| . | 04/06/2008
KIROV BALLET AND ORCHESTRA
By: Joel Benjamin
Raymonda (Act 3) Uliana Lopatkin & Daniil Korsuntsev in Kirov Ballet.
The lure of seeing excerpts of famous ballets choreographed by the iconic 19th Century genius Marius Petipa performed by the luminous troupe for which they were created drew a full house for the Kirov Ballet and orchestra at the New York City Center on Thursday, April 3rd. This was the third night of this program consisting of "Raymonda" (Act 3), "Paquita" (Grand Pas) and "La Bayadere" (Kingdom of the Shadows) was performed.
Each work showed the many facets of Petipa's brilliance: his command of large groups, his mastery and development of the classical ballet vocabulary and his ability to adapt character (i.e. ethnic) dances to the demands of his plots.
The Kirov, under the artistic direction of the ubiquitous Valery Gergiev, opened the program with the third act of "Raymonda", the full version of which is fortunately rarely seen. This act consists of a series of set pieces that range from a demi-character mazurka & czardas to solos and a pas de deux for the title character and her beau. Before a colorful backdrop of a medieval castle first a slow mazurka is danced by a large group. The mazurka picks up speed with capes flying, heels clicking and the piquant kicking steps building into a charming, elegant frenzy. The czardas, similarly, involved booted corps members in a crescendo of lively steps. Although previous generations of Kirov dancers gave more weight to the character elements of these dances and less to the classical ones, this group clearly favoring classical purity, still stirred up some excitement.
Victoria Tereshkina as the title character was a bit too elegant. The role requires many pseudo-Hungarian movements such as exuberant clapping of the hands, holding the arms behind the head, heel clicking (difficult in toe shoes!) and deep back bends, none of which were given much weight by the slender ballerina. Her partner, Danila Korsuntsev, was similarly pallid in the folk elements, but danced with classical purity and partnered well.
"Paquita", the second ballet, is a super test of classical purity with just enough pseudo spanish/flamenco zest to raise the steps out of advanced classroom exercises into glorious little studies of rhythm, form and use of stage space. After a busy opening which brought the entire corps and all the soloists onto the stage skimming in syncopated skips and leaps, there was the first pas de deux. Performed by the loose-limbed Alina Somova and the surprisingly dour Anton Korsakov, it is an understated and quiet duet in which they mirror each others' movements and poses until the danseur lifts the ballerina high, carrying her through the lines of the corps. Then the five beautiful variations, each supremely difficult, each highlighting a quality (languor, elegance, charm). The first variation danced by Alina Somova is the longest and contains leaps and legato movements. The third danced by Valeria Martynjuk is hummingbird quick. The other three, danced by Ekaterina Kondaurova, Ekaterina Osmolkina and Victoria Tershkina displayed the control and elegance that the Kirov is known for: all were just about perfectly performed with lovely arms, positions and, most of all, subtle musicality. Mr. Korsakov, however, didn't seem pleased to be there and danced his variation skillfully but cool-y and partnered Ms. Somova unobtrusively.
LaBayadere (Kingdom of the Shadows) Kirov Ballet
The Kingdom of the Shadows act of "La Bayadere", the final work on the program, was, until fairly recently, the best-known part of the ballet. The Kirov's version presented here was a bit on the cheap side in that the thirty-two members of the corps de ballet did not enter down a ramp, as if descending from the sky, but appeared one-by-one from behind a black curtain. Performed to a moderately quicker pace than we've come to expect, the dancers nevertheless performed the repetitive steps into arabesques cleanly if emotionless..
However, when the beautiful, world-class ballerina Diana Vishneva appeared, the beauty of Petipa's creation was fully revealed. She danced as if she were the diaphanous "shadow" of her character Nikiya, yet somehow was at the same time full-bodied and sensuous. When her partner, Yevgeny Ivanchenko, spun her at the end of a long, ethereal blue scarf, she floated in her turns. Mr. Ivanchenko wasn't quite up to Ms. Vishneva's standard but he partnered well and wore is two-piece, royal blue outfit with panache, showing off a well-tuned body. His leaps were standard issue but his form was lovely. The three solo shades, Olesia Novikova, Nadezhda Gonchar and Ekaterina Kondaurova worked well together, matching leaps and arabesques expertly and performing the choreography with attention to both the other worldly storyline and the practical needs of spacing amidst the ever changing corps de ballet positions.
The costumes and lighting throughout were beautiful even if the sets were of touring company quality. And the orchestra, conducted by Mikhail Sinkevich, played well supporting the dancers with a full, rich sound and expert knowledge of timing and phrasing.
Although most major western ballet troupes have incredibly high technical standards now, it is wonderful to see the troupe which created these standards closeup at the New York City Center where the Kirov dances all-Fokine, all-William Forsythe and all-Balanchine programs this time around.
THE KIROV BALLET AND ORCHESTRA
Under the Artistic Direction of Valery Gergiev
New York City Center
West 55th St.
April 1 - 20, 2008
212-247-0430 or Cititix 212-581-1212
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