BALLET ESTABLE DEL TEATRO COLON.BALLET ESTABLE DEL TEATRO COLON TEATRO COLON, BUENOS AIRES SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 4, 1998 REVIEWED BY PAULA DURBIN The Teatro Colon welcomed the austral spring with Don Quixote, ballet as Buenos Aires loves it--spectacular and star-studded. Of the six performances, none were more eagerly anticipated than the first two, which featured the Colon's favorite son and daughter in Zarko Prebil's take on the Petipa classic, a Colon staple since 1980. Argentineans jammed the colossal hall, some paying $90 for standing room, to hail the partnership of Maximiliano Guerra, now dancing with La Scala Ballet, and Paloma Herrera, a principal with American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre, one of the foremost international dance companies of the 20th cent. It was founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet and reorganized as the Ballet Theatre in 1940 under the direction of Lucia Chase and Rich Pleasant. . Prebil calls his version "Kitri's ballet," and certainly it belongs to Herrera. She cut her teeth on it when, some ten years ago, as a precocious Cupid with a pristine petit allegro, she all but stole the show from Julio Bocca and Cheryl Yaeger. A radiantly confident Kitri, Herrera traded on laser piques and fouettes followed by tantalizing tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. retards into prolonged penchees and hyper-arched attitudes. Guerra, much overqualified o·ver·qual·i·fied adj. Educated or skilled beyond what is necessary or desired for a particular job. overqualified Adjective having more professional or academic qualifications than are required for a job for the Basilio role, displayed her superbly in single-handed lifts, and just as easily suspended his jetes and tossed off endless triple tours on top of multiple pirouettes. In the variations, Miriam Coelho was a supple Mercedes, Cecilia Mengelle a vivid Gypsy, Laura Beccaceci a vivacious Juanita, and Maricel de Mitri an impeccable Cupid. Otherwise, the company appeared underrehearsed, especially the toreros, who, by international standards, were a bit hefty. Still, the audience, which had paid to enjoy the stars' bravura bra·vu·ra n. 1. Music a. Brilliant technique or style in performance. b. A piece or passage that emphasizes a performer's virtuosity. 2. A showy manner or display. adj. 1. , left on a high. One could only sympathize with the next Kitri, Colon soloist Silvina Perillo, and not just because Herrera's was such a hard act to follow. Perillo's entrance was greeted with none of the usual applause, and when her Basilia, the Royal Ballet's rosy-cheeked young charmer charm·er n. 1. One that charms, especially a disarmingly attractive person. 2. One who casts spells; an enchanter or magician. Noun 1. Inaki Urlezaga, exploded onto the stage, all eyes were riveted on him. Urlezaga, who had admitted to jitters jitters 'Butterflies' Psychology An episode of nervousness or anxiety that often precedes a public event; jitters is a type of performance anxiety which may affect actors in a stage production–stage fright or soloist musicians; it may respond to anxiolytics before this first hometown Don Q, relaxed into his role with delightful humor, making his tours de force all the more effective. Strapping and well developed, he can leap and lift with the best, but his real forte is the axis on which he turns--so secure and flexible that, for example, he never lost sight of the audience during his altitudes renversees. The audience stopped gawking at Urlezaga and began to enjoy the entire company in its much-improved third performance. Eventually, any doubts were resolved in favor of Perillo; the chica, as discreet murmurs observed, could dance. She was at her best in the gold filigree filigree (fĭl`ĭgrē), ornamental work of fine gold or silver wire, often wrought into an openwork design and joined with matching solder and borax under the flame of the blowpipe. dream scene, where her deliberate developpe dé·vel·op·pé n. A ballet movement in which one leg is raised to the knee of the supporting leg and fully extended. [French, from past participle of développer, to develop; see develop.] rotations into attitude en arriere flowed into a fine finish. Basilia, of course, has the last word in Quixote's grand pas de deux pas de deux (French; “step for two”) Dance for two performers. A characteristic part of classical ballet, it includes an adagio, or slow dance, by the ballerina and her partner; solo variations by the male dancer and then the ballerina; and a coda, or , and Urlezaga opted to end with a flurry of demi-plie pirouettes in attitude, (not seen here since Mikhail Baryshnikov's classical days), which incited a deservedly passionate ovation. [For more on the company, see Letter From Buenos Aires, page 54.] |
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