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Kings of the Dance
February 16, 2010 -- Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles Lighting designer Elena Kopunova deserved a bow with the seven "Kings of the Dance" for her illumination of them. Her colorful and spot lighting enhanced the enjoyment of the dancers' performance on Feb. 16, 2010, at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. Producers Sergei and Gaiane Danilian gathered seven top-notch dancers from American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Mariinsky Ballet of St. Petersburg (formerly Kirov Ballet) for this version of the show. The couple had originated the showcase in 2006, then casting Angel Corella and Ethan Stiefel from ABT, Johan Kobberg of the Royal Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet's Nickolay Tsiskaridze. The show premiered at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, Calif. The most recent two-day run (Feb. 16 and 17, 2010) gave the seven men a chance to partner each other, as well as star in short solos. It also opened the eyes of those unfamiliar with male ballet dancers and how intense and powerful they can and have to be. The works performed ranged from classical ballet to contemporary dance, all to recorded music. Opening the show, a short video gave snippets of rehearsals with voice-overs by the dancers on their participation. It ended with the first four dancers lining up to start another run through of the first piece by Christopher Wheeldon, "For 4." Jose Manuel Carreño (ABT principal), Denis Matvienko (Mariinsky principal), Joaquin De Luz (NYCB principal) and Guillaume Côté (principal, National Ballet of Canada) reprised the pas de quatre to Franz Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 in D minor or "Death and the Maiden." They began in silhouette against a lit backdrop, but soon the lights brightened so the men could be seen clearly. After moving in sync with each other, they shifted to patterns of paired dancers that rotated among the four. The moves followed the musical phrases, which for the most part were fast passages. Eventually, each dancer performed a solo that began and ended as a short pas de deux as the next soloist joined the prior one. The choreography flowed, and the men covered the stage with long leaps, multiple turns and lofty jumps. Their arms and legs swept the ground and air. When the four danced in sync, their training showed slight differences. Matvienko attacked his grand pirouettes with strong plies, while the others began each revolution with seemingly easy preparations.
That isolation was broken in the pas de deux at the end of the second act, which included solos for each dancer, plus the aforementioned pas de deux. Marcelo Gomes (ABT principal) started the set, dancing "Small Steps," by Adam Hougland to Michael Nyman's music. The mix of ballet and modern had Gomes rocking on his legs, manipulating his arms in various manners and contracting his torso. At times, he dangled his arms, then he would reach long with them. He waved them overhead and flipped his hands to accents in the music. He used one hand to lift the opposite arm. Overall, he demonstrated how well he controlled his body to deliver an esthetic work. Matvienko entertained with a comedic solo, "Vestris." This 40-year-old work by Leonid Jakobson to music by Gennady Banshikov, won Mikhail Baryshnikov a top prize at the 1969 International Ballet Competition. Dressed in silver-grey, 18th-century-style knickers and tailed jacket, Matvienko danced energetically as himself, so to speak, before launching into studies of older acting/dancing methods. He would use a typical actor technique -- sweeping an opened hand in front of his face to signify a change. He danced angrily with dramatic gestures. He was an old man hobbling through dance steps. He mimicked the feminine flip of hands. He ran through a fast series of petite batterie. But that wasn't enough. He fell to his knees to plead with an invisible assailant. He laughed with his entire body. He feared a dreaded action. Needless to say, the audience loved him. In the next solo, "Dance of the Blessed Spirits," a silhouetted David Hallberg (ABT principal) posed Apollo-like on top of a three-step landing in front of a blue backdrop as music from Gluck's “Orphée et Euridice” swelled. With grace, he stepped down to dance the piece created for Sir Anthony Dowell by Sir Frederick Ashton in 1978. According to the program, Dowell coached Hallberg on this first reprise of the work since the older man did it. Bare-chested with white tights, Hallberg performed the very classical piece with expressive arms, clean batterie and impressive ballon. It ended too soon. Another reprise from the first Kings show came next, "Five Variations on a Theme." Following the fast tempo in J.S. Bach's music, De Luz bounded around the stage with split grand jetés, sauté arabesques and tour jetés. He held a relevé attitude and twirled fast in double tours and pirouettes. His joy at dancing energized all his moves. The dance, choreographed by David Fernandez, enthralled the audience.
In "Lament," Lighting Designer Kopunova highlighted Desmond Richardson's physique with focused down-lighting. For most of the piece, only outlines of his muscles and body could be seen, creating beautiful art. About halfway through, she brought the lights up so his face and body could be seen clearly. Choreographer Dwight Rhoden selected music by Charles Veal, Jr. and by Caroline Worthington for the modern piece. One, a choral work, contrasted with the other, an instrumental reminiscent of rain at times. The Complexions artistic director windmilled his arms, snapped his fingers, and splayed his hands wide. He rolled on the ground, revolved in controlled turns and chugged across the stage. During one turn, sweat streamed from his forehead, evidence of his commitment to the dance. The frantic piece earned the most applause and cheers among the seven solos. To close this act, Côté and Gomes performed two pieces from Roland Petit’s ballet “Proust ou les Intermittances du Coeur,” called “Morel et Saint-Loup.” Dressed in a nude unitard that exposed his chest, Côté began the variations portion with modern-infused ballet moves. His hip led a rond de jambe, he turned his legs in and out, and he contracted during passé. He slid into easy grand jeté, dragged a leg into fifth, and relevéd into arabesque. After a gorgeous solo, he came up to sharp to his doppelganger -- Gomes in an identical nude unitard. Côté put a hand on Gomes' shoulder, and the pair began an intricate pas de deux. Hooking a foot under the other's thigh, one rolled to the floor. The other used the first as a step for a grand jeté. One knelt on the other's thighs and bent his back. Their moves mirrored each other, then the steps fell in a canon. They supported each other by the thigh in small lifts. They held each other's hips in a pose. One followed the other, who walked backward while gesturing for the other to come. One used the other's calf to step through the first's arms. The mood ranged from frivolous to melodramatic. Both dancers performed superbly. Again, the dance was improved by the lighting. The final piece, "Remanso," choreographed by Nacho Duato, featured Côté, Gomes and Hallberg. To music by Enrique Granados, the trio used a large, black box to interact with, along with each other. A fourth, unidentified person held a rose from behind the box, which became a focal point during the dance. The men rolled around the edge of the box to disappear behind it or begin a section of dance. Hallberg appeared at the top of the box, climbed over and hung from his fingers until Côté and Gomes bent under his feet and lowered him to the ground. The men alternated between solo stints and group sections. Eventually, the rose reappeared to be passed among them, ending behind Hallberg's bent knee. Under Brad Fields' direction, the box became a color at times and the dancer would be silhouetted in front of it. Other times, it remained black and the dancers would be lit brightly. For the Finale, each dancer returned for a short, powerful across-the-stage reminder of why he was included in this production. They seemed to outdo each other with the choice of moves: split jetés, double assemblé tours, barrel rolls with extra rolls. Overall, an outstanding evening of strong masculine dancing, which haunt many ladies' dreams.
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by Kathy Lee Scott
Wheeldon based the work on classical dance but he incorporated some jazz and modern into the piece. "For 4" kept the men together but separate, never touching each other.
In contrast, Carreño's solo, "Ave Maria," infused seriousness into the evening. Using a modern palette, choreographer Igal Perry visualized Schubert's familiar song with smooth, rounded steps. Carreño easily transitioned into turns, danced backwards and made sharp changes in focus. He turned in attitude with a hand on his knee, creating a different shape than the normal turn.