although she has danced the ballet elsewhere, this performance was Polina Semionova’s debut in American Ballet Theatre’s production. She is tall enough, strong enough and leggy enough to be a believable huntress. But she faded in and out of character. Sylvia the ballerina and disciple of Diana should never resemble a garden variety mortal. Yet, standing at the side of the stage, Semionova permitted her center of gravity to sink and her posture with it as if waiting for eternity on the slowest check-out line at her local supermarket. Sylvia the ballerina and disciple of Diana should never resemble a garden variety mortal. Her grasp of Ashton’s musicality was equally variable. He often ornaments a phrase with steps like grace notes, revealing the wit or inner workings of his score. They’re hard to get right and risk looking fussy or jarring if they aren’t. Semionova was at her best during the last act when she could dispense with building a character and just dance. Her solo to the "Pizzicato" turned that familiar music into the source of celestial contentment: bright, sparkling, strong and delicate—a meeting of dew and diamonds.