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ABT STUDIO CO. @ NYU


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I’m glad you asked – I’ve been looking for something to do with my notes.

To begin with, NYU obviously has money. It’s “Skirball Theater” (can there be a more infelicitous name for a theater?) proves to be modern and oh so impressive. Medium sized -- about the size of the Julliard Theater which houses the SAB workshops, but without the orchestra pit – red plush seating, marvelous acoustics, the seating in the orchestra section has a very pronounced rake, lifting you above the stage very steeply, a capacious balcony also with a tier of boxes extending to either side; a large stage and a fine lighting battery. The audience for Saturday afternoon’s performance nearly filled the orchestra. A numerically large house, I thought.

The programming was something of a mirror of the eclectic nature ABT’s repertory: the Pas de Six from “La Vivandiere” (St. Leon, Paris Opera, about 1840) performed by a principle couple and a corps de ballet of four women, reportedly staged by Eleanor D’Antuono;

Then an Anton Dolin showpiece for four men entitled “Variations for Four”;

Then, after an intermission two contemporary works made on the company: “Hush”, twenty to twenty-five minutes long, music by Philip Glass, choreography by Stephen Mills: four men and four women in unitards, highly dramatic lighting (Ted Sullivan’s strongly contrasted and backlit lighting designs for the contemporary portions of the program were striking), the Ballet consisting of choreography recognizably based upon the classical vocabulary.

Then, after another intermission, “Alchemy”, choreography by Dominic Walsh. A Ballet of similar length to “Hush”, the musical score somewhat raucous, even percussive, known as “Goblin Attack” performed live by a string quartet called “Two Star Symphony”. This Ballet costumed in extremely revealing (for the women) unitards which remind one somehow of “Star Trek.” There would be three couples, except one of the men is a Puck/Jester type – Alex Wong, an Asian dancer of immense speed, and rather explosive movement, clearly demi character, he will certainly be one to watch in ABT rep, the Jester roles are made for him. Think the Golden Temple Dance in Bayaderka. His role in “Alchemy” seems to be rather like that of Puck in Midsummer Night’s Dream in that he sets the couples together, breaks them apart, seems to be orchestrating the entire thing. A sort of Pandar for a dreary impersonal orgy in which the characters seem totally depressed despite or on account of their multiple encounters amongst each other. How unhappy all this pairing seems to be.

In general, it was interesting to what a degree the company appeared more at home in the two Contemporary Ballets than in the two more Classical offerings.

It was, nevertheless, so very good to have a chance to see the Pas de Six from “Vivandiere” at all. The style is so very foreign to me and appeared to be also quite foreign to the dancers. One recognizes the attempt at the romantic placement, the women’s hands folded neatly in front of them in arabesques, so that the center of gravity is quite close to the body, as well as the romantic costuming, the male principal in “Bournonville” slippers with a scarf knotted around his head, the women costumed a la Giselle peasants. The choreography is full of quick sautees into arabesque in which the body tilts and the back leg quickly lifts (wham) into position during the jump itself, giving a kind of rocking impression. And of course multiple chassees en tournant, often with those bouncing jumps interlaced, in which the rear leg is held in attitude and the dancer turns his or her epaulement and arms outward during the chassee in an open, welcoming gesture. But one found that, as when Nikolai Hubbe set -- for example – bits of both “Konservatoriet” or “Napoli” for various SAB workshops three or four years ago, one has the same basic question of whether what we saw was due to some awkwardness on account of the dancers’ lack of mastery of the style, or to the antiquated-ness of the style itself.

How I wish we could see more of the Classical period of Dance at the Paris Opera, circa 1840, revived. One so loves Opera of that era. One so loves Giselle and those of the Danish works which derive from Paris. There is no reason that the Classical Dances of the period, if indeed they can be resuscitated, should not make the same impression.

Both of the contemporary works consist of a series of seemingly erotic to overtly sexual encounters between pairs of dancers, often interchanging their partners, and mostly leaving the women in particular looking alienated and passive, if not victimized. Of the two, “Hush” is by far the better Ballet and held my attention, inducing a kind of theatrical reverie and elevation even. The women, particularly Abi Simon and Jessamyn Lawrence were quite captivating and individual, showing very mature interpretive qualities (surely a lot of praise is due to Gage Bush Englund’s ballet mastering). Watching “Hush” I was struck by to just what a degree a student company is a fine vehicle for dramatically viable contemporary work.

The reason why “Hush” was viable and “Alchemy” not, I think, is that in “Alchemy” the characters seemed mere automatons, or rather did not seem to be characters at all. While in Mills’ work they retained a strong individuality and some inner integrity. Which is necessary. Tudor always was so very specific about just what was passing when his characters met. Robbins had very specific ideas about what his dancers were doing and insisted that the dancers internalize this, though to the audience it could appear more mysterious and generic. Again, in Balanchine, there is often strong eroticism (which usually stops short of overt or mere sex) and the characters always retain a mysterious individuality. But having recently seen a good deal of ABT’s contemporary programming at City Center (three Killians, a Forsythe, a McIntyre and a Wheeldon) the issue which this student program pushed to the front is the need for something to be happening between individuals, on stage, during these psycho-sexo-dramas in order for them to work dramatically. In “Hush” it did. In “Alchemy” it didn’t very much.

Among the dancers, I’ve already mentioned Lawrence and Simon and indeed I was happy to see Abi Simon in particular rematerialize here, apparently with a bright career in front of her, after disappearing from SAB a year (or two?) ago. (City Ballet fans will remember her as a youngster in Wheeldon’s “Scenes de Ballet”). She always had the most impeccable carriage and placement, to which she has now added an amazingly precocious interpretive power. Another of the girls who impressed was Hee Seo, late of the school of the Universal Ballet.

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