Above: from Sarasota Ballet's production of Sir Frederick Ashton's Monotones II; the dancers in this photo by Frank Atura are Ricardo Graziano, Victoria Hulland, and Ricardo Rhodes
~ Author: Oberon
Sunday August 19th, 2018 matinee - A chance to see a program of works by Christopher Wheeldon and Sir Frederick Ashton - and to see Marcelo Gomes in a guest performance - drew me to The Joyce this afternoon where Sarasota Ballet were wrapping up a week-long stay.
There Where She Loved, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon in 2000 for The Royal Ballet, is set to songs by Frederic Chopin and Kurt Weill. Two very good singers, Stella Zambalis and Michelle Giglio, took turns singing the songs live; along with Cameron Grant's expertise at the piano, they made the musical side of things a pleasure in itself.
From a time before Wheeldon found his groove, this is pretty 'standard ballet' stuff: nice partnering motifs, and a sense of lyricism. Overall, the effect is pleasant and a bit bland. Best by far of the seven movements is the last one - to Weill's "Je ne t'aime pas" - in which Victoria Hulland was superb, partnered by Ricardo Rhodes.
Monotones I & Monotones II by Sir Frederick Ashton was the highlight of the afternoon: Cameron Grant's exquisite playing of the Satie Gnossiennes and Gymnopiedes created a marvelous, poetic atmosphere. Beautifully lit, two trios of dancers move in stylized patterns; dressed in be-jeweled body tights and bathing caps, they take on an alien identity. The sold-out house seemed mesmerized by this pair of unique, other-worldly ballets.
The concluding part of the programme was given over to Divertissements from Sarasota Ballet's extensive Ashton repertoire. Despite being very well-danced, each piece seemed dated in its own way.
Ballerina Kate Honea gave her all as the La Chatte Metamorphosee en Femme (The Cat Turned Into a Woman). All the expected feline moves and quirks are set forth, and the dancer emits a loud "meow" at the end. Mr. Grant's playing of the Offenbach score kept things from becoming too silly.
More froth in the Pas de Trois from Les Patineurs; without the sets and the context of the full ballet, this brief piece was inconsequential.
The Méditation from Massenet's opera Thaïs is gorgeous music, but setting it as an exotic 'love pas' doesn't do it any favors since, in the opera, the music depicts the heroine's life-changing reflection on aging and the emptiness of her dissolute life, deciding her to enter a convent. Ashton's pas de deux is performed in gaudy, dance-recital costumes; the two dancers this afternoon sometimes seemed tested by the partnering motifs.
Above: Victoria Hulland and Marcelo Gomes in the pas de deux from The Two Pigeons; photo by Frank Atura
Featuring a pair of live pigeons, the final duet from The Two Pigeons was - needless to say - expressively danced by Ms. Hulland and Mr. Gomes. The music, by André Messager, seemed far too grand for the intimate scene.
~ Oberon