MCB Program III. The 4 T's/Duo Concertante/Heatscape

[cubanmiamiboy]

I am not a big fan of 4 T's-(sacrilegious...? 😉 ) Oh well...not a fan, but I don't dislike it either.  I can appreciate its groundbreaking aura-(even if it wasn't originally designed as a pure leotard ballet).  But at least it doesn't bore me, particularly Choleric and the finale. But generally speaking I'm not a fan of the contortionist musings of Balanchine-(being Agon pdd, Stravinsky violin concerto pdd or any other of those).  If anything, Lauren Fadeley made me peak my curiosity on her movement-(Choleric that was), and she looked really imposing there.  She's tall, muscular, blonde...always reminding me of a young Anastasia Volochkova.  Next day I saw the movement done by Jordan Elizabeth Long, to a lesser effect.

Duo Concertante came after, and there's really nothing that can make me like it.  I don't like its music...i don't like the angularity of the movements...I don't care about the whole lighting scheme at the end.  It just doesn't speak to me at all. Dancers were MCB veteranl katia karranza and the young Renan Cerdeiro. So next...

And next it was a rarity in MCB.  For some reason they decided to counterpart Balanchine's contemporary pdd with one that screams XIX Century from the top of its lungs: Flower Festival at Genzano pdd.  What?!?!  THAT in Miami...???? But yes...there it was.  No corps...no backdrop...only the couple.  It was danced by the very elegant and unassuming Jennifer Lauren who, along with Soloist Shimon Ito, gave us a delicious taste of what I believe to be the grandest incarnation of the art form. Romanticism-(I'm definitely more Giselle than Beauty).  Lauren is a very intriguing dancer who can look cold to some eyes.  One can tell she doesn't die to do the ultra extension or the extra turn...but whatever she decides to do, she delivers in excellent form. Very "Reyeresque"-(as in Xiomara Reyes..  😉 ).  Shimon Ito needs to be made Principal NOW. The guy is a great reminder of Alex Wong back in the days. 

Heatscape I really don't even care to comment.  It looks totally irrelevant to me, but...audience loved it, and it was heavily marketed.  And that's what count i guess, as I always say.

In any case, I love watching my dancers here. They are really a pleasure.

[Swanilda8]

I saw this too and I pretty much agree with everything. I also have trouble loving 4Ts, but some of the lead performances gave this one interest. Alexander Peters as melancholic was a big standout to me, along with Lauren Fadeley as choleric. They both performed the parts as roles rather than as abstract dances, and I think that makes a big difference. 

I loved the dancing in Duo Concertant - Renan Cerdeiro especially. And Miami City Ballet has a real treasure in Francisco Rennó, their pianist. But the violin playing was rough; a lot was out of tune. I had the same trouble when I saw NYCB perform this. It's a really difficult violin part and unless these companies are going to invest serious money in getting someone to play it, they should just let it drop from the repertoire. 

Flower Festival pdd was amazing. Shimon Ito really has the Bournonville style down, which is particularly interesting for a dancer at Miami. It's also just so refreshing to see anything that isn't Balanchine/Robbins/Peck. Also agree that Ito should be a principal. Why is he still a soloist? He's cast as a lead in just about everything they stage and his jumps are so beautiful. 

Heatscape was fun. 

The programming at MCB is starting to really get to me. There's only so much Balanchine and his followers that I can take. If it's in combo with other stuff on the program, then I love Balanchine. But the same exact style of choreography again and again and again is just exhausting. Balanchine didn't even program himself this much! Some of the dancers in the company are amazing, and they can make it worth going but I'm seriously considering skipping one or two of the programs next year if they don't do anything else.