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"Jewels" Never Fails to Enchant

“Jewels”
Boston Ballet
Boston Opera House
Boston, MA
May 24, 2014

by Dale Brauner
copyright © 2014 by Dale Brauner

Boston Ballet’s Emeralds ©The George Balanchine Trust. Photo © Rosalie O’Connor

Boston Ballet capped the local portion of its 50^th anniversary celebration with the full-length abstract ballet “Jewels” by George Balanchine. The ballet – three acts set to music by Gabriel Faure, Igor Stravinsky and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – is now so ubiquitous that this was the fourth production I’ve seen in a year (without trying hard). And Boston Ballet is not the only company celebrating a half-century with it, as the ballet kicked off the Pennsylvania Ballet’s 50^th anniversary season.

The Stars Don’t Come out in the Afternoon

“Theme and Variations,” “Duo Concertant,” “Gaîté Parisienne”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 21, 2014 matinee

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2014 by Leigh Witchel

Sarah Lane and Daniil Simkin in "Theme and Variations."
Photo © Gene Schiavone.

Even indoors, it’s hard to see stars in the daytime. American Ballet Theatre’s Classic Spectacular triple bill was performed at a matinee without the most bruited celebrities in its constellation. With a less brilliant glow, it was visible for what it actually was - a good, solid triple bill.  

Herman Cornejo bowed out due to injury, and so Daniil Simkin partnered Sarah Lane in “Theme and Variations.”  Zach Brown’s costumes, redesigned last season, dressed Simkin in ochre sparkles and braid. He seemed a steadfast brass soldier. Though the pace was brisk in the duet, he partnered Lane, and she still found the time to expand into her extensions.  You won’t ever worry about Simkin; he’s going to make all the turns and tours, but white tight roles are not a perfect fit. His arabesque line takes an inward turn at the ankle.

Indian Love Song

"La Bayadère"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 23, 2014

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2014 by Mary Cargill

Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes in "La Bayadère"
Photo © Gene Schiavone

The Makarova-Petipa eternal triangle got a glorious sendoff with its opening night cast, including Diana Vishneva as Nikiya, Marcelo Gomes as Solor and Gillian Murphy, in her first appearance this season, as Gamzatti.  Vishneva is a beautiful woman with an expressive face, and her Nikiya was no shrinking violet.  She was both shocked and angry at the High Brahmin's untoward advances (Victor Barbee at  his hulking, menacing best), rejecting them fearlessly.  She was not coy about her love for Solor, throwing herself in his arms with complete confidence.  For me, her dancing, though beautiful, was at times almost too filigreed, with tendril arms and exaggerated back-bends; her mime often looked polished beyond coherence, and seemed studied rather than spontaneous. The fight with Gamzatti, however, was riveting, as she reacted to Murphy's dominating presence.  She really did seem ready to stab her rival.

Fame and Fun

“The Afterlife”
Laurie Berg
Invisible Dog
Brooklyn, NY
May 17, 2014

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2014 by Martha Sherman

Photo ©Ian Douglas
Bessie McDonough-Thayer, Jillian Sweeney, Jodi Bender, Laurie Berg in “The Afterlife”

Laurie Berg’s “Afterlife” reveled in layers - both of dance and identity. Along with dancers Jodi Bender, Bessie McDonough-Thayer, and Jillian Sweeney – and several masks – Berg offered a  meditation on celebrity, fame and glitz, engaging the audience with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek.

An Exciting, if Inconsistent, "Giselle"

"Giselle"
The Bolshoi Ballet
Opera House
The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
May 20, 2014

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright © 2014 by Alexandra Tomalonis

Svetlana Zakharova as Giselle and David Hallberg as Albrecht. Photo: © Eena Fetisova

One of the reasons that “Giselle,” first danced in Paris at the height of the Romantic Ballet Boom, has lasted for more than 150 years is because it is so many ballets. It can be a potboiler about a young girl’s betrayal by a philandering nobleman; a danced poem of passion and a love that transcends death; a study of innocence, of madness, of a selfish young man brought to maturity by tragedy; and many more. Once packed with mime scenes and danced with a Romantic softness and curling lines, it’s now often dominated by razor-sharp dancing, lines as stretched as possible, and big technical effects. It always works. Opening night’s performance of the Bolshoi Ballet’s production of the evergreen classic was, first and foremost, beautifully danced by David Hallberg and Svetlana Zakharova, provoking an audience reaction that was at times hushed, expectant silence, and at times rapturous applause, both well deserved. Yet the performance also bounced and slid between drama and dancing, and even among styles.

Portrait of an Artist

“Robert Schumann’s ‘Davidsbündlertänze’”, “Union Jack”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 17, 2014, matinee

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2014 by Mary Cargill

“Robert Schumann’s ‘Davidsbündlertänze’” is an awkward title for a subtle and profound work.  The four couples represent various aspects of Schumann’s (and by extension any artist’s) feelings; the two most obvious are Clara the loving and supportive wife, and Clara the wild and slightly dangerous muse.  The two other couples represent different aspects of Schumann's personality, which he called Florestan and Eusebius.  There were four new couples in the matinee performance, all well-rehearsed and cogent, but the two less differentiated couples (Tiler Peck with Tyler Angle and Ashley Laracey with Sean Suozzi) made  stronger impressions than Clara the wife (Teresa Reichlen with Russell Janzen) or Clara the muse (Rebecca Krohn with Zachary Catazaro). 

White as Snow, with Shades of Darkness

“Snow White”
Ballet Preljocaj
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
April 25, 2014

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2014 by Marianne Adams

photo © Jean-Claude Corbonne
Ballet Preljocaj in “Snow White”

Snow White’s hair wasn’t the only thing black as night in Angelin Preljocaj’s balletic take on Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale. – The entire ballet, from set design to the story, was cast in darkness.  The stark departure from the colorful and cute Walt Disney version was intentional, but paradoxically, by removing all things Disney and kid-friendly, Preljocaj made this “Snow White” more magical. 

Day of the Demis

Johann Kobborg, Alina Cojocaru & Friends
Sarasota Opera House
Sarasota, FL
April 26, 2014

by Leigh Witchel
copyright © 2014 by Leigh Witchel

photo © Gene Schiavone. Johan Kobborg and Alina Cojocaru in the Rose Adagio from “The Sleeping Beauty”

Famous names, short works and short dancers – it’s gala season, and that’s the model. Not from a height requirement, but because this kind of program is built to sell tickets with fireworks and glitz. This is not the realm of the danseur noble. Here, the demi-caractère virtuoso is king.

As a cagey prelude to the company’s own Ashton Festival a few days later, Sarasota Ballet imported a humdinger with all of the above. Alina Cojocaru, Johan Kobborg and a few of their buddies, including Herman Cornejo, Daniel Ulbricht, and Misa Kuranaga, visited for a program of baubles and chestnuts that fit the stereotype of a special event, and even occasionally gave its nose a gentle tweak.

Indelible

Tere O’Connor
“Bleed”
American Dance Institute
Rockville, Maryland
May 17, 2014
 
by George Jackson
copyright 2014 by George Jackson
 
Different types of motion go into “Bleed”. O’Connor, a New York based choreographer, isn’t exhaustive – no one can be – but listing all the varieties he deploys would be pointless since he processes them to seem alike. Not look alike, for certainly ballet steps haven’t the appearance of Shaker port de bras. Yet in this work such moves from distinct sources have much the same impact on the viewer’s eye and sensibility. So do the other sorts of actions contained in “Bleed”, including bits of mime and vocalization. In fact, there’s not just a homogeneity in the moving but also a familiarity, as if all the thematic bits came from a second hand shop. If not real variety or originality, what is it in the dancing that O’Connor wants to show? Could the piece’s title be a clue?

Sunny Side Up

"Don Quixote"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 14, 2014

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2014 by Mary Cargill

Victor Barbee as Don Quixote
Photo © Mira

The opening scene on "Don Quixote", with the Don and Sancho Panza, is as close to the original as the frivolous, silly, and endearing ballet gets, as Quixote (Victor Barbee) and his side kick (Luis Ribagorda) mimed their search.  A vision of Dulcinea appeared, and Barbee slowly dropped to his knees, reverently bowing to beauty.  This simple moment encapsulated so beautifully the underlying theme of all of Petipa's ballets--there is beauty in this world and men look for it.