The evening opened with Angel Corella's setting of Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence. Entitled STRING SEXTET, the ballet in four movements is formal and classical in tone yet garnished with some strikingly inventive partnering sequences and some fresh ideas about choreographic patterns that make it more interesting and immediate than a mere exercise in classicism. And of course, the music is simply grand.
A trio of leading couples in black are set against a corps of six couples in white. In the first movement each couple have a duet passage - here ballerina Ashley Ellis made a particularly striking impression. The second movement was especially beautiful to watch (nice lighting an enhancement) as Maria Jose Sales weaves her way among the seven men (Sergei D'yachkov and the six corps boys); she is partnered by each man in turn before moving on. Much of the time the male ensemble are performing simple but expressive port de bras in unison.
Joseph Gatti, both in his 3rd movement solo in STRING SEXTET and later in WALPURGISNACHT, pulled off some stunning technical feats but his dancing was also suffused with lyricism. Another notable moment in this opening work was provided by Kazuko Omori in a brilliant flurry of pirouettes en attitude devant which had a life of their own. Overall, Angel's choreography and the fine work of all the dancers made STRING SEXTET something I would like to see again.
Following an intermission in which several luminaries of the dance world were spotted among the crowd - the Divine Kowroski, the gorgeous Ana Sophia Scheller, Yuriko Kajiya, Joseph Phillips, Craig Salstein, Antonio Carmena, Jared Matthews, Roman Zhurbin, Alexandre Hammoudi, Christopher Wheeldon and Jason Fowler (who staged Wheeldon's DGV for Angel's company) - we saw a trio, a classic pas de deux and a danse espagnole each of which drove the crowd to whooping ovations.
WALPURGISNACHT reminded me a bit of the Robbins FOUR SEASONS (Autumn) with its scantily clad faun and much balletic capering. Dancing to a truncated version of the same Gounod music (from FAUST) that Balanchine used in his ballet of the same title, Mr. Gatti and Kirill Radev (the faun) traded virtuoso phrases of ever-increasing difficulty evoking ever-increasing bravos from the crowd who were clearly enjoying the fireworks. Ms. Omori in a scarlet tunic kept pace with the two men - she can both dazzle and charm - and the trio were warmly cheered with an extra bow at the end.
A late substitution in the programme gave us a glimpse of what Herman Cornejo's Siegfried will be like as he danced the Black Swan pas de deux with Adiarys Almeida. Herman, in the sleekest possible black tights, danced gorgeously and his fifth position is immaculate. In the past there have been some complaints about Herman's partnering (he had no problems in the GISELLE and SLEEPING BEAUTY that I saw) but today he was attentive and thoroughly in control of his Odile, Adiarys Almeida. Although slightly taller than Herman when on pointe, Ms. Almeida looked very comfortable with the handsome danseur. Of course each of the two dancers reveled in the demands of their solos and the coda, but there was also a strong chemistry during the adagio that made this more than just a gala bon-bon. The above photo of Herman by Richard Termine.
Angel and Carmen Corella danced the Maria Pages duet SOLEA which starts slowly and then builds with clapping and many a flamenco flourish. Carmen etched her pointe work into the music's rhythmic accents and Angel tossed off whirlwind pirouette combinations that evoked shouts of "Ole!" from the crowd. Brother and sister basked in a vociferous ovation at the end.
This center segment of the programme was well-contrasted and excitingly danced.
It's always fun to discover 'new' dancers and Joseph Gatti and Adiarys Almeida (above) are two I would love to see again.
Michael Nyman's score for Wheeldon's DANSE A GRAND VITESSE (photo: T. Kenton) was commissioned in 1993 to celebrate the opening of a high-speed railway line between Paris and Lille. The music is excitingly cinematic and the pacing affords both driven and traquil passages - and during the duet for Natalia Tapia and Angel Corella goes silent altogether. Warped sheets of metal cross the floor and the backdrop is raised to expose the stage wall. Stark lighting gives the piece an industrial look. During a series of four duets, a corps of twelve come and go at the back of the stage; the entire cast unites for a well-patterned finale. Among the eight principals, Carmen Corella and Ashley Ellis gave outstanding performances, and Angel Corella's entrance bearing Ms. Tapia aloft was breathtaking. Yet the highlight of the piece was a central segment for the corps where the choreographer showed his most Balanchinian instincts. DGV is impressive to watch though as it went on I started to feel that some editing of the score might have made it more cohesive and powerful. There were times when the dancers seemed merely to be filling out measures of music waiting for the composer to move on. Of course Nyman didn't write it with dancing in mind but perhaps a meeting of choreographer and composer could have resulted in some judicious tightening of the individual movements. Nevertheless, the score is brilliant and Christopher and the dancers make it it well worth watching.
NEWS of an upcoming film about Angel Corella's Ballet Castilla y Leon:
Click on the above panels to enlarge.
Hi Philip,
Wasn't Joseph Gatti among those in Youth America Grand Prix that we saw? I think he won a bronze.... You might remember.
Posted by: James Barrick | March 21, 2010 at 12:15 PM
I think Joseph did win a medal in the YAGP although I did not attend; it was NYIBC that Kokyat and I covered on my blog.
Posted by: Philip | March 21, 2010 at 08:38 PM
Great review (as always here) of Angel Corella's Ballet Castilla y Leon at City center. Were the houses sold out? I presume yes, Angel being Angel, but any sellout house these days is good news.
Posted by: Peter Quennell | March 22, 2010 at 10:58 AM
That film on Angel's company is REALLY good news. Well spotted. And apparently in English? There are not nearly enough ballet-in-the-making films of this type. The YouTubes on Ballet Castilla y Leon are worth a look.
Posted by: Peter Quennell | March 22, 2010 at 11:12 AM
Angel had big and enthusiastic crowds at his performances according to all reports.
Not a lot of dance events sell-out these days; people have become very cautious about how they spend their money in these uncertain times.
Posted by: Philip | March 22, 2010 at 11:26 AM
THANK YOU! for noting and posting the Playbill program insert about my documentary film on the creation of Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon in your blog. The trailer--if you didn't see it and the accompanying clips at the performances is viewable here:
http://dancemedia.com/v/1528
And as with most artistic endeavors these days, I'm still trying to get "completion funding" to finish it.
Posted by: G.Gagnon | April 12, 2010 at 11:48 PM
Thank you for the info on the film, G Gagnon! Please e-mail me with any further developments so I can share them on my blog: completion, release date, DVD availability...?
My address:
oberon481@hotmail.com
Posted by: Philip | April 13, 2010 at 07:23 PM