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Once More Over the Top!

“Swan Lake” (Act 2), “Le Corsaire” pas de deux, “Esmeralda” pas de six, “Dying Swan,” and “Don Quixote”
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Kennedy Center Opera House
Washington, DC
Tuesday, March 23, 2017 

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2017 by Alexandra Tomalonis

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo – one of the best company names ever – has changed over the years. Way back in the mid-1970s, when the company danced in crumbling theaters (the Old Met in New York, where I first saw them), its humor was based partly on the clunky technique of the dancers (men dancing on pointe, deliberately, in some cases, not very well), and mostly from an absolutely incisive view of classical ballet: its beauty, and the opportunities it presents for over-the-top performances by star, and wannabe star, performers. It satirized style, and did it brilliantly.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo in "Swan Lake." Photo by Sascha Vaughan.

A Boy and His Horse

“The Little Humpbacked Horse”
The Mariinsky Ballet
The John F. Kennedy for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright © 2017 by Alexandra Tomalonis

It’s not at all unusual to enjoy great performances from the Mariinsky Ballet, but it’s rare for any company to give us dancing as full of happiness and zest as we saw from that troupe Tuesday night. The company seemed to love dancing Alexei Ratmansky’s endearing “The Little Humpbacked Horse” (created for the Mariinsky in 2009) and its joy was infectious.

Photo: Alexei Ratmansky's The Little Humpbacked Horse, Vladimir Shklyarov as Ivan the Fool; photo by Natasha Razina.

Bursting with Life

"Mercuric Tidings,” “Polaris,” and “Esplanade”
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Eisenhower Theater
J.F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
May 25, 2016

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2016 by Alexandra Tomalonis

Much contemporary choreography depends on novelty: here’s something new, push aside the old, it seems to be saying. Paul Taylor, the last great Modern Dance choreo- grapher, and a true rebel if ever there was one, does something better. His finest mid-career works – some revolutionary in their day, others merely great – have deepened and become richer over the years, and his current company dances them with a ferocious passion. The company’s four-day run at the Kennedy Center this past week was not only filled with excellent dancing, but it looked like a renewed version of the troupe in its greatest days – a real modern dance company, focused on movement and music rather than technical purity. (It’s interesting, too, to note that the company was billed here as simply Paul Taylor Dance Company; in New York, it’s Paul Taylor American Modern Dance. PTAMD includes works by other choreographers; the six dances shown in Washington were all by Taylor.)

Photo: Eran Bugge and Michael Trusnovec in "Esplanade."

Bournonville, From New York

"Bournonville Divertissements" and “La Sylphide”
The New York City Ballet
Opera House
JFK Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
March 6, 2016 (Sunday matinee) 

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2016 by Alexandra Tomalonis

An all-Bour- nonville program isn’t what one expects from the New York City Ballet, but Bournon- ville, along with Petipa, is an artistic ancestor of George Balanchine. Both Bournonville and Petipa studied with Auguste Vestris, the magnificent late 18^th century star and great teacher in Paris at the beginning of the 19^th century. One of Bournonville’s pupils, Christian Johansson, came to St. Petersburg and was an honored teacher there. Johansson died in 1903, just before Balanchine was born, and his influence must have still been felt.

Balanchine himself had a connection to the Royal Danish Ballet, the company whose aesthetic and style was formed by August Bournonville. Balanchine worked there briefly in the 1930s and again in the 1950s. He invited Stanley Williams, a noted teacher with the RDB, to come to New York, and while Williams was not a Bournonville teacher per se, he brought much of what he had learned at home. Balanchine was quoted, to explain why he felt that “ballet is woman,” that one reason was because “boys don’t have a speedy leg.” But Danish male dancers do, and Balanchine coveted it, inviting several noted Danish men to dance at the NYCB. One of whom, of course, is Peter Martins, now the director of the NYCB.

 Lauren King and Anthony Huxley in August Bournonville’s Bournonville Divertissements.  Photo credit: Paul Kolnik

The Mysteries of "Raymonda"

"Raymonda"
The Mariinsky Ballet
The Opera House
The JFK Center for the Performing Arts
February 28, 2016 (matinee)

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2016 by Alexandra Tomalonis

The Mariinsky Ballet showed why it has long been one of the world’s greatest ballet companies Sunday afternoon, not only by its soft, beautiful dancing, but by how it coped with unexpected change. Oxana Skorik danced the first act, but after an intermission only a few minutes longer than usual, the announcer told the audience that the role of Raymonda would now be danced by Anastasia Kolegova. Kolegova had danced the part Saturday afternoon with a different partner, yet made the transition seamlessly. (One presumes that Skorik was injured.)

Kolegova danced as a member of the ensemble – first among equals, her dancing soft and clear, as befits a young bride. Skorik is a beautiful lyrical dancer, but her concept of this role seemed to be to show how l-o-n-g her leg is in arabesque, after arabesque, after arabesque. Kolegova has long lines, too, but she didn’t emphasize them, and so one could concentrate on her fine dancing rathern than mentally trying to measure her leg.

The Royal Ballet's Dispiriting "Don Quixote"

"Don Quixote"
The Royal Ballet
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
June 9, 2015

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2015 by Alexandra Tomalonis

It seemed odd for The Royal Ballet, known and loved for its subtle, detailed dance acting as well as its beautiful lyrical dancing, to mount a production of "Don Quixote," a ballet requiring flashy bravura. Two prior productions had been short-lived. This one, by Carlos Acosta, received what might most charitably be called mixed reviews when it was first shown in London, and despite the best efforts of its cast, seemed off-key in Washington. The trouble started with the overture; Minkus's score has been "arranged and orchestrated" by Martin Yates and is now all pretty tunes and listlessness. The music fought what the dancers were trying to create on stage, and the first act, especially, seemed to be danced behind a skrim. The washed-out pastel costumes (Tim Hatley) and the lack of vibrant street life didn't help. Had it not been for some very fine dancing by Marianela Núñez and Acosta as Kitri and Basil, the evening would have been flat indeed.

Carlos Acosta as Basilio in the Royal Ballet's "Don Quixote." Photo by Johan Persson.

 

A Disappointing "Streetcar"

"A Streetcar Named Desire"
The Scottish Ballet
Opera House
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
May 28, 2015

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2015 by Alexandra Tomalonis

Sometimes, the more one does, the less it matters. "A Streetcar Named Desire," which the Scottish Ballet brought to the Kennedy Center on its first visit to D.C., is full of movement. The repetitive choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is an uneasy mix of Kenneth MacMillan's "Manon" and Jerome Robbins' "Interplay": pas de deux after pas de deux, interrupted by scenes probably meant to show local color of energetic dancers bowling, jitterbugging and going to the movies. The dancers were excellent, and as committed as it is possible to be, but this ballet version of Tennessee Williams' famous play completely ignores its mystery, as well as its subtlety, bringing the back story front and center and depriving viewers the opportunity to puzzle about Blanche DuBois' behavior. Who is she, and why does she act this way? became, "Look at that extension!"

Eve Mutso as Blanche DuBois with Company dancers in Nancy Meckler and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s A Streetcar Named Desire. Photo by Andy Ross.

Nijinsky Comes Home

"Le Sacre du printemps," "Le Spectre de la Rose," "The Swan," "Paquita Grand Pas"
The Mariinsky Ballet
JF Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
January 27, 2015

by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright © 2015 by Alexandra Tomalonis

In some ways, Vaslav Nijinsky's "Le Sacre du printemps" still remains the envy of choreo- graphers and company directors more than 100 years after its premiere. This is not necessarily because it's a great work, but because it is the only ballet that caused a riot, save for Jean-Georges Noverre's "Les Fêtes Chinoises" back in the London of 1755, and that was for political reasons rather than artistic ones. In 1913, no one had heard a score like Stravinsky's. It still sounds raw and exciting today. What would it have sounded like at its premiere?

 

Mariinsky Ballet in "Le Sacre du Printemps." Photo: Natasha Razina.

NEW!!! DanceView Blog now up!!!

As many readers know, danceviewtimes was begun as the online reviews supplement to DanceView magazine. DanceView ceased publication with its October issue, and I wrote to subscribers that we would add a blog at danceviewtimes that would include articles appropriate to the magazine.  These will include commentary, interviews, features, historical articles and the like.

I'm very pleased to announce that Tom Phillips has written a piece about the New York City Ballet that seemed the perfect way to begin this new online publication. Here's a link to the DANCEVIEW blog (listed in the DVT Blogs at right).  You'll find Tom's piece, Heart and Spleen: Confessions of a Strike-breaker (click the link to go to that piece directly) there.

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.