City Ballet of San Diego, BALANCHINE, 5-12-07
City Ballet of San Diego presented “BALANCHINE” at Spreckels Theatre on May 11-13, 2007. This gorgeous program is the highlight of the Spring 2007 San Diego dance season, and would be a peak dance-lover’s experience in any city, including New York, San Francisco, and Chicago.
City Ballet is a top-tier dance company. The Artistic Director, Steven Wistrich, and the Resident Choregrapher, Elizabeth Rowe-Wistrich, really know what they’re doing. And the company dancers and apprentices – all of them – really know how to dance.
City Ballet of San Diego dancers are well-trained and well-disciplined, and as a group are very musical. They dance with flair and élan. They dance with grace and great energy. And when the dancers appear as a corps de ballet, they work seamlessly, beautifully, and with magnificent precision. No dancer lags behind in the phrasing. Everyone is where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there, doing what they’re supposed to be doing at every musical moment.
Watching the City Ballet corps dance is very, very satisfying.
BALANCHINE presented three outstanding masterpieces from the Balanchine repertory – “Serenade” (1934), “Agon” (1957), and “Divertimento No. 15” (1956). “Agon” of course is one of the iconic Balanchine works.
George Balanchine. Martha Graham. Merce Cunningham. These are the giants – the geniuses – of 20th-century choreography. As it’s been famously said of Homer, all dance language is based on what Balanchine, Graham, and Cunningham have done. They are the founders of all that we know as dance.
I was forcefully reminded of this during “Serenade”. The music is by Tchaikovsky, and yet in one surprising moment, Balanchine introduces a jazzy, syncopated movement. Three women are upstage center, their arms over their head in fifth position. Suddenly their arms open in a staggered sequence – one, two, three – in phrasing that would be right at home in any jazz dance class. 1934! My jaw literally dropped – I’d never known that these jazzy arms – a move I’ve done hundreds of times over the years in class and on stage – were originally introduced by George Balanchine in 1934. Remarkable.
So, being in the audience at a Balanchine performance is always like being present at living history. It’s as if Picasso’s Les Demoisells d’Avignon came to life before my eyes. Or Seurat’s La Grande Jatte. Or Pollock’s Full Fathom Five. It’s very much like meeting – in person – Ernest Hemingway or John Coltrane or John Ford – and witnessing their process as it’s unfolding.
When the curtain rose on the renowned opening tableau of “Serenade”, a shock of recognition swept through the audience. The recognition that this was going to be a great evening of dance. The majesty of a dozen ballerinas, dressed in white, motionless in a closed first position, their right arms outstretched, raised on a downstage diagonal. The still, vibrating energy of these dancers was so compelling that the audience burst into sustained applause.
“Serenade” begins as a beautiful, lyrical dance for women in white. But well into the piece, just when you think you understand what’s going on, enters the mystery. Amid a mass of twirling, swirling ballerinas, a male dancer – in blue – enters upstage left. He’s almost unseen, hidden among the women. Very much like a wolf in the fold. And so the sex begins.
With Balanchine, sex – the male-female dramatic relationship – is always right there, and if it’s not right there it’s right beneath the surface. Later in “Serenade” a second man comes onstage. He’s blindfolded by a woman draped across his back. Her right hand covers his eyes, and her left arm holds him close. They dance an erotic, complicated pas de trois with another woman. Both women have their long hair hanging free. A third woman joins the group. Her hair, too, is loose. It’s a heck of a party. And it’s 1934!
“Agon” was choreographed in collaboration with the composer, Igor Stravinsky, and premiered in 1957. By 1957 Balanchine had created an entirely new ballet vocabulary. Turned-in hips. Complex rhythms. Unusual and highly unexpected partnering. And by now the signature Balanchine black-and-white costuming had been introduced – white scoop-neck, short-sleeve tops and black tights for the men, and black swimsuit leotards and white tights for the women. Black and white have never looked so good.
“Divertimento No. 15” is a beautiful, intricate work set to music by Mozart. The Theme and Variations and Andante sections featured the bravura dancing of the City Ballet soloists – Arianna Samuelsson, Janica Smith, Megan Coatney, Mira Cook, and Alexis Risi, and Alex Bielik, Richard Bowman, and Gerardo Gil.
The City Ballet partner work is noteworthy. The City Ballet men understand very well their role as partners – to frame the ballerina, to provide a stable base for her turns and extensions, and to emphasize her beauty, lightness, and grace. This is so rarely done well – being a good partner requires a lot of sacrifice by the man. The City Ballet danseurs are terrific partners, and deserve much praise.
And, the City Ballet women are magnificent dancers. Ballet, and particularly Balanchine choreography, is all about technique. City Ballet dancers are sure-footed, precise, and lyrical. Their arms and legs create beautiful curves and long lines. Their chests are open, their turns are crisp and clean, and their pointe work is strong. City Ballet’s talented, beautiful ballerinas have the skill to present any work from any repertory.
This was a great evening of dance. As for what’s next, personally, I’d love to see a mixed program featuring George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
Add comment May 14th, 2007