Paul Mitchell International Evenings of Dance.

REVIEWED BY JANINE GASTINEAU

To paraphrase writer John Ruskin, the mountains are to the earth what muscular action is to the body, sharing the same force, convulsive energy, passion, and strength. With this in mind, it seems entirely appropriate to find an international dance festival offering world-class ballet performance amid the pine-covered mountain peaks surrounding the Vail Valley.

Groups representing top ballet companies appeared in the festival's Ensemble Series (an average of eight dancers per troupe) and programs of pas de deux, presented as the Paul Mitchell International Evenings of Dance. [Preceding the festival was the Vail International Workshop, a school for some fifty young ballet students.) This year the pas de deux program featured European and American ballet principals offering a nice cross section of classic and contemporary works. The lion's share of accolades on the first evening went to dancers from France and Ukraine.

American Ballet Theatre principal Vladimir Malakhov was welcomed warmly on his solo turn in Renato Zanella's Voyage. Pedestrian movement gave way to bursts of phrases revealing a dazzling purity of technique. Malakhov's delightfully plastic face moved easily from childlike glee to sober seriousness. Disappointingly, he appeared in only one work, but returned for a solo variation during the evening's bows, to tremendous applause.

Miami City Ballet's Iliana Lopez and Franklin Gamero were alternately funny in Tango Tonto and sensuous in Nous Sommes, both choreographed by MCB resident choreographer Jimmy Gamonet De Los Heros. Tango used familiar tango rhythms and steps, but with a twist: Lopez almost never came off pointe. Unfortunately, Gamero's talents went unrevealed in Nous Sommes, as he was largely reduced to hoisting the elegant Lopez into one lovely position after another.

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo offered the evening's most compelling choreography in two works by director-choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot. Recalling the work of both Jiri Kylian and Maurice Bejart, Dove la Luna and Duo d'Anges are two ballets suffused with longing. Both combine the classical lexicon with parallel positions and flexed hands and feet, creating movement that is arresting, fresh, and rich with meaning.

Monte Carlo principals Bernice Coppieters and Gaetan Morlotti, of similar height, rhythm, and intensity, were the evening's most physically stunning couple. Their Dove la Luna was all fall and recovery and small gestures about the face, each dancing alone then briefly together, repeatedly reaching upwards. Duo d'Anges was much more personal: the end found Coppieters in Morlofli's arms as he brushed her lips with his fingers, stealing a kiss which he pressed to his mouth before releasing it to the sky above. The house was silent for a long moment before breaking into a tremendous ovation. I wanted the spell to last forever.

The audience couldn't get enough of Jeune Ballet de France's Fernanda Tavares-Diniz and Joan Boada, both barely nineteen. In Petipa's Talisman and Vaganova's Diana and Actaeon they danced with refreshing innocence. Despite some rough edges, Boada's large-scaled tour ietes, cabrioles, and something I'll call the Boada Barrel--a barrel turn with an extra 360 twist of the body while in the air--had him soaring so high and for so long, there was a shared sense that we were witnessing something remarkable. Tavares-Diniz, with a face and regal bearing reminiscent of the young Maria Tallchief, turned on a dime, milked the music for every nuance, and was so pulled up that Boada lifted her effortlessly (despite their similar height). Befitting their terrific performance, they closed both acts, the perfect complement to their magnificent surroundings.