It was an exhausting weekend. Sandwiched between two performances of beloved 20th Century ballets made when the world was embroiled in conflict and revolutions, there was the No Kings March to protest the war on Democracy and an evening at Broadway’s Chess, the self-described “Cold War musical” loosely based on a few things that might have happened during the Bobby Fischer/Boris Spassky/Anatoly Karpov era. Ballet won. Democracy won. In Chess, as the saying goes: “the game ends when the king falls.”
Diving back into our balletic bailiwick . . .
Fokine’s Les Sylphides, Tudor’s Gala Performance, and de Mille’s Rodeo received admirable performances from two different casts over the weekend. Friday evening’s Les Sylphides led by Hee Seo, Cory Stearns, Lea Fleytoux and Fangqi Li was even more lovely than anticipated. Seo evoked serene reverie with a slight mystery in her Prelude. Fleytoux’s Waltz was gorgeous from the waist up but she had issues maintaining stability while rolling down through her feet. In the Nocturne, Li seemed stern and too Wili-like. Her Mazurka included jumps with good elevation but there needed to be more shape to her feet, or should we say, more shape to her shoes. The shoes looked bulky and made her feet look stiff — especially when compared to the feet of Seo, Fleytoux, and many of the corps women. Cory Stearns actually danced as well as he ever has over the past twenty years, which is an honest moderate compliment, and he also had a sense of calm and joy in partnering Seo.
Sunday’s matinee Les Sylphides had the stronger cast. Christine Shevchenko glistened in the Nocturne and Mazurka, and one could clearly see the imprinting of Irina Kolpakova in the styling of her movement. Zhong-Jing Fang filled the Prelude with lush port de bras. Joo Won Ahn was a gallant partner to Shevchenko and exhibited the elegance we expect from the poet, if not all the crisp technique. We’re not giving up on him. He’s too likable, and when he finds his concentration he can be brilliant. Not giving up, not yet. The revelation of this Les Sylphides performance was Yoon Jung Seo, a third-year corps member who possessed everything one wants to see in the Waltz section including a sunny, soft expression that captivated our attention. One gorgeous dancer there. We’re looking forward to seeing more of her.
At both performances, the Corps de Ballet was exceptionally beautiful in its unity of style.
Tudor’s Gala Performance pits three obnoxious, ego-driven ballerinas of different ethnicities and/or nationalities against each other. They are evidently world famous and perform on the same program in signature choreography. The Russian ballerina — Christine Shevchenko at the Friday performance; Skylar Brandt at the Sunday matinee — Don Q’ed herself from one end of the stage to the other putting the ick in tricks. The Italian ballerina — Chloe Misseldine on Friday; Hee Seo on Sunday — performed her own slow processional before nabbing a partner to suffer through a bit of pas de deux. Jarod Curley and Michael de la Nuez provided their services for that on Friday and Sunday. At one point, Seo’s magnificent head-plume suddenly sagged and then fell to the stage. She smartly improvised to make the mishap part of the character. The French ballerina — Zimmi Coker on Friday; Lèa Fleytoux on Sunday — fluffed and flitted as she sought center stage but also sought to save herself from the other two glowering ballerinas. Takumi Miyake and Melvin Lawovi were the French ballerina’s partner on Friday and Sunday.
Isn’t it interesting how we welcome mocking stereotypes of Russian, Italian, and French characters in this ballet but then can’t seem to tolerate stereotypes that elicit our admiration and laughs in other ballets? Did someone just whisper Progressives’ hypocrisy? (Pausing here so Haglund can sip some warm anti-digressing tea.)
Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo received superb performances from Skylar Brandt on Friday and Breanne Granlund on Sunday. Their Cowgirls quickly captured hearts with their combination of humor, pathos, sass and sentimentality—and their foot-fancy horse ridin’. Champion Ropers Jake Roxander and Carlos Gonzalez along with Head Wranglers Jarod Curley and Patrick Frenette looked a little ballet-slick rather than being bent from riding their horses all day, but otherwise were fine. In this ballet, the champion performances belonged to the women.
Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Bottega Veneta embellished stretch sandal, goes to Hee Seo for her self-actualizing Sylph on Friday followed by her self-deprecating Italian ballerina on Sunday. It was quite a stretch.
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