Yvonne Posted April 12, 2001 Share Posted April 12, 2001 I attended last Saturday night's performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, danced by Ballet West. I'm not even going to attempt to "review" it, cause that doesn't seem to be one of my "strong points", but.....it was my first time seeing this ballet (along with my husband and nine year old daughter). Yes...we all enjoyed it. The dancing was at the level I've come to expect from this fine company. Tong Wang danced Oberon and really stole the show from Titania (IMO). After seeing Wang in the 4 T's, Miss Julie, Lilac Garden and now this, I'm impressed by his dancing more and more. Just a few comments... I really enjoyed the first act, but I'm not crazy about where Balanchine ends the first act and begins the second act. The couple sitting next to me never came back after Act One (I'm pretty sure that they thought it was the end of the ballet, since all the couples had gotten back togeather with the right partners!!) It's a long first act, and even though the second act is a celebration of the weddings taking place, it was just a tiny bit hard to sit through - the whole style of the ballet changes in mid-step (at least that's how it seemed to me). After watching so much going on in act one, act two just seemed kind of "one-dimentional". Michio Hayashi was fluid and beautiful in the second act pas de deux (I kept thinking of Allegra Kent). I would like to see more of Hayashi this season. Not that this is of any earth-shaking importance, but in all the scenes where Titania is dancing with her "attendants", her gown is SO close in color to those dancing around her, that she just seems to fade in with them. I'm not trying to nit-pick, but the ballerina just doesn't stand out with all that blush-pink chiffon twirling around (including her own) on such a small stage [ 04-11-2001: Message edited by: Yvonne ] Link to comment
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