ABT 'Don Quixote' reviews Dvorovenko in reviews Belotserkovsky in reviews recent ABT reviews more Graham Watts reviews

This 'Don Quixote' is essentially Petipa's choreography, as further developed by Alexander Gorsky and staged by Kevin McKenzie (the ABT's Artistic Director) and Susan Jones (ABT's ballet mistress). It places more emphasis on Don Quixote himself - as the 'quintessential dreamer' - together with the story's other comic characters, than the Nureyev version ('after Petipa') seen in the Royal Ballet's repertory, where DQ always seems to me to be a bit of a madman at the periphery of the action.

Kitri and Basil (yes, he's officially Basil in the Playbill, although still a poor barber rather than a Torquay hotellier!)- were played with enormous charm and vitality on Friday the 13th of June by the Ukrainian husband and wife pairing of Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Belotserkovsky. He joined ABT in 1994 and she followed two years later - both were promoted to Principals in 2000. He is tall and blonde (very Baryshnikov hairstyle) and she is tall and dark and their partnering was really very good, as I suppose one would expect from a married couple who have been dancing together for some years. I thought that she was a very sweet Kitri and he was an exceptionally vibrant Basil (-io!).

The central Act III pdd was danced at absolutely breakneck pace, which fitted as a final lap to a ballet which seemed to be conducted as a three-Act sprint by conductor, Ormsby Williams. This isn't a criticism because it is clearly how the audience wanted it to be.

The two Principals whipped up tremendous whoops and roars from a besotted audience, mostly in the middle of the most beautiful and complex passages, and in many respects the adulation was well deserved. Her balances and enchainements, particularly the long turning sequence in the main variation, were exceptionally good. His support work, particularly some exceptionally long-held, one armed lifts, and really vibrant tours were also a delight to watch. However, it has to be said that for all the excellent elements their dancing was not flawless and there were a few errors and 'ugly' moments - I particularly remember his difficulty in getting positioned for the two fish dives and having to take several steps to regain balance after catching Irina in one of her dives in the first Act. I feel a little churlish raising this because they were certainly an enjoyable pair to watch and undoubtedly gave everything to achieve really bravura performances.

The dancers in the main comic character roles were Brian Reeder (DQ), Julio Bragado-Young (Sancho Panza), Carlos Molina (Gamache) and Isaac Stappas (Lorenzo). The roles of DQ, SP and Kitri's father were much more prominent in this version than in the Nureyev version and ABT play up the humour extremely well. Bragado-Young's Sancho Panza was especially noticeable.

The 'Dream Sequence', which is my favourite part of any Don Quixote was beautifully danced, with the corps melding into some delightful tableaux. Renata Pavam (who is listed in the third rank of artists) started a little nervously as Armour but as the sequence motored to its climax both her and Michele Wiles (as Queen of the Dryads) settled into some lovely work. Pavam seemed to me to be one to watch for the future.

Completing the cast for this performance: Monique Meunier was Mercedes; Gennadi Saveliev was Espada, the famous Matador; Anna Liceica and Sandra Brown were the Flower Girls and Luciana Paris and Herman Cornejo were the Gypsy couple. None of these were especially prominent.

Only two Principals danced - how many times do we see so few Principals dancing in any performance at the ROH? BTW, Alina is now listed as an ABT Principal Guest Artist.

I found the stage designs of Santo Loquasto to be more intimate than those in the most recent RB version (sets designed by Ann Fraser). Whereas her sets gave a full, deep perspective on the crowded port (variously cited as Barcelona or Sevilla), the ABT stage focussed much more intently upon the action at Lorenzo's inn. The opening scene was seen through an illuminated spanish fan, which was very effective.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable production - the only area of genuine concern was the dancing of the Toreadors and their companions and the flower girls, which I found to be frequently a case of dancers dancing their own version of the performance steps, both in terms of technique and timing. It really was quite poor, a lot of the time.

That brings me to the issue of the reaction of the American audience. The Opera House was far from full and yet the noise throughout the performance was quite amazing. One chap behind me (who incidentally changed his entire outfit during BOTH intervals!) yelled, very loudly throughout almost the entire performance! The most ordinary sequence of steps commanded a huge "Bravo". In contrast, oddly enough I hardly heard a cough, anywhere in the gigantic auditorium, throughout the entire performance!

At the end, the entire orchestra stalls appeared to flood towards the stage, throwing several bouquets at the two principal dancers, who took several curtain calls in order to receive all the bouquets! I hesitate to imagine what they do when there is a really great performance or a remarkable evening, such as Bocca's recent last Romeo.

I hope that this doesn't sound un-American because it isn't meant to be - it is just my first experience of how DIFFERENT an American audience's reaction to ballet is from the very reserved British attitude. In some ways, I prefer the American attitude of so obviously showing how much they have enjoyed the performance, although I think I draw the line at changing my outfit at each interval!