Georgian State Dancers

[Leigh Witchel]

I had a marvelous time, and like Mindy Aloff on danceviewtimes, thought it was a smashing coda to the season (and yes, a huge relief after the Eifman). Peter Martins spoke briefly beforehand (he was presented along with the company with an arts award from the Republic of Georgia) and he hoped Mr. B was smiling to see this. Me too.

The Georgian Dancers are a company along the lines of the Moiseyev; they take dances with folk roots and present theatricalized versions of them. The company divided the program into two halves, the second half was the newer works. The only difficulty with the division is that the finale of Act I should have been the evening's closer; nothing else could match it.

The men of the company were magnificent freaks; insane warriors wearing something like fuzzy muppet hair wigs and brandishing dangerous looking knives that shot of sparks when they fought mock battles while spinning around the stage on their knees. They danced in soft boots knuckled over their toes and leap into the air doing double tours with both knees bent to CRASH to the floor on their knees and spring up and repeat (thank heavens they're wearing padding). All the while they're grimacing and screaming. It's delightfully strange.

The women, on the other hand, remain aloof. They're all tall and thin as if Modigliani had painted a Madonna. They barely move as they glide on demi-pointe. It's a stereotype, but they make it fascinating.

Did anyone else go?

[lampwick]

I saw them on Friday night. Wow. The men performed the quickest footwork I had ever seen and the sheer display of pyrotechnical feats were beyond belief. They made the fastest Balanchine ballet look like slow motion. The "sword" dance was particularly exciting. No wonder Balanchine loved these dancers so much. All the men showed off and looked like they were having a great time. Totally raised the energy level in the theatre.

The women reminded me of the angels in Balanchine's Nutcracker. They glided around the stage in those gorgeous long dresses. Stunning.

I loved the performance. I was exhausted when I arrived at the theatre, and left totally pumped up. It was a wonderful birthday gift for Balanchine and a real treat for the audience.

[Juliet]

I'm so happy to read these reports--did anyone else go?

Leigh, the fuzzy hats are sometimes large ones that are worn with very large, felted wool capes? I recall this number as an especially arresting visual--the capes weigh a ton, but the men move as rather a fantastic army in one's nightmarish imaginings......they all seem about 8 feet tall.....

Of course the angels in Nutcracker use the same step as many of the women's dances--that particularly exotic, fluid glide----it's one of the reasons I've always enjoyed that procession of angels.

I don't think 'freakish' is the word I would use for this group of men----splendid,wild.......freakish is Boris Eifman using Robert Tewsley's cavorting with a chair and stage writhing to suggest Balanchine.

I hope the people who filled the seats for Eifman and greeted his ballet with riotous acclaim, did hte same for the Georgian dancers. That is a troupe that deserves the financial resources that were squandered on Eifman.

[carbro]

Not to worry, Juliet, Sunday night's performance -- the one without NYCB -- was the most solidly packed house I've seen all season, including for the Eifman.

I was getting very bored with the women in the first half, because they did literally nothing except that gliding step, changing the position of their curled arms from time to time. It was a great relief to see them in the second half where, like the men, they bent and stamped and turrned. They were never challenged with the same kind of virtuousity the men had, probably due to the fact that so many of the dances were about combat.

Georgia's location along the Silk Road gave the program a wonderful mix of East and West. Some of the music (played by a band comprised of two different flutes, two accordions, two different sets of drums, and a tall, bowed string instrument, like a bass viol. There may have been more musicians, but if so, they were out of my sightline. The music tended to be repetitive, sometimes sounding a lot like Philip Glass; sometimes it sounded Middle Eastern and sometimes almost Western.

This was a fun evening, and fascinating, too.