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Pacific Northwest BalletJuly 2002 London, Sadler'sWells by Ann Williams |
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It would be an understatement to say that the critics have not been kind to Pacific Northwest Ballet this time around; they have been savage. Their first programme, the full-length 'Silver Lining' was torn limb from limb and left for dead, and as a result even a couple of semi-enthuisiastic reviews for their second programme at Sadler's Wells failed to fill the house last night - the rows of empty seats must have been a depressing sight for the unfortunate dancers. But, as it turned out, they did well. Surprisingly, the programme opened with Balanchine's 'Divertimento No. 15' (to Mozart's Divertmento in B-flat major) - I had assumed that such a significant piece would close the programme. Sitting just two rows from the stage, I could see that the leading dancers were, to begin with at least, very nervous. Obviously the bad reviews had got to them Fixed, tense smiles were everywhere until the 'theme and variations' second movement, when the soloists danced their pieces with poise and confidence. Outstanding here - if I've got the names right - were Mara Vinson's second variation and Melanie Skinner's fourth variation. The dancing was not uniformly diamond sharp throughout the rest of the piece, but I thought that on the whole the PNB dancers revealed this unfamiliar Balanchine piece clearly enough to illuminate its brilliance and to make us marvel again at his genius . I only regretted that I was sitting too close to the stage and too low down to appreciate the miraculous patterns of the piece. I think the truly great choreographers - Petipa, Balanchine, Ashton - need to be viewed from above to fully appreciate their designs, just as intricately planted gardens need to be seen from above to get their full effect. The 'Corsaire' pas de trois followed, briskly danced by Kaori Nakamura, Le Yin and the tall and handsome Astrit Zejnati, a product of the National Ballet School of Albania. Despite the technical competence (just) of the three performers, the piece failed to sparkle into real brilliance; it probably says much that I focussed on Victoria McFall's subtle costume designs - muted mustard and maroon and, for the bare-chested fellow with the feather, rich dark blue velvet pantaloons instead of the naff turquoise or powder-blue satin pants we've had to put up with for years. Nacho Duarto's 'Jardi Tancat' opened in silence, the barefoot dancers bending and swaying to an unheard but visible rhythm. The music, when it started, was vocal - Maria del Mar Bonet sang a strongly Catalan (?) flavoured score; and women in long skirts swept and bent across the stage. It was the usual Spanish Thing, but somehow it was more genuine and more enjoyable than either of the two Duarto pieces recently performed by the Royal Ballet. Impossible to identify any of the dancers here, though the programme notes their names, among them Ariana Lallone, whom I greatly admired in Balanchine's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' last time PNB were here. Peter Martins' pleasing 'Fearful Symmetries' to John Adams' driving percussive score closed the evening, and the orchestra, under Stewart Kershaw's baton, did it more than justice. I loved the piece, repetitive though it admittedly was, and I suspect that this was the piece the dancers most enjoyed performing. Again Melanie Skinner stood out - a calm, confident and technically accomplished woman, she was a pleasure to watch and I found it difficult to look elsewhere, although the men - sorry, I can't identify any of them - all did well here. Martins brought the dancers on in wave after wave, the women somtimes lifted, sometimes carried by the men, but with a sense of tension and drama that equalled the urgency of the music. I loved the way the stage was sometimes left empty, so that you wondered what was to come next - a soloist? A pas-de-deux? A trio? It worked, as did Stephen Rubin's limpid fuscia and lilac costumes
I just hope that PNB's dancers will go home to Seattle with unbowed heads. They are perhaps least to blame for the critical battering the company has taken here.
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