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Bugaku opened two exceptional all-Balanchine programs presented by the Suzanne Farrell Ballet during the company’s Thanksgiving week engagement at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Bugaku’s choreographic language, based on the classical idiom, has a slight Japanese accent. Balanchine didn’t intend to imitate the authentic Bugaku traditions. What we see is an artistic experiment, a crafty extrapolation on the atmosphere and style of Japanese culture and a creative choreographic response to the “Japanese-flavored” score by avant-garde composer Toshiro Mayuzumi. It’s a mix of soft edges and smooth angles; arched, tilted poses juxtapose elegant, sleek lines of traditional ballet. Amid the choreography, the music itself poses a challenge for the audience. The dissonant, ear-piercing violin glissandi more than likely will keep the viewers on the edges of their seats at least for the first few minutes of the dance. The decorations also suggest the unusual. Enveloped by the red railing and adorned with turquoise-colored carpet, the stage set is reminiscent of a strange amphitheater suspended from the ceiling on the long silver ropes.

Bugaku begins with a presentation of the bride – or is it a bachelorette party? The ballerina and a quartet of her bridesmaids, all dressed in opulent ivory costumes by Karinska, enter the stage in a measured, decorous procession. Their expressionless pale faces covered with a thick layer of powder look like masks.

What follows next is a slow-motion, mesmerizing dance accompanied by lamenting melodies of violins: the bride is bidding farewell to her girlfriends. The delicately feline but technically demanding choreography is a balancing act between flat-feet movements and exquisite steps en pointe; unsupported off-balance arabesques and tiny geisha-like walks.

The heavy pounding of drums signals the entrance of the men, and the women leave the stage. The groom and his four-member escort engage in a triumphant warrior dance an exhibition of power and dominance. The heart of Bugaku is an intimate pas de deux of the newlyweds. Balanchine called it “a dance of discovery,” Suzanne Farrell saw it as “a battle of wills.”

On opening night, Natalia Magnicaballi and Michael Cook were the bridal couple. They are both very interesting and promising dancers. I admired Magnicaballi’s flawless technique throughout the dance. Cook was very impressive in the opening scene, but their central duet left me unmoved. If this is supposed to be their wedding, I thought, it must be an arranged one. It seemed as if the bride and groom were emotionally aloof. They handled the richest choreography of the dance – imaginatively entwined bodies, deep elongated lunges, extraordinary lifts – with technical brilliance but a lack of poignancy and spark.
 

On the following night, Bonnie Pickard and Jared Redick danced the principal roles. What a magnificent duet it was – stirring, uninhibited performance! Their passion flourished and the highly stylized, convoluted choreography became transparent, provocative and revealing. After being stripped of their long white tulle robes by their attendants and left alone, the dancers engaged in a fierce mating ritual. To them, this moment was more than a wedding night; it was a fulfillment of their utmost desires. Pickard was irresistible, her flexibility simply astonishing and her lines pristine and sexy. Redick made an excellent partner dancing with sustained clarity and assurance.

The program continued with the exuberant Pas Classique Espagnol, a Spanish-flavored divertissement from Don Quixote. This delightful piece gives the corps de ballet a prominent part. The ballet was reconstructed by Farrell from an old, miraculously preserved black-and-white video made in the 1970s.

Many in the audience will remember this performance not only for the vibrant, exhilarating ensembles but also for the heartstopping fall of Ashley Hubbard, the company’s soloist, who danced the leading role on opening night. The stunned viewers gasped in horror and disbelief as she stumbled and crash-landed on the floor. The audience was stunned too, when with split-second timing she was back on her feet, dancing beautifully as if nothing had ever happened. Her courage was admirable – a true artist. On the following night, with Natalia Magnicaballi and Matthew Prescott in principal roles, the company shone in Pas Classique Espagnol. This dance was a company premiere presented as part of the Balanchine Preservation Initiative, Farrell’s revival of Balanchine’s “forgotten” and rarely seen ballets.

The ethereal and timeless Chaconne to the music of Gluck from the opera Orfeo ed Euridice brought onstage a joint ensemble of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet, bringing the evening to a gorgeous finale. On opening night, Bonnie Pickard and Runqiao Du danced the leading roles. The dancers of Cincinnati Ballet, Kristi Capps and Anthony Krutzkamp, were the principal couple on the following night.