© Cylla von Tiedemann 'Pur ti Miro' reviews NBoC 'Opus 19' reviews 'Opus 19' reviews NBoC 'West Side Story Suite' reviews 'West Side Story Suite' reviews Rodriguez in NBoC reviews Konvalina in reviews recent National Ballet of Canada reviews more Rebecca J Ritzel reviews

To coincide with Luminato, a city-wide arts festival emphasizing multi-discipline creativity, the National Ballet is presenting a world premiere, an American classic and musical theater mashup few companies can pull off. The show opens Jorma Elo’s Pur ti Miro, the National Ballet’s first commission from the Finnish dancemaker. As resident choreographer at the Boston Ballet, Elo has cornered the North American market on cerebral-driven movement interrupted by jerky affectations. So it was fascinating to see him travel north and choreograph in a much lighter, more amusing mode.

Pur ti Miro is a paean to quirky, courtly love. Translated from Italian, the title means, “I gaze upon you,” a phrase lifted from the final aria of Monteverdi’s opera L'incoronazione di Poppea. Ten couples flirt their way through music by Beethoven, Monteverdi and even a movement of total silence. Holly Hynes, a frequent New York City Ballet collaborator, designed the yellow tutus for the women and the sleeveless satin suits for the men. Much of the movement interprets the music, including the catchy theme of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major. This in contrast to earlier Elo works like 1st Flash, where the crescendos of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto seem at odds with simple tendus.

In all of Elo’s works, there are telltale ticks. Pur ti Miro’s repetitive gestures are graceful dips of the neck, like a swan arcing towards the water, and dancers caressing each other’s heads, such that a woman can spin her partner by tussling his hair. A few other animal-like gestures are sprinkled throughout, including equine prancing and even an elephant’s swaying trunk. (Perhaps inspired by the emperor Nero’s circus, though his nepotism is never referenced here.)

Midway through, the music switches from classical to early Baroque, and two soloists sing Monteverdi’s aria. The dancers move not to the vocalists but the harpsichord continuo, and the effect is stirring. A return to Beethoven steps up the pace, and the corps men execute a series of terrific off-kilter jumps, arms out like crooked helicopters.

Pur ti Miro is not an earth-shattering new ballet, but it is assuring evidence of Elo’s versatility. It also dovetailed nicely with the two Robbins works that followed. Opus 19/The Dreamer was created by Robbins in 1979 during Baryshnikov’s very brief stint with New York City Ballet. On 9 June, Zdenek Konvalina stepped into the role. (On two of the 10 performances, Czech dancer Jiri Jelinek, who recently defected from Stuttgart, did the honours.) Wisely, Konvalina made no attempt to deliver an iconic performance. In this dream, the revelation was Sonia Rodriguez, a 37-year-old principal dancer who has the maturity to dance lightly without the aura of an ingénue. As she darted in and out of Konvalina’s view, her bourrées were smooth but rock steady; she’s not a beckoning fairy but an angel to reckon with.

West Side Story Suite is the ballet Balanchine never wanted Robbins to make. Perhaps Mr. B didn’t want to see posters of his dancers vamping like musical theater stars plastered across New York City. National Ballet of Canada has a savvy marketing team, and all over Toronto, banners beckon to anyone who loves West Side Story in its cinematic or musical form. The ballet Robbins created may be a good compromise: because the dancers are required to sing albeit with some professional help offstage it’s a work many companies hesitate to tackle. As a result, it never became a crossover cash cow.

But it still has Bernstein’s rollicking and romantic score, well performed here by the house orchestra. Seven tableaus sum up the tale of star-crossed lovers. As Anita, Stephanie Hutchison impressed with both her vocal range and her leg extensions. She’s one of many triple threat ballerinas in this company, and the men aren’t so shabby either. The fight choreography was outstanding; it’s a guilty pleasure, watching dancers deliver faux knockout blows.

Hopefully no theatrical producers were in the house, otherwise the company may soon be loosing dancers to Broadway or Mirvish theatres. Thus far Toronto, many excellent principals seem inclined to stick around. With chances to dance programmes like this, who can blame them.