During ABT’s abbreviated run of Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia last week, the leafy woodlands included varying strengths of timber. Overall, the ballet did not compare favorably with last year’s presentations. However, there were strong performances that we can rave about — most notably Skylar Brandt and Jake Roxander as Sylvia and Aminta. Neither artist is of heroic size, yet each danced at that scale with imagination and conviction. Roxander’s Aminta, a simple shepherd (we know he’s simple by his earthen brown costume), falls in love with the woodland nymph Sylvia who has sworn off love in favor of being a fierce but happy huntress and devoted follower of the goddess Diana (we know she’s a career soldier by the gold hieroglyphic-inspired troop emblem on her white costume and her metal helmet). He woos, she resists, each gets shot with an arrow, both survive, she gets kidnapped and manages to escape, they reunite, and everyone dances to their happy ending. It’s not Shakespeare but it’s a dilly of a story for a terrific ballet.
Ashton created this ballet as a tribute to Margot Fonteyn’s talent and artistry. But it is a monster of complex technical wizardry and crazy feats for da feets. One wonders if Fonteyn, after dancing three acts of Sylvia, believed it to be a tribute or perhaps torture. Countless variations on a pique, hoppity hops on pointe, and arabesque after arabesque after arabesque — all done with lighter than air quality and a smile. Aminta, on the other hand, gets an unusual male adagio in Act 1 with rolls down into arabesque penche, and swivels into pointe tendue plie; a nice rest in Act 2; a grand allegro solo in Act 3 along with a major entrance with Sylvia perched high on his shoulder, and a risky pas de deux.
We love Sylvia — Delibes’ gorgeous music, the complex inventions in Ashton’s choreography, the bucolic world created by the Ironside/Farmer designs, the mythical fantasy. In Friday evening’s performance, Brandt and Roxander mastered the make-believe with clear, unforced technique: Brandt’s light feet trilled across the stage like Natalie Dessay’s leggero coloratura; her pizzicato, not just fast but also full of fun. Roxander slayed with the acute angles of his grande fouette sautes en tournant and speedy pirouettes with exclamatory finishes.
As Eros, god of love, Elwince Magbitang made little impact with either his mime or dancing. The various clomping Naiads, Dryads, Fauns and Sylvans were not more than okay, and sometimes less. There was a then-you-do-this, then-you-do-that sense to it. James Whiteside’s Orion was almost perfect but for the jokey break in character along with Brandt in their pas de deux. The hunt attendants and peasants were wonderfully invested in what they were doing. We were very happy to see Sierra Armstrong’s regal Terpsichore and Cy Doherty’s towering Apollo. At the following day’s matinee, Doherty made an exceptional debut as Orion. This followed his riveting debut earlier in the season as the swamp thing in Swan Lake.
But Saturday’s matinee fell short of expectations. The strongest performance was that of Thomas Forster whose circular shaped arms in his pirouettes were as beautiful as those of Reece Clark’s last year. His grand allegro soared to impressive heights and the tours en l’air were terrific. This season Forster is in phenomenal physical shape and dancing at the highest level of his career with a pleasing confidence. As Sylvia, Devon Teuscher was, on this day, way outside her bailiwick and danced as though she were marking the steps while trying to make 1952 look stylish again. The arabesques were lower than low, the attitude positions were lower than low, the grand jetes were disturbingly leaden and low, the pirouettes were awkward almost like she was jumping to pointe out of Gaynor Mindens, and the pizzicato ended up in a mess. Sylvia’s entry with the sluggish piques and weak grand jetes predicted defeat for the rest of the performance. Carlos Gonzalez’s Eros was about the best that anyone could ask for. He delivered great humor opposite Max Barker’s lively peasant who pushed him to work his magic over the supposedly slain body of Aminta. Zhong-Jing Fang made a starring role out of Diana, the huntress; she is another veteran dancing at the highest level of her career.
The opening night principal cast of Chloe Misseldine and Calvin Royal III was enjoyable. Sylvia adhered to her strong huntress character throughout the ballet instead of softening up to let love take its course. Aminta wasn’t quite the Aminta of last season: the Act 1 solo was unsteady but the Act 3 solo was more impactful. Calvin and Chloe looked startlingly attractive as a pair; their lengthy limbs gave vibes of AI generation by Disney — How can those be real?
Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a fairytale inspired sandal from Louboutin, is bestowed upon Skylar Brandt for her vivid dancing and characterization of Sylvia. Hoping for a Titania in her future soon.
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