Hello All,
After years of 'lurking' I have decided to join the discussion, as I am dismayed by ever-diminishing Washington DC representation on this and other boards.
I have followed ballet/dance in the Washington area for some 20 years. I should tell you that I like all forms of dance, although I do prefer ballet. I enjoy the traditional classics, most Ashton & McMillan, most Balanchine, many contemporary works including Kyllian and Forsythe, as well as the more contemporary-modern Mats Ek and Nacho Duato, some Tharp, some Morris.... In terms of dancers, I tend to dislike the splashy-flashy, posing and mannerisms that plague many performances, preferring clean, strong technique coupled with elegance and true artistry (versus melodrama or histrionics) that enhances a work without distracting from it.
I have to agree with Natalia about the calibre of the Washington Ballet Dancers versus the Suzanne Farrell dancers -- there is no comparison. Every season, we hope that Suzanne Farrell will finally bring us good dancers, but we're consistently disappointed. As interesting and thoughtful as her programs are, I don't think I can stand another.
So much for my introduction. Now on to the 'Genius 2 program'. I saw both casts perform, first on opening night on Thursday, then on Sunday. Just a quick clarification: Although technically the Wednesday performance is the first public performance, it is billed as the 'preview' night, with Thursday billed as 'opening' night. This is the performance that Sarah Kaufman 'reviewed.'
As mentioned, there are many new dancers and this probably contributed to the lack of cohesiveness and chemistry in the two group pieces, although this had improved slightly by Sunday.
I was most impressed by Sona Kharatian, Jonathan Jordan and Luis Torres (they have certainly come a long way in the last couple of years) as well as by Laura Urgelles, Maki Onuki, Brianne Bland, Rui Huang and Jared Nelson. Among the up-and coming, Norton Fantinel looked very promising, as did Diana Albrecht, Tyler Savoie and Cory Landolt. As yet, none of the new dancers really caught my eye.
Beginning with the Thursday performance, the program was performed in reverse order, i.e.:
Morris' "Drink to me only with thine eyes"
Wheeldon's "Morphoses"
Duato's "Cor Perdut"
Tharp's "Baker's Dozen"
This order worked quite well, finishing the evening on a light, witty, bright note.
Pianist Glenn Sales was terrific both days. He deserves special cudos for the very difficult Virgil Thomson score.
The weakest piece for me was the Morris, which I had actually looked forward to seeing again, as I had quite enjoyed it last year when WB performed it at the Harman Theatre. Not so this time. I found it very uneven and disjointed -- both in terms of choreography and execution, although on Thursday Jonathan Jordan did improve matters some. I have to believe that part of my enjoyment last season was the overall quality and rapport of the dancers. This time, the piece really lacked flow. My favorite pieces both days were Wheeldon's "Morphoses" and Duato's "Cor Perdut." And I must admit that I enjoyed Tharp's "Baker's Dozen" more than I had expected to -- both days!
"Morphoses" is truly a gem and only improves in interest and depth with every viewing. I was completely riveted from beginning to end. It was beautifully danced on Thursday by Sona Kharatian and Luis Torres, who've both really grown into this work. Jared Nelson was fine, but Jade Payette, who is physically talented, still lacks depth and maturity and in my opinion is miscast here. On Sunday, Jonathan Jordan and Laura Urgelles were wonderful, and although Luis Torres was again excellent, there was no connection between him and Elizabeth Gaither, who has been a consistent disappointment to me in the last couple of seasons.
The Duato duet was beautifually, albeit very differently, performed both days. However Sona Kharatian clearly stood out on Thursday. She was exquisite, simultaneously exuding strength and fragility as well as great depth and mystery. The applause and 'bravos' for Kharatian and Nelson were deafening and unending on Thursday.
Overall, I thought it was good launch to the season.
Would anyone care to comment on Sarah Kaufman's 'review'?
Although I wholeheartedly agree with her last paragraph, I felt that some of the examples she used to illustrate her point were off the mark and even served to negate her point. The Washington Ballet does have well-trained classical dancers (Jordan, Urgelles, Kharatian, Huang), who are all under or mis-utilized (except for Jordan) by Webre who consistently chooses to feature dancers who can produce more acrobatics, flash and sexiness, because that is the esthetic he understands and is comfortable with. How can someone with absolutely no real classical ballet training or dancing experience be expected to do otherwise? Again, although I agree with the philosophical point Kaufman has been trying to make for the past year or two, by not providing real reviews, I feel she is being unfair to the audience and to the dancers. As for her comment regarding Washington Ballet showing poorly next to Oregon Ballet, this is an unfair comparison in that the WB performed Tharp's "Nine Sinatra Songs" whereas OBT performed a serious work by Christopher Wheeldon (the name of which escapes me now). In my opinion, the WB dancers are talented artists who are doing a wonderful job with the direction and repertoire they are given.
