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New York City Ballet‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ March 2007 Washington, Kennedy Center by Fedora |
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Not sure if Shakespeare would have been pleased with this rendering of his work. From the words of the choreographer: The story of the ballet, of course, concerns the adventures and misadventures of a group of mortals and immortals in their resolutions of the confusions and problems of loving and being loved. It is called a ‘dream’ because of the unrealistic happenings that occur to the characters… real yet unreal events such as crossed loves, meaningless quarrels, forest chases, and magic spells woven by the infamous Puck. - Balanchin’s Complete Stories of the Great Ballets This is the way Mr. B saw it. Apparently not as a darker play, but a wholesome entertainment for the young and young at heart. To everyone’s delight the show had engaged many children, drawn from local ballet schools. In the beginning Puck-Daniel Ulbright stole the show. Well chosen for his lightening quick allegro, he made everybody laugh. Romantic duets were fine, but not exceptional. The show was proceeding at a comfortable pace, but promised no revelations, until... ...Hippolyta-Teresa Reichlen grand-jete'd onto the stage and began to rule it like some force of nature! Teresa Reichlen. First time I saw Teresa in Balanchine’s Jewels (Rubies) in 2004, I believe. Then this 19 old ultimate Balanchine ballerina took the audience by storm. Even there she looked like an amazon – tall, slim, long-legged with formidable stage presence. There, she sparkled very much like a ruby, with her graphic movements, emphasizing many facets of the stone. This time I couldn’t take from her Hypollita and one point when she literally flew across the stage in her signature giant leap, wished I could follow her retinue into the woods. Benjamin Millepied’s Oberon, dressed in beauteous costume of gold, looked every inch like Grecian god. He danced with maturity and authority befitting of the role. Maria Kowroski, who is the company’s leading ballerina made love scene with the donkey genuinely funny.
Great, wholesome fun for your entire family!
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