CBT Giselle, principals from Nat'l Ballet of Cuba!

[Marga]

On February 13th and 14th, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Canadian Ballet Theatre will present Giselle (a true love story for Valentine's Day!) with Laura Hormigon and Oscar Torrado of the National Ballet of Cuba as Giselle and Albrecht and Jared Matthews from American Ballet Theatre as Hilarion.

Those interested can still get tickets at the box office onsite.

The ballet will be performed at the Leah Posluns Theatre, 4588 Bathurst Street, (between Sheppard and Finch Avenues). The theatre is part of the JCC complex there.

I was at dress rehearsal tonight (or last night, as it's already Friday by the clock!) and urge everyone to go see this production.

Hormigon and Torrado dance the principal roles unlike any other Giselle you've ever seen, on video or live on stage. I would love to have a video of this performance to watch over and over. I hope that one will be made. There are so many layers to these portrayals, you need to see the ballet more than once!

Torrado's Albrecht is truly in love with Giselle and the tenderness and angst with which he dances the role offer a powerful contrast to his virtuoso technique. When he jumps he touches the ceiling! His beats are so clean (and numerous!) and so beautifully pointed, you find yourself applauding with such fervour it lifts you from your seat. And this was only dress rehearsal! In Act II, Torrado's dramatic abilities are so convincing that you, like he, intuit the presence of the spirit Giselle rather than really seeing her. It's heart-stopping to watch Torrado as the truly repentant and lovesick Albrecht. I think I prefer his characterization of the Count/peasant to anyone else's.

Hormigon's Giselle is so vulnerable, sweet, shy, yet strong, that you see a new dimension to the character. In Act I she paints a true picture of a young, innocent girl in love for the first time and overwhelmed by the feelings such love produces in her. In Act II, she dances a light and airy, yet rock-steady Wili who transports us, along with her, to the ethereal world she will forever live in.

Jared Matthews is very good as Hilarion. Having quickly advanced into the corps de ballet of ABT after a year in the Studio Company and 7 months as an apprentice, he is getting lots to dance and it shows in his development as both a technician and an actor. Since the first time he danced with CBT 2 years ago he has progressed splendidly, and he's still only 19 years old. He was coached in this new-to-him role by Victor Barbee as well as Ethan Brown and the attention to detail really shows in his movement. Come and take this opportunity to see a rising young ABT dancer.

As a sidenote, Canadian Ballet Theatre had Marcelo Gomes guesting in the Nutcracker 3 years ago when he was only 20 -- and see where he is now! Actually, you CAN see where he is now if you have tickets to NBoC's Sleeping Beauty for Saturday night! If you don't, come to CBT's Giselle!

Friday and Saturday nights -- the 13th and 14th -- tickets are only $35 and every seat in the theatre is fabulous.

In addition to the guests, there are many nice surprises among the young dancers of CBT -- Vaganova trained, beautiful, and dancing strongly. On top of all are the wonderful sets. There is much for the eye to feast on. And the parking is free!

[Marga]

Last night's performance -- Friday the 13th's, that is, was incredible! I wasn't going to see it again tonight, having another engagement (all right, it's my hubby's birthday Valentine's Day), but now I MUST. I told my husband that he's just going have to celebrate his birthday without me! (He is soo-o-o understanding about these things, this ballet passion!). He was with me to see the first performance and was also blown away, so he KNOWS why I must see it again.

Laura Hormigon!!!!!! A 26 year old ballerina with the National Ballet of Cuba, she dances all the principal roles in all the classics. I have seen her dance variations from Don Q and Carmen (with her offstage love and onstage constant partner, 30 year old Oscar Torrado) in last year's Stars of the 21st Century ballet gala. She was absolutely wonderful in those Spanish flavoured roles, but as Giselle, she is a natural.

Born to the role, she is just about the finest actress I have seen and a lovely dancer to boot. When Giselle is going mad, her arms and hands quiver uncontrollably right through the fingertips. Hormigon is not just a dancer who knows how to portray a great Giselle. She is an actress who, without a single word, tells us exactly what Giselle is going through every step of the way, and does it superbly and utterly believably. And, of course, she is a dancer with beautiful technique, line, and lyricism as well.

As a Wili, she is but a wispy ghost with a strong essence that you can feel in your bones as you sit watching, mesmerized. We see her but we know she's not physically really there by the way Albrecht reacts to her -- always looking just beyond where she seems to be, catching her presence an earthly second too late as it scurries past in the haunted glade.

The bravas rang out amid great applause and vocal whoops from the audience as she danced her famous variations.

Count Albrecht, danced by the very handsome and perfectly proportioned Oscar Torrado, also took our breath away. From the entrance, when he and Wilfried act out their beginning scenario, to his carefree dance with Giselle as she comes out of her cottage to see who is knocking, to the end of Act I when he is paralized by his own turmoil, here was a commanding premier danseur who had us gasping more than once in response to his sheer artistry.

A wonderful part in Act II, which differs from the usual, is when Albrecht, jumping to amazing heights, snatches each of the two lilies from Giselle's outstretched hands as she prepares to toss them. Indeed, he uses the flowers in both acts -- as part of the symbolism for his love for Giselle -- to a greater degree than I have seen any other dancer do. At the end of Act II, he inhales the very spirit of Giselle from the bouquet he retrieves from her grave, in an attempt to breathe in the girl he truly loved and keep her within him forever.

In between all the dramatization we see stunning ballet virtuosity. Torrado can do anything, and although Giselle is not a ballet that allows you to show off everything you've got, we in the audience saw enough to tempt us and have us ache for more. Torrado has an easy elevation, perfect, clean technique, incredibly sharp batterie, impossibly fast chainé turns, all emanating from a neat, compact body that is very attractive to the eye, topped off by a wavy head of thick dark brown hair and a ruggedly handsome face that compels you to watch his every move. If your eye is naturally drawn to the ballerina in a pas de deux, watching this couple, your attention is divided -- it's hard to keep your eyes off Torrado! Yet, Hormigon is so lovely and a very precise dancer -- long, lean legs and feet, tiny torso, reaching arms, and a face which handles every emotion with finesse and an inherent gentleness -- that you don't want to miss anything she is doing for fear of being deprived of something sublime. So, the dilemma is real -- where do you look when they dance together, especially when they are at opposite ends of the stage?!

As Hilarion, Jared Matthews (guesting with CBT straight from the corps de ballet at ABT) is so magnificent an actor, it looks like he's had years of experience developing characterizations, which is not the case. He has all the attributes of a principal dancer already, from the beautiful line of his head and neck to the well-shaped legs and gorgeously put-together body that I don't think ABT will wait too long to make him a soloist. His superbly coached role has produced a consummate classic ballet performer: one who can dance with strong technique AND act with spell-binding conviction. He brings a determined passion as well as vulnerability to Hilarion that makes you really care for the character. Inasmuch as he appears to be sure of himself and bent on unmasking Albrecht, Hilarion is blinded by his feelings for Giselle to the extent that he makes a fateful decision that will cost her her life. At the point where he displays the nobleman's sword to the gathered crowd and sees Giselle's reaction to Albrecht's betrayal, he realizes that what he has done is to hurt the one he so deeply loves. Jared Matthews showed us this pivotal moment so clearly, and in so doing revealed more to Hilarion's character than we are used to seeing in other productions. Kudos to Jared for his gut-wrenching portrayal!

Ursula Szkolak is the apotheosis of Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, with her commanding physical presence and light, flawless technique. As she enters bouréeing, there is no movement elsewhere in her body but for the skimming, exquisitely articulate feet, and yet there is no stiffness, only Vaganova-produced soft suppleness to her upper body, a combination so lacking in Myrthas without Russian training. Her countenance never gives in to the pleading lovers, but is yet not as cold as many other Myrthas I've seen. One can imagine that she, too, must have once been deeply in love and there is a layer to her demeanour that betrays this, unrelenting as she must be to the end. An absolutely superb performance!

Rachel Lieberman and Jennifer Winter as the lead Wilis, also turned in very professional performances. Rachel has always been suited to the romantic ballet roles with her long and expressive neck, upper body, head and arms. She danced the second variation with softness and the strength required of the difficult renversé turns in the middle of her solo. Her lilting arabesques, with the back leg reaching to the skies, the folds of her long tutu wafting down after being thusly sent soaring, her arms echoing the floating movement with a delicately exquisite delay, a soft jump with good elevation.... these movements contrasted with the exactness of her final diagonal, those one-count changes in direction alternating perfect arabesques en pointe with a precise plié-d landing....all executed so beautifully and confidently.

Jennifer, dancing the first variation, is an appealing dancer with beautiful line and a constantly improving technique. Her performance was graceful and attractive and an intriguing complement to Rachel's -- each lead Wili distinguished herself as a separate character, shadowing what they were in life, no doubt. Indeed, in many productions, these two are known as Zulma and Moyna and even have a history.

One entrancing surprise of this production is the children's peasant dance in Act I. Four very young couples dance out two by two and enchant us all. The little girls are so delectable, you want to eat them up! Better still are their visible qualities as future serious professional ballet dancers. You've got to see them!!! One little boy, especially, has such a charming presentation that you find yourself wishing these diminutive dancers had a longer turn on stage.

You've just got to come see this ballet tonight, Valentine's Day! Every seat in the theatre is a good one. Arrive in time to get a ticket at the box office and have a great evening with your Valentine!