Carolina Ballet.CAROLINA BALLET RALEIGH MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM, RALEIGH, NC MAY 19-22, 2005 Inspired by a children's-book version of the Swan Lake story, Carolina Ballet artistic director Robert Weiss has stripped down the ballet and delicately built it up again to a scale appropriate for his company. The result: an emotionally rich production performed with joy by skilled dancers. Weiss tells the story in two acts and, taking his hat off to Petipa, sets the two famous 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 to different sections of the Tchaikovsky score. And he gives his Sorcerer, performed with dash and maniacal ma·ni·a·cal or ma·ni·ac adj. Suggestive of or afflicted with insanity. triumph by Cyrille de la Barre, 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. dancing to rival that of the Prince, setting him up as a foil. Weiss focuses less on mythological spectacle and more on the range and depth of emotions experienced in a struggle with destiny. His Prologue depicts the nine women's initial transformation into swans, represented by pole-mounted flying swan figures carried through the forest by male dancers (an effect that might have seemed more magical had the poles been less visible). Thus, the Swan Princess and Maidens did not dance as swans but as women trapped by their fate. Lilyan Vigo as the Swan Princess struggled with the Sorcerer in a blend of defiance and submission, dropping to her knees but with arms raised and rigid against his hold. In contrast, her body shimmered with delight in the intimate pas de deux with the Prince (Timour Bourtasenkov), marked by interwoven in·ter·weave v. in·ter·wove , in·ter·wo·ven , inter·weav·ing, inter·weaves v.tr. 1. To weave together. 2. To blend together; intermix. v.intr. arms and torsos and faces brushing almost close enough to kiss. Vigo combined technical mastery with superb acting. As the Swan Princess, her startled star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. turn of the head at the Prince's touch and her brilliant smile as she rested her head on his shoulder contrasted with her arch confidence as the Sorcerer's Daughter. Grinning at her father over the Prince's shoulder, she used her legs as weapons to tie him in knots. Bourtasenkov's Prince matured, as he should, from his entertainingly performed distraction by the six Princesses' attempts to win his love. Margaret Severin-Hansen's palpable ease and delight complemented Pablo Javier Perez's ballon bal·lon n. Buoyancy or lightness in movement that allows a dancer to rise and fall smoothly. [French, balloon; see balloon.] and strong jetes battus in their pas de deux as betrothed friends of the Prince. Of the Princesses, Traci Gilchrest (a guest artist from North Carolina Dance Theatre) stood out for her clarity of line and coquettish co·quette n. A woman who makes teasing sexual or romantic overtures; a flirt. [French, feminine of coquet, flirtatious man; see coquet. glances, as did Claudia Schreiber for her smooth petit allegro variation and liquid feet. Only once did this production stumble--in a folksy folk·sy adj. folk·si·er, folk·si·est Informal 1. Simple and unpretentious in behavior. 2. Characterized by informality and affability: a friendly, folksy town. 3. , slightly messy character dance performed by the Royal Fathers and Mothers. Other than that, Weiss has crafted an intimate, winning Swan Lake. For more information: www.carolinaballet.com |
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