Ok, back to balletic matters. I attended three Bayadere performances. On day one I was going to opt for City Ballet, but the program didn't really "get"me-(I saw "In the Night" over here just a little while ago, and while I find it pleasant, I certainly don't LOVE it that much...well...perhaps a little bit more than its cousin "Dances..."). So then I decided to try Seo/Muntagirov Bayadere.
This performance was sort of on the bland side. Seo executed the steps, did the cat-fight with Boylston and wore her white Shade tutu with grace, but that was it. there was no much characterization or drama in her portray. She was good, but not great. It was appropriate, then, that her rival character wasn't done with a higher level, either technically or artistically. Boylston's dance was tentative, not developed in the grand scale either...just as Seo's. Muntagirov's Solor was a bit more exciting, but generally, the whole performance left me cold.
Day 2 was definitely better. Cojocaru's Nikiya had more depth, and her technique, while diminished from past memorable performances, was still strong. She was the only one from the three Nikiyas I saw who really honored Dudinskaya's devilish series of pique/chainee turns at the PDD coda during the white act, performing them with great speed and sharpness. Still, during the Adagio, she fell off pointe a couple of times, but all around her dancing was wonderful.
Now, the big problem of this particular performance was the pairing of Vasiliev/Solor with Copeland/Gamzatti. I really don't know if Solor even though of his bride to be at any point-(leave Vasiliev his ballerina)-, during the whole thing. They were in two separate worlds. During the betrothal scene, right when they have to perform those tour jetes at the same time, while Vasiliev was still suspended on the air, way up there, poor Copeland was already on the floor, after having jumped half the height of her partenaire. It was definitely an unfortunate pairing, and it was clear that they are in two very different levels, technically wise. I felt it was unfair to Copeland. Vasiliev, of course, was his usual airy entity, jumping with the softness and grace of a cat-(that's the best example I could come up with), He is probably the only current reminder of the bouyancy of the Bolshoi dancers of the past, and he's not shy about showing off. I like that. His cambres are marvelous...he has one of the most flexible, beautiful backs in a bailarin I've ever seen. His solo during the betrothal scene brought down the house. Beautiful pirouettes a la second, perfectly executed. It all that wasn't enough, right after Nikiya dissapears at the end of his vision, he suddenly showed up on stage to leap across and into the right wing in what looked like a lion's jump. Wonderful. It is a shame that he's not as tall and prince-looking as other ABT bailarines-(Hallberg, Gomes, Bolle), but I'm sure his short height has a lot to do with his capability to jump that high.
THE performance of my trip, for me, came embodied in the handsome paring of Gomes/Part. Veronika currently carries like anybody else the long ballet notion of what a beautiful Russian ballerina ought to look like. I'm one of those balletomanes who believes in physical beauty onstage as an element as important as technique or artistry-(poor Vaganova...she was the victim of others who shared my view). Needless to say, Miss Part was a perfect vision in white during the Shades act. What gorgeous lines...how luscious her grand jetes are...her legs seem to go on forever. I have seen her in the past both as Lilac and Sugar Plum Fairy, but for some reason, it looked to me as if this was the first time I saw her dancing. I guess I was lucky to catch one of her "on" nights, right....? Her paring with handsome Gomes was the happiest idea. they are both tall, brunettes and dramatically competent, and she looked very comfortable with him. Of course, during the lifts it was Vasiliev who won the prize here, for which he carried Cojocaru in a complete horizontal position overhead, while Gomes and Part chose to have an arabesque design for her with the left knee folded under. Their veil PDD was gorgeous, and she didn't have any major faults. One of the things I remember the most during this performance was the way Veronika chose to dance the flower basket sequence. It was interesting, because while other dancers even smile during the dancing-("what are they happy about?!", I always wonder)-Part's was a languid, sorrowful display, as if she was just "seeing" her death approach...she knew that it was all done...that Solor would never be hers. I really found her characterization here exquisite and it all made sense to me, unlike with other dancers.
And then there was Osipova. What could I add about her amazing performance..? Everything has been done about her in other reviews. If anything, I really "saw" Gamzatti for the first time. She was no longer "the other" ballerina. She made the character alive and fundamental in the story line. One of the things I noticed was that, during the last act, while the two couples are dancing at the same time, whereas Part would look at Solor anytime she could have a chance, Osipova would try to turn to the audience and gaze at it. Basically Part was dancing to her beloved of choice,... and Osipova too..!
I want to note though that I wasn't satisfied with any of the fouettes being executed by any Gamzatti, Osipova included. There seems to be a trend among ballerinas not to show the ample ronde de jamb that ought to be finished with a perfect a la second pose during the whipping of the working leg. Instead they tend to bend the knee while the whipping movement happened almost in front of their bodies, instead of on the side. Then, of course, the movement takes less time, becoming shorter and faster, allowing them to do double and triples pirouettes in between. I find the trick a little diminishing to the fouette concept.
And now that I started to complain, let me mention two of the things that bothered me the most of this production. Number one was the design of choice for the Shades ramp. The big problem here is that the ramp is almost non existent..! The props of greenery take almost half of the stage, and then what it's left of the ramp is just a little piece in which only three shades can stand at a time. Plus, it is only one level of ramp and then the simple floor, instead of the double ample feature showed in old soviet productions. I was disappointed to find the iconic descending sequence very diminished. The other thing was the costume of Nikiya during the last act. I can't understand why they dress her in Harem pants, instead of keeping her in tutu. Isn't she still a ghost only coming into Solor's view...? Wouldn't have made much more sense to keep her as a Shade, still borrowed from the utter world, instead of dressing her with a worldly attire, as it was her choice to change clothes...?
All in all, it was great to see Bayadere. I had never seen the whole ballet before-(what we have in Havana is an abridged "Kingdom of the Shades", very much in the comprised fashion of the 50's), so it was wonderful to see the luxurious staging. The grand importance of this production is that it has been able to become part of ABT...that by now it is not a foreign Russian curiosity-(a la "Pharaoh's daughter")-but an integral part of the NYC ballet life. It was moving to see so many people attending the performances...and to know that the ballet has its golden seat along with the other warhorses. That said, for the inclusion of Bayadere into our lives as balletomanes we can't thank Makarova and Nureyev enough.
See ya..!
