Last week in ballet, we watched 3 different pieces. Each had differences but one thing that was the same was the amazing technique the dancers possessed. The following is a description of each piece, including: patterns, material, complexity, and simplicity.
Emeralds-
featuring Merrill Ashley, Gerard Ebitz, Karen Von Aroldingen, Sean Lavery,
Bonita Borne, Daniel Duell, and Heather Watts
Emeralds
set was a large structure with green jewels which matched beautifully with the
girls green costumes. The dance had many flowing formation changes. There was
initially a focus on two dancers who did not show much emotional attachment to
each other. The two did a lot of partnering while the corps did simple
movements in the back. The other dancers seemed to provide a setting to the
main two rather than be a focal point to the audience. They formed lines which
the two principals walked through and had non-moving formations in the back.
Following this part of the piece was a trio. I enjoyed the ways that the two
girls interchanged places with the one man. One thing I noticed about the
technique of this piece was that the man’s retire was crossed over instead of
being at the knee. The girls did movements that were very elongated. This part
of the piece had a light bouncy feeling to it. The next part of the piece
featured only two dancers for a short amount of time. This part was much slower
than the previous section and had an older feeling to it and a sense of being
regal. The dancers did ticking movements at times. The choreographer doesn’t
repeat large sections of choreography. The next part was featuring a man; his
movements were young and springy. He was then accompanied by a large group of
dancers. They had beautiful crossing formations with many turns. I really
enjoyed the smooth transitions between formations and the fast paced peel off
towards the end of this section. Finally the last part of the dance had 3 guys
and 4 girls. They did similar pull through changes of spacing to those that
were seen earlier in the dance. They used both the upstage and downstage quite
a bit and had very nice pictures. The choreography had moments of complexity
yet many of simplicity depending on the section and whether you were watching
the featured dancers or the background dancers.
Diamonds-
featuring Suzanne Ferrell and Peter Martins
Diamonds
began with many gesturing movements, almost seeming to welcome the audience and
each other. The dancers possessed amazing amount of control during slow
movements. This section did not have a lot of foot work or small quick motions.
The partnering was beautiful and I loved all the lifts, and rotating steps.
Towards the end there were more moments of quick movements but in comparison to
the Emeralds piece, this dance seemed more regal which works with the name of
this section of the “Jewels” collection. I also enjoyed the kiss on the hand at
the end because I love seeing an emotional connection during dances.
Stravinsky
Violin Concerto- featuring Kay Mazzo, Karen Von Aroldingen, Peter Martins, and
Bart Cooks
The beginning
of this dance had four guys and one girl on stage. This dance was extremely modern.
The attitude position was contemporary and many of the movements were quick.
Instead of constantly being turned out, this dance had many moments of
parallel. The costumes were very contemporary as well. Throughout the dance,
groups of dancers ran on and off stage and formations grew and condensed. The
next section had a man and woman who kept with the contemporary theme. They had
flexed feet and very asymmetrical poses. There was a walking backbend which I never
thought I’d see in a ballet piece. Also there was a lot of musicality, the
dancers hit flicks on accents and flowed when the music flowed. Overall this
section had many broken lines and was not like the “normal ballets”. Next featured another set of partners. Right
off the bat I have to say that this girl was abnormally skinny. She and the man
made very tangled positions. The man seemed to control the girl more than the
previous duo but I enjoyed the interactions between the two. Lastly there was a
group part. The dancers seemed friendly and had a pedestrian aspect to them.
The choreography for this section seemed much harder than what it actually was.
The swinging arms made a chaotic feeling when really it was just composed of
simple movements repeated. Overall this dance was extremely modern and had a
pedestrian feeling with good use of music and unique lines.
