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The Tech: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA
September 27, 2013 Friday
BALLET REVIEW: Dancing under the stars
by Attila Forruchi
Night of Stars
Boston Ballet Company
Boston Common
Saturday Sept. 21, 2013, 7 p.m.
The Boston Ballet opened its 50th season before an estimated audience
of over 45,000 ballet aficionados, performing the dazzling Night of
Stars in Boston Common last Saturday. The free one-night performance
featured excerpts from Boston Ballet's entire repertory of classical,
neo-classical and contemporary ballets. Multiple giant screens, a
velvety state-of-the-art sound system and the gigantic stage, which at
times dwarved soloist and pas de deux performances, made for an
enchanting evening of highbrow artistry.
The show opener was the classical Don Quixote pas de deux, featuring
the romantic qualities of the principal dancers Misa Kuranaga and
Jeffrey Cirio. While the cumbersome distances from the outdoor stage
made it difficult for most in the audience to appreciate all the
nuances and delicacies of Kuranaga's exquisite movements, her
performance remained stunning from all distances and angle.
Rooster, from Boston Ballet's stunning contemporary repertoire, is set
to the music of the Rolling Stones and the choreography of Christopher
Bruce, but it's not just your parents' ballet. In it, the dancers
swayed in vibrantly colored street clothes against the stark,
larger-than-life set. As the Stones crooned "Paint It Black," four
dancers donning stunning black and blood red outfits, drenched in
hellish soft red lighting, displayed how fluidly ballet dancers can
move and contort their bodies while remaining loose. Next, the Stones'
"Play With Fire" set the mood for a duet more reminiscent of an edgy
flamenco than a classical ballet, the crowds' favorite of the three
pieces. The last excerpt, set to "Sympathy for The Devil," featured
vibrant, buttery, samba-esque figures, coloring the movements in time
that reflected the deep rhythms of the Rolling Stone's ode to the
Satan. Stylistically it was carnival crashing into post modernism.
La Bayadère whisked us into the exotica of Regal India, where the
drama of the unrequited love of the High Brahmin for Nikiya, the lead
temple dancer (in French, la bayadère), and her devotion to Solor the
gallant warrior, unfolds in glittery costumes and motifs worthy of a
Raj. The excerpt chosen, "Golden Idol Variation," is a dream piece for
any male dancer to perform. It is a tour-de-force of male dancing with
anti-gravity jumps and powerful, speedy, skillful movements. Avetik
Karapetyan, the Armenian soloist, rose to the occasion. His stunning
physique shimmered in gold, and was so well defined that the contours
of his chiseled muscularity often revealed the physicality of his
performance. Needless to say, however, I and most ballet aficionados
would have preferred to see the legendary white act, "Kingdom of the
Shades," instead of the opium induced dream state of Solor's mind.
The highlight of the night was the world premiere of Swan,
choreographed by Viktor Plotnikov with the accompanying score of
Camille Saint-Saens and performed by principal dancers Lorna Feijoo
and Yury Yanowsky. Their pas de deux - performed in the cool, dark
sparsity of a film noir-esque ambiance and minimalist set decor - was
haunting, tragic, and foreboding. There was nothing to distract from
their lush, posh and melancholic romanticism - neither Yanowsky's
superlative topless prancing, nor Feijoo's seemingly endless beautiful
leggy pointe. The ultimate goal of dancers should be to conceal their
technique, not to display it prominently. After all, ballet is a
performing art, not a science; the whole must not only be bigger than
it is parts, but, more crucially, it must not be reducible to its
parts.
No medley of an American ballet company's performance is ever complete
without Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movements. Not everyone's
favorite piece, and often dismissed as too showy and toothy by the
purist, it nevertheless has a charm all of its own. It is to American
ballet what Grease is to Broadway musicals - an all-American display
of cheery exuberance with enough topologically twisted formations and
routines to impress any geometer. The finale is a 3D matrix formation,
seemingly emerging from the randomness of dancers frolicking around.
This is a feast for the eyes, but at the same time not brain candy.
There is too much of everything, and yet one feels unresolved at the
end!
Plan To B, by the resident choreographer Jorma Elo, would perhaps more
aptly be called "Plan B." I doubt it was anyone's favorite, but
nonetheless it has high energy and is full of accelerations and
decelerations that take your breath away, if not out of excitement,
then out of sympathy for the dancers, whose stamina seems to be
tested. Ironically, the glitterati seated in the VIP caged area seemed
most impressed with Plan To B. It must be highbrow.
Another one of Balanchine's masterpieces, Serenade, capped the
evening. Sixteen maids-in-waiting, dressed in lightly translucent
draping skirts which highlighted their long-legged silhouettes, danced
to the upbeat tempo of Tchaikovsky's refreshingly modern
Viennese-waltz-like score. The solo performance and the ensuing pas de
deux, headed by Prince Charming prancing onto the stage, was dazzling
and exciting. Next, the full ensemble was back on stage and draped in
a steely blue shade of lighting, rendering them elegant and polished.
Mass performances are never easy to organize, nor are they cheap; they
oftentimes have a circus-like air about them, but that did not hold
last Saturday night. Mikko Nissinen, Boston Ballet's Artistic
Director, must be proud since the starry night performance went
silkily smoothly. In fact, the whole night was a success, and should
have bolstered Bostonians' sense of ownership and pride in their
hometown ballet company.
Boston Ballet's 2013-2014 season will feature La Bayadère,
Balanchine's Jewels, and the ever popular The Nutcracker, Cinderella,
and Pricked.Post a comment on this article
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
September 27, 2013 Friday
BALLET REVIEW: Dancing under the stars
by Attila Forruchi
Night of Stars
Boston Ballet Company
Boston Common
Saturday Sept. 21, 2013, 7 p.m.
The Boston Ballet opened its 50th season before an estimated audience
of over 45,000 ballet aficionados, performing the dazzling Night of
Stars in Boston Common last Saturday. The free one-night performance
featured excerpts from Boston Ballet's entire repertory of classical,
neo-classical and contemporary ballets. Multiple giant screens, a
velvety state-of-the-art sound system and the gigantic stage, which at
times dwarved soloist and pas de deux performances, made for an
enchanting evening of highbrow artistry.
The show opener was the classical Don Quixote pas de deux, featuring
the romantic qualities of the principal dancers Misa Kuranaga and
Jeffrey Cirio. While the cumbersome distances from the outdoor stage
made it difficult for most in the audience to appreciate all the
nuances and delicacies of Kuranaga's exquisite movements, her
performance remained stunning from all distances and angle.
Rooster, from Boston Ballet's stunning contemporary repertoire, is set
to the music of the Rolling Stones and the choreography of Christopher
Bruce, but it's not just your parents' ballet. In it, the dancers
swayed in vibrantly colored street clothes against the stark,
larger-than-life set. As the Stones crooned "Paint It Black," four
dancers donning stunning black and blood red outfits, drenched in
hellish soft red lighting, displayed how fluidly ballet dancers can
move and contort their bodies while remaining loose. Next, the Stones'
"Play With Fire" set the mood for a duet more reminiscent of an edgy
flamenco than a classical ballet, the crowds' favorite of the three
pieces. The last excerpt, set to "Sympathy for The Devil," featured
vibrant, buttery, samba-esque figures, coloring the movements in time
that reflected the deep rhythms of the Rolling Stone's ode to the
Satan. Stylistically it was carnival crashing into post modernism.
La Bayadère whisked us into the exotica of Regal India, where the
drama of the unrequited love of the High Brahmin for Nikiya, the lead
temple dancer (in French, la bayadère), and her devotion to Solor the
gallant warrior, unfolds in glittery costumes and motifs worthy of a
Raj. The excerpt chosen, "Golden Idol Variation," is a dream piece for
any male dancer to perform. It is a tour-de-force of male dancing with
anti-gravity jumps and powerful, speedy, skillful movements. Avetik
Karapetyan, the Armenian soloist, rose to the occasion. His stunning
physique shimmered in gold, and was so well defined that the contours
of his chiseled muscularity often revealed the physicality of his
performance. Needless to say, however, I and most ballet aficionados
would have preferred to see the legendary white act, "Kingdom of the
Shades," instead of the opium induced dream state of Solor's mind.
The highlight of the night was the world premiere of Swan,
choreographed by Viktor Plotnikov with the accompanying score of
Camille Saint-Saens and performed by principal dancers Lorna Feijoo
and Yury Yanowsky. Their pas de deux - performed in the cool, dark
sparsity of a film noir-esque ambiance and minimalist set decor - was
haunting, tragic, and foreboding. There was nothing to distract from
their lush, posh and melancholic romanticism - neither Yanowsky's
superlative topless prancing, nor Feijoo's seemingly endless beautiful
leggy pointe. The ultimate goal of dancers should be to conceal their
technique, not to display it prominently. After all, ballet is a
performing art, not a science; the whole must not only be bigger than
it is parts, but, more crucially, it must not be reducible to its
parts.
No medley of an American ballet company's performance is ever complete
without Balanchine's Symphony in Three Movements. Not everyone's
favorite piece, and often dismissed as too showy and toothy by the
purist, it nevertheless has a charm all of its own. It is to American
ballet what Grease is to Broadway musicals - an all-American display
of cheery exuberance with enough topologically twisted formations and
routines to impress any geometer. The finale is a 3D matrix formation,
seemingly emerging from the randomness of dancers frolicking around.
This is a feast for the eyes, but at the same time not brain candy.
There is too much of everything, and yet one feels unresolved at the
end!
Plan To B, by the resident choreographer Jorma Elo, would perhaps more
aptly be called "Plan B." I doubt it was anyone's favorite, but
nonetheless it has high energy and is full of accelerations and
decelerations that take your breath away, if not out of excitement,
then out of sympathy for the dancers, whose stamina seems to be
tested. Ironically, the glitterati seated in the VIP caged area seemed
most impressed with Plan To B. It must be highbrow.
Another one of Balanchine's masterpieces, Serenade, capped the
evening. Sixteen maids-in-waiting, dressed in lightly translucent
draping skirts which highlighted their long-legged silhouettes, danced
to the upbeat tempo of Tchaikovsky's refreshingly modern
Viennese-waltz-like score. The solo performance and the ensuing pas de
deux, headed by Prince Charming prancing onto the stage, was dazzling
and exciting. Next, the full ensemble was back on stage and draped in
a steely blue shade of lighting, rendering them elegant and polished.
Mass performances are never easy to organize, nor are they cheap; they
oftentimes have a circus-like air about them, but that did not hold
last Saturday night. Mikko Nissinen, Boston Ballet's Artistic
Director, must be proud since the starry night performance went
silkily smoothly. In fact, the whole night was a success, and should
have bolstered Bostonians' sense of ownership and pride in their
hometown ballet company.
Boston Ballet's 2013-2014 season will feature La Bayadère,
Balanchine's Jewels, and the ever popular The Nutcracker, Cinderella,
and Pricked.Post a comment on this article
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress