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Nov. 12th, 2006 10:05 pmToday marked the end of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's second repertory performance of the season. This selection, entitled All Premier, featured four premieres- three pieces new to the PNB and one world premiere.
The first of the four, "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven" is the second piece of Ulysses Dove's choreography to enter the PNB company repetoire, and like the first, "Red Angels" from last season's performances, is set to music by Avro Pärt. Dove subtitled this "Odes to Love and Loss" and undertook the commission for this piece at the bequest of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1993 after a particularly difficult year marked by the passing of thirteen members of Dove's inner circle of family and friends.
Although dance critic Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times writes that Dove "suggests a broken flow of relationships by placing his solos and duets in a chain of white spotlights," the piece seems much more than that. Dove appears to have modelled himself into his choreography as the central figure, looking at the events of the past year and individually eulogizing those who have passed onward. The Pärt score, "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten" is repeated three times in the course of the ballet- the first incidence with the central figure (Olivier Wevers) singly approached by each of the three female dancers (in today's performance danced by Patricia Barker, Maria Chapman and Chalnessa Eames) in turn, each of whom symbolically gives him her heart, which he then releases into the ether. Three additional symbolic demises are portrayed here at the end of the first progression through "Cantus" and during the intermedial bell tolling, one by the women as a group, and one each by the remaining two male dancers (Anton Pankevich and Le Yin).
The second reprise of "Cantus" is a pas de deux between Pankevich and Yin, and seems to be Dove eulogizing his father, who is portrayed as loving and supporting through the music. The piece concludes with another intermedial series of bell tolls and the third repetition of "Cantus", during which there are a second set of six distinct eulogies. This was one of the most spiritual and emotive pieces the PNB has approached in the past two years.
The second ballet of the repertory was "Valse Triste" choreographed by Peter Martins to music by Jean Sibelius, and was making its premiere outside New York City, where it had been made in 2001 as a showcase for Patricia McBride. This piece is a duet, and was danced by Mara Vinson and Casey Herd. Perhaps it suffered by following the Ulysses Dove, but although danced flawlessly, it failed to resonate emotionally in a manner as evocative as "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven."
Musically, the themes of love and loss were recurrent- the selections from Sibelius' music were "Valse Triste" (Sad Waltz) and "Scene with Cranes" evoke sorrow and death- cranes are often symbolic of death in Scandinavian culture, and furthers the extension of the ballet vocabulary from the classical and neo-classical manner as did the preceding piece, and provides a point of transition to the third ballet, a world premiere piece choreographed by modern dance choreographer Victor Quijada upon members of the PNB company to music by Mitchell Akiyama, and entitled "Suspension of Disbelief."
If the first two ballets expanded on the traditional, this was decidedly experimental in nature. The casting featured five women and six men, and was staged completely in the open- there was no scenery or visual intervention, but rather the dancers were visible the entire time, even while technically in the wings. The result was that the audience perception was drastically different and almost featured the stagehands as if they were participants in the whole. Featuring elements of hip-hop and popular dance with modern and contemporary ballet this was a daring, if not completely captivating adventure into expanding the visual aesthetic.
Comparing "Suspension" to experimental cuisine leaves just a final course to our ensemble of premieres, and Twyla Tharp's "Waterbaby Bagatelles" round out the meal as decidedly puff pastries. The seven short pieces which comprise this ballet call upon much of the company in thematic homage to swimming and beaches. They are lighthearted and not overly complex, but an enjoyable set in their own right, and provide a light note upon which to close the performance.
The first of the four, "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven" is the second piece of Ulysses Dove's choreography to enter the PNB company repetoire, and like the first, "Red Angels" from last season's performances, is set to music by Avro Pärt. Dove subtitled this "Odes to Love and Loss" and undertook the commission for this piece at the bequest of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1993 after a particularly difficult year marked by the passing of thirteen members of Dove's inner circle of family and friends.
Although dance critic Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times writes that Dove "suggests a broken flow of relationships by placing his solos and duets in a chain of white spotlights," the piece seems much more than that. Dove appears to have modelled himself into his choreography as the central figure, looking at the events of the past year and individually eulogizing those who have passed onward. The Pärt score, "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten" is repeated three times in the course of the ballet- the first incidence with the central figure (Olivier Wevers) singly approached by each of the three female dancers (in today's performance danced by Patricia Barker, Maria Chapman and Chalnessa Eames) in turn, each of whom symbolically gives him her heart, which he then releases into the ether. Three additional symbolic demises are portrayed here at the end of the first progression through "Cantus" and during the intermedial bell tolling, one by the women as a group, and one each by the remaining two male dancers (Anton Pankevich and Le Yin).
The second reprise of "Cantus" is a pas de deux between Pankevich and Yin, and seems to be Dove eulogizing his father, who is portrayed as loving and supporting through the music. The piece concludes with another intermedial series of bell tolls and the third repetition of "Cantus", during which there are a second set of six distinct eulogies. This was one of the most spiritual and emotive pieces the PNB has approached in the past two years.
The second ballet of the repertory was "Valse Triste" choreographed by Peter Martins to music by Jean Sibelius, and was making its premiere outside New York City, where it had been made in 2001 as a showcase for Patricia McBride. This piece is a duet, and was danced by Mara Vinson and Casey Herd. Perhaps it suffered by following the Ulysses Dove, but although danced flawlessly, it failed to resonate emotionally in a manner as evocative as "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven."
Musically, the themes of love and loss were recurrent- the selections from Sibelius' music were "Valse Triste" (Sad Waltz) and "Scene with Cranes" evoke sorrow and death- cranes are often symbolic of death in Scandinavian culture, and furthers the extension of the ballet vocabulary from the classical and neo-classical manner as did the preceding piece, and provides a point of transition to the third ballet, a world premiere piece choreographed by modern dance choreographer Victor Quijada upon members of the PNB company to music by Mitchell Akiyama, and entitled "Suspension of Disbelief."
If the first two ballets expanded on the traditional, this was decidedly experimental in nature. The casting featured five women and six men, and was staged completely in the open- there was no scenery or visual intervention, but rather the dancers were visible the entire time, even while technically in the wings. The result was that the audience perception was drastically different and almost featured the stagehands as if they were participants in the whole. Featuring elements of hip-hop and popular dance with modern and contemporary ballet this was a daring, if not completely captivating adventure into expanding the visual aesthetic.
Comparing "Suspension" to experimental cuisine leaves just a final course to our ensemble of premieres, and Twyla Tharp's "Waterbaby Bagatelles" round out the meal as decidedly puff pastries. The seven short pieces which comprise this ballet call upon much of the company in thematic homage to swimming and beaches. They are lighthearted and not overly complex, but an enjoyable set in their own right, and provide a light note upon which to close the performance.
