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New York City BalletJanuary 2008 New York, State Theater by Rachel Straus |
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In his third work for New York City Ballet, Mauro Bigonzetti, artistic director of Alterballeto, takes on a big subject: Oltremare or overseas journey, which here refers to the Atlantic crossing by legions of immigrants made at the turn of the last century. Addressing universal hardship, the ballet’s Italian title and Bigonzetti’s style deliver a very un-New York City Ballet production. Balanchinian coolness it is not, but a heart-on-your-sleeve dance. Oltremare begins with 14 dancers, carrying an old leather suitcase, moving in single file and crossing the lip of the stage. They crouch behind their sole possession and gesture boldly with a drama not practiced widely since the days of Martha Graham. The commissioned music by Bruno Moretti includes bandoneon, harp and rumbling timpani, where minor chords prevail and melodic rifts evaporate into the darkness. On stage there isn’t a primary color in sight, either in the loose-fitting old world traveling costumes by Bigonzetti and Marc Happel, or in the nocturnal lighting plot by Marc Stanley. Begun last fall and premiered last week, Oltremare is not a fun ballet. I would title it “Struggling with your Soul Mate in Times of Trouble.” I don’t mean to be glib. It’s just that in the seven, physically torrential pas de deux the immigration theme drowns like so many stones sucked down by riptide.
On January 30, Jared Angle strung up his partner by the ankle, transforming her into a human noose. That should give you an idea of the dire content of the seven duets. As each pair performed, with total commitment and physical daring—especially in the dancing of Amar Ramasar whose family originally hails from India—the rest of the cast sat on their luggage in a semi circle at the back of the stage. Calmly chatting with each other, they didn’t seem to notice the goings on a few feet in front of them. This included a man lashing his woman across the floor like a wet coiled rope. A woman taking her foot to her partner’s chest like a doorstopper, and a tendency for the manipulation of legs and arms to resemble a warring couple’s escalating volley of curse words. As I watched, I asked myself, if the oltremare travelers don’t care about these people’s struggles, should I?
 Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar in Bigonzetti's Oltremare © Paul Kolnik
Aside from these failings, Bigonzetti deserves praise for his attempt to make a big, bold dance that shows off the City Ballet dancers’ range. Sean Souzzi spun on one hand, sending his body in a full-circle spin like a practiced B boy. Andrew Veyette whirred his legs like a Cuisinart blade free from its holding. Amar Ramasar pounded his chest and flung up his arms like a madman. At one point, the entire female cast executed in unison a double tour against the body of her partner. Each woman was caught under her armpits as though, after flinging herself overboard, she had been saved.
Also on the program, aptly titled “Passages,” was Peter Martin’s 1985 Valse Triste performed by Darci Kistler with fragility (the physically pained-looking kind), and by Jared Angle, who dutifully partnered her. Christopher Wheeldon’s 2005 An American in Paris began the night and Alexei Ratmansky’s 2006 masterpiece Russian Seasons ended this leviathan evening of dance watching.
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