Thanks, Jack, for doing such a superb job from Fort Lauderdale. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to respond.
First of all, I really loved the balance of works in tihs program. During his pre-performance talks recently, Edward Villella has been stressing the theme of stylistic variety and praising his dancers for their ability to perform in a variety of dance styles. One can quibble about this or that detail -- or about the essential look and feel of MCB's approach to the Taylor and even the Tharp -- but Program III showcased each of the three works very nicely.
When the weekend ended I found myself feeling slightly exhausted, emotionally satisfied and, in a way I still do not understand, enriched.
Scottish Symphony.
I've seen this on and off since the 60's but it has never ranked with my favorite Balanchine works. This time around, I was especially impressed by the dancing of
the corps, and with the the intricate, delicately detailed choreography Balanchine has made for them, especially in the last movement.
MCB certainly seems to have fielded a lot of Scotch Girls. I did not see Arja, though I can imagine this role as being a good fit. I've always thought of the Scotch Girl as having a slightly hoydenish, devil-may-care quality,
combined with great technical precision and speed. None of the dancers I saw had this difficult combination. For speed and clarity of technique, I liked
Zoe Zien best. For sauciness and character,
Ashley Knox. For charm,
Sara Esty. Of the male demi-soloists,
Michael Sean Breeden displayed a can-do enthusiasm, combined with beautiful
ballon and careful attention his attention to his partners, that was especially appealing.
What about the leads? I've never experienced this as a particularly mysterious or "Romantic" ballet. Jack seems right when he says that there appear to be different "planes of existence" for the "Sylph" role. In a less charitable mood, I might call this: "poorly executed story-telling." Somehow, all these elements have never come together for me, though my dim memories of
Allegra Kent suggest that she probably came close.
I saw
Jennifer Kronenberg and
Carlos Guerra three times and
Mary Carmen Catoya/ Renato Penteado once. All four seemed to ignore the sylphide aspects in the plot. Nor were they much troubled by the on-and-off menacing behavior of the male corps. This Scotch Sympony was an excercise in dancing, not coherent story-telling.
There are times, however, the power of dancing itself can make up for all sorts of narrative deficiencies For me, it happened on the last performance of the weekend:
the Sunday matinee. Kronenberg came to life -- which means that the Kronenberg/Guerra partnership came to life -- as did not happen (for me at least) in their other performances. I can still visualize a magical series of parallel jumps in which Kronenberg and Guerra were subtly off beat with the orchestra but completely in sync with each other. For me, the magic that many find in this partnership, but which often eludes me, suddenly came to life.
MCB's production is beautifully costumed but is performed in front of a crudely painted flat (castle, lakes, etc.) that seems borrowed by a high-school production of Brigadoon.
Promethean Fire.
This is a great dance work. Or so it seems to me. I watched the video of the original Paul Taylor cast several times before the MCB weekend. We've already talked about the weightedness, the relationship to the floor, that makes this work a challenge for a ballet company. Promethean Fire is full of bent over runs; fast, low one-footed skips; forceful straight-arm gestures; dramatic collapses to the floor; low grands jetes increasing in height as the dancer escapes from the stage. The Taylor Company performs this with a remarkable uniformity of style. They are powerful, even in collapse. They maintain
gravitas and never descend into melodrama. MCB's dancers convey the power and weightiness of the piece very well, but come across as more vulnerable -- more as individuals than as members of a tribe. This may actually add to the poignancy of the piece. Anyway, I loved them.
Yann Trividic was extraordinary in the lead male role. His lean torso, long arms, flying hair, intensity, and sense of desperation will stay in my visual memory of a long time. He dominaates the stage. Among the other men, everyone did most things right. One young dancer,
Chase Swatosh, seemed closest to the Taylor style. While some around him seemed to skim the ground while running -- or floated upwards as they skipped -- Swatosh seemed to stay close to the ground, even when jumping rather high. There is a point in the ballet when the dancers collapse one by one onto a mound of bodies. One at a time, each dancer stretches a single arm upwards as he or she falls. Later each crawls off stage surrending it to the two lead dancers. Swatosh's straining arm, his sudden fall, and his frantic, ground-hugging crawl to the wings, mesmerised me.
I saw
Patricia Albertson and
Catoya.in the lead women's part. Both worked smoothly with Trividic in the wonderful long pas de deux, though they lacked the strength and presence of Lisa Viola in the original Taylor performances. MCB is full of wonderful women dancers, but none in the Viola mold. In this work, at least, all the women tended to blend into the ensemble. This was not the case with Taylor's own dancers..
P.S.: MCB is the first outside company licensed to dance this piece. (Villella mentioned that he and Robert Gottlieb had a long personal association with Taylor, going back to the 50s.)
Nine Sinatra Songs.
This is such an inventive piece, and so clever about creating "characters" for each couple. So why do I find it so forgettable? Jack wrote that it began "to wear on me" by the fourth viewing. Me too. Highlights for me included:
--
Sara Esty and
Renan Cedeiro in the opener: Softly As I Leave You. (Cerdeiro has the makings of an elegant hoofer, in the Jeremy Cox manner. It's nice to see Esty in a sexy, elegant role.)
-- The magnetism of
Carrie Manning and
Yann Trividic in Strangers in the Night. The choreography here has some awkward, arbitrary lifts, meant to call attention to themselves. The dancers handled these lifts so smoothly that you almost didn't notice how hard Tharp was trying to impress us..
--
Tricia Albertson and
Michael Sean Breeden, deligihtful in the silly, slightly slapstick Something Stupid.
--
Jeanette Delgado (in a sexy red dress) back on stage after a long recovery from injury , dancing with
Isanusi Garcia-Rodriquez. .
This is a tumultuous relationship, to put it mildly. Delgado throws herself into passionately, it just as she throws herself into every role. Great dancing. Welcome back !!!!
-- The Highlight of Highlights --
The Finale, set to My Way. Tharp is strongest, It think, in filling the stage with so many couples. The couples dance only by themselves, never interacting with the other couples. But the stage picture suddenly becomes brilliantly, magically complex. I can still see those long, gorgeous traveling lifts, A thrilling conclusion to an on-and-off ballet.
2
). The Sylph was Katia Carranza, and "James" -( 
)-Renato Panteado. Carranza was beautiful to watch and she wore the romantic tutu with conviction. Panteado partnered her very nicely too and threw some attractive steps here and there. But honestly, the highlight of this performance for me was definitely Miss Leigh-Ann Esty as the “demi girl”-(can I call her Effie…?). Miss Esty- (just as her twin sister Sara)-is one of those dancers that radiates lots of energy and convincement in whatever role she is in, and I always enjoy her vitality and high-spirited demeanor onstage. Brava! 
