City Ballet of San Diego, Tchaikovsky Spectacular
May 14th, 2007
City Ballet of San Diego presented “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre in La Jolla on Friday, March 30th and April 1st, 2007. This well-conceived, beautifully executed, thoroughly entertaining evening of ballet was enthusiastically received by the lucky audience, which included, of course, former professional dancers who are now dance reviewers. :-)
“Tchaikovsky Spectacular” included “Swan Lake, Act II”, “Black Swan Pas de Deux”, and the world premiere of “Tchai Celebration”.
Presenting “Swan Lake, Act II” and the “Black Swan Pas de Deux” could be a daunting task for any ballet company that is not American Ballet Theatre. The tradition is so rich, the music so iconic, the sense memory so strong of Margot Fonteyn and Natalia Makarova and Rudolf Nureyev and Tony Dowell, and all the other beloved premiere danseurs and prima ballerinas, that dancing these ballets seems almost pointless. How could a company succeed when the renowned comparisons leap immediately to mind?
Well, City Ballet of San Diego succeeded marvelously. “Swan Lake, Act II” in 1996, with staging by Kimberly Roberts after the original choreography by Lev Ivanov, featured a radiant Ariana Samuelsson at Odette, supported by her excellent partner, Ivan Bielik, as Prince Siegfried.
Ms. Samuelsson dances with beautiful precision and terrific focus. She is very strong on pointe, the line of her legs is long and clean, and her arms are light and lovely. She embodied the essence of a swan, even in human form. Ms. Samuelsson’s liquid arm movements reminded me of Maya Plisetskaya’s “Black Swan” and “The Dying Swan”. Ms. Samuelsson’s technical mastery – her arabesques, extensions, and crisp petit bourées − combined seamlessly with her superb musicality. Her Odette was magnificent.
Ivan Bielik provided solid, strong counterpoint as Prince Siegfried. There’s not much for the Prince to do, dance-wise, in Act II, other than be a sturdy partner for Odette. And, partnering is precisely what’s called for. The Prince must be a rock, providing strength for the emotional, fluttering Odette. And of course, it’s very difficult to be a good partner. He must be right there, every moment, completely focused, and at the same time his effort must be graceful and transparent. We mustn’t see the partner sweat or strain. Mr. Bielik did all this very well, using his long legs, clean lines, and graceful arms to provide a clear background for the story of Odette.
The “Black Swan Pas de Deux” is part of our dance collective unconscious. We always know it, the choreography is always right there as soon as we think of it. So this pas de deux is one more Everest for an intrepid dance pair to climb. Janica Smith and Gerardo Gil presented a bravura performance as Odile and the Prince. Their strength, musicality, grace, and energy were thrilling, and the audience gave this terrific pair a loud and long ovation.
“Tchai Celebration”, a world premiere, is choreographed by Elizabeth Wistrich, City Ballet’s Resident Choreographer. “Tchai Celebration” contains 12 sections – one for each month – and offers a complete theatrical experience. Each section’s dancers were costumed uniquely, the 12 sets of costumes matching the season and sensibility of each companion month. The dancers and choreography transported viewers into a rapidly spinning time machine of human experience – love, loss, family, friends, happiness, pain, and joy. Each section was prefaced by Narrator and Vocalist John Nettles, creating an effective multimedia framework for the beautiful dancing.
City Ballet of San Diego dances very, very well. The company members vary greatly in height, and this creates excellent visual interest for the audience. The work of the corps de ballet is particularly noteworthy – I have rarely experienced a corps that was so well-trained, so on cue, and so musical. And, all the partner work was of a high order. The men presented their women beautifully, each danseur aware that his job was to create a frame in which his ballerina could shine. Very, very well done. “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” was a great evening of dance.
Entry Filed under: Dance
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