American Ballet Theatre.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

New York City Center, NYC

October 21-November 2, 2008

Reviewed by Joseph Carman

Honoring Antony Tudor this season, ABT stressed the choreographer's influence on the company's artistic philosophy. With five Tudor ballets and one excerpted pas de deux, ABT paid its artistic conscience a thoughtful tribute. But the real feature of the two-week run--one packed with deliciously varied repertory-was the satisfying contrast to their spring season at the Met, which is always stuffed with full-length behemoths.

The one-night Tudor Centennial Celebration on Halloween (a detail that probably would have provoked a wicked snicker from Tudor) was danced with sincerity and technical security. Film tributes showed Tudor in interviews and rehearsals, commentaries by Agnes de Mille and ABT director Kevin McKenzie, and illuminating footage of Tudor ballerinas like Nora Kaye, Sallie Wilson, and Gelsey Kirkland.

Continuo, a short piece originally choreographed for six Juilliard students, shed light on Tudor's ability to craft a ballet from pure classical vocabulary without fussy distractions. ABT corps member Nicole Graniero stood out for her silky lyricism. Judgment of Paris unfortunately looked dated and sparse on movement. But former ABT ballerinas Bonnie Mathis, Kathleen Moore, and Martine van Hamel injected sadness and humor into the seedy surroundings as three tired hookers who prop themselves up with alcohol and fleece a drunken client (Kevin McKenzie). Curiously, the evening, which included Pillar of Fire and a well-groomed Jardin aux Lilas, didn't allow for an intermission. The sold-out audience was deprived of an opportunity to breathe and digest the drama.

Tudor's farewell pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet, included in several programs, eschews the bombastic, arm-waving tendencies of other versions of the ballet. Never has Gillian Murphy, her red hair flowing, looked so vulnerable or poignant. Her graceful, articulate hands caught the essence of a Botticelli beauty. Before leaving her, David Hallberg lay on the floor in complete surrender as she knelt to kiss him.

For today's audiences, Pillar of Fire's impact relies more on the metaphor of transformation than on the literal storyline of a woman shamed by her sexual desire. Murphy has matured considerably as Hagar in Pillar of Fire, especially in her fiery interaction with the seducer, Marcelo Gomes, and in her tender pas de deux with Hallberg as The Friend. In an alternate cast, Michele Wiles, a technically powerful dancer, seemed to be trying to locate her inner life in the role.

The Leaves Are Fading can look slightly anemic in ABT's production--an updated batch of costumes wouldn't hurt--but Julie Kent and Gomes expertly negotiated the ballet's deceivingly difficult partnering while securing its wistful quality.

Of the new productions, Paul Taylor's Company B, meticulously staged by Patrick Corbin, struck the perfect note of giddy optimism tempered by the gravity of wartime reality. It's fascinating to see ABT ensemble dancers shed their fairy tale duties and feast on high-protein choreography. Arron Scott effortlessly delivered the balance of weight, sensuality, and elevation needed in "Tico-Tico," while Misty Copeland captured the Taylor flexibility and wit of "Rum and Coca-Cola." Simone Messmer and Murphy lent a touching stillness to "I Can Dream, Can't I?" and "There Will Never Be Another You," respectively.

In Overgrown Path, Jiri Kylian acknowledges Tudor's influence on his work. Leos Janacek's piano pieces, "On an Overgrown Path," provide the emotional undercurrent for Kylian's choreography. With a narrative loosely based on Janacek's daughter's tragic death, Overgrown Path references a community rocked by angst and impending loss. Although it runs too long and much of its visceral gesturing reads vaguer than Tudor's own specificity, the ballet still possesses a maturity often lacking in contemporary choreography.

Overgrown Path demands intense focus and a supple use of the torso, and the company delivered. When Veronika Part embraces her partner, she does so with both the resignation and denial that he will not return. Corps dancer Hee Seo, as the central woman who disappears into a black abyss, is one of the company's most riveting ballerinas. Her dramatic impulses emanate naturally from her unforced, fine-tuned physicality. How wonderful it would be to see her dance Hagar one day!

Of the two Tharp ballets performed, Baker's Dozen sported the more relaxed yet spiffily tailored look. Full of whimsical entrances and exits, the ballet remains a delight, the dancers buzzing around to the jazz-era piano of Willie "The Lion" Smith.

Brief Fling, a large-scale piece that features Tharp's familiar theme of ballet vocabulary clashing with vernacular movement (pert classicists encounter a grungy trio), hasn't worn as well. The tinny, taped orchestral recording of the music collage didn't help. But seen in the context of a showpiece for the virtuosic Herman Cornejo, it hits a marvelously joyful chord.

The only commissioned work of the season, Citizen, by Lauri Stallings, represents the complete antithesis of what Tudor stood for. Saddled with costumes that might have shocked in the 1980s (like corsets for the guys) and jumbled, arbitrary movement, the dancers salvaged what they could from the affair. Sarah Lane, whose presence shines perennially, cleaved through the ballet with her artistry.

A new soloist with the company, Daniil Simkin, made a debut appearance in the pas de deux from Vasily Vainonen's Flames of Paris with Lane as his spry partner. His lightweight frame seems to be made of balsa wood, and he glides through the air so high and effortlessly you have to blink to make sure you witnessed it. Hopefully his career at ABT won't be restricted to the circus arena.

Overall, the repertory and the dancers didn't just give us pretty ballet. They emphasized the theater in American Ballet Theatre. Achieving authenticity, which happened a lot this season, paid the greatest tribute of all to Tudor.