American Ballet Theatre’s opening night program, Twyla @ 60, is a misnomer. Twyla is really 84 — a thumping, jumping, pumping, romping 84; 84 and wanting more, as they say. But she’s been making dances for 60 years. It was nearly a half century ago that she made her first work for ABT and its new star, Mikhail Baryshnikov. She pushed ABT into a new era with Push Comes to Shove in which Baryshnikov wiggled and rocked and mocked and sizzled. It’s been a tough challenge for ballet, ABT in particular, to cast anyone as impactful as Baryshnikov in the lead role. They’re still working on it. Good luck to them.
Wednesday evening, Isaac Hernandez strode out beneath the bowler hat with a self-conscious imitation of cool. The “I am it” swagger was missing, and the steps were not tossed off with the comical ease that they should have been. But he was technically secure in Tharp’s challenges. The aspect of Push that made Baryshnikov such a hit was the surprise of this consummate classical technician melting down into Tharp’s downtown craziness. The surprise wasn’t there in this first performance. Haglund kept thinking what a hoot it would be to see soloist Takumi Miyake trade his ingrained classical elegance for a bowler hat and silks.
Christine Shevchenko and Breanne Granlund were fantastic in the van Hamel & Tcherkassky roles without imitating the originators. Shevchenko possessed the surprise factor that the dance needed. In true Tharp form, she conveyed nonchalance while executing everything meticulously. Granlund’s mastery of the Tharp style and her comfort and joy in dancing it was another pleasant surprise. Lea Flèytoux in Movement II projected like a giant. It was amazing how this tiny dancer could have such a huge effect on stage and communicate with such power. In Movement III, Jarod Curley entered to dance with Shevchenko. What a relief it was to see him moving like a house-a-fire with all that joy in his face after such a long injury absence.
This Twyla @ 60 evening opened with the company’s debut of Sextet. The piece was originally made for a Tharp program at NY City Center in 1992 that featured Isabelle Guerin, Allison Brown, Robert LaFosse and other dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet. Haglund doesn’t recall seeing it then but it must have been interesting to see POB dancers trying to stifle their French refinement to unpack Tharp’s jam-packed choreography. Thirty-three years later, it retains Tharp’s brand of organized chaos but not the gleam of innovation for which she was known. Been there, done that, seen that since 1992. To their credit, the dancers shone brightly, especially Skylar Brandt, Catherine Hurlin, and Daniel Camargo. All three were able to dispatch the complex choreography with amused twinkles in their eyes.
A revival of Bach Partita was sandwiched between Sextet and Push. Its principal dancing suffered noticeably. However, the underlying duos of Lèa Fleytoux with Takumi Miyake, Fangqi LI with Michael de la Nuez, and Virginia Lensi with Finnian Carmeci made this watchable. While Christine Shevchenko with Calvin Royal III and Chloe Misseldine with James Whiteside were on top of the choreography, if a bit effortfully, Isabella Boylston and Andrew Robare struggled with their pas de deux and surprisingly with their solo moments.
The evening was hampered by the over-reliance on stringed music, either played by soloist or small chamber during the first two-thirds of the program. By the time Push Comes to Shove arrived with the full orchestra, the audience had had its melatonin. A more musically balanced program would have been more successful.
The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a modest stiletto of delicate sparkle and charm, is bestowed upon Lèa Fleytoux, a small star with sun-sized brilliance.
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