By Tara Mitton Catao
On Saturday night at the Kravis, American Ballet Theatre, one of the most outstanding ballet companies in the world, made a long overdue visit to South Florida in a program that featured a mixed repertory including Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, Mark Morris’ Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes and the White Swan pas de deux from Act II of Swan Lake.
It was a beautifully danced program, but there wasn’t nearly enough of it to give the audience a thorough sense of ABT’s stature.
The evening began with Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, which Morris created in 1988 to piano etudes by American composer Virgil Thomson. Morris’ signature full and sensual movement was both simple and complex moving easily from ballet to modern vocabulary with a touch of humor. In the center of the stage sat a grand piano, where pianist Barbara Bilach spun out a series of imminently danceable etudes.
Swirling around her and the piano, 12 dancers met and danced, dressed in easy, off-white jersey costumes lead by the stunning Isabella Boylston and the dynamic Herman Cornejo. At first glance, there was an almost academic, purposeful feel to the creation and execution of the steps as line after line of dancers carefully articulated the movement. There were many slightly odd shapes that were liberally sprinkled in which brought brief touches of humor to the sleek look of the work.
The ladies were elegant with their clean, articulately beautiful footwork and full upper body movement. The men were more expansive as they turned, jumped and ran with more freedom. Thomas Forester, whose lush movement quality seemed the most naturally suited for Morris’ style of movement, was eye-catching.
After this successful introduction to the beautiful ABT dancers, there was a musical interlude, as pianist Lola Astanova made a guest appearance onstage and played two selections for the packed house: Rachmaninov’s Moment Musical No. 4 (in E minor, Op. 16, No. 4) and Liszt’s Waldesrauschen (Forest Murmurs, S. 145, No. 1).
Next on the program were Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes in the Act II pas de deux from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, and the anticipation was palpable. The two dancers, revered for their artistic interpretations of the great classical roles, were beautifully paired. Gomes, with his dark good looks and formidably strong legs was a prince through and through. Kent exuded fragility and strength as she bent under his embrace. Gomes deftly partnered Kent using just his index finger and thumb, further heightening her ethereal presence, but before we knew it, it was over. It was an all-too-brief moment of exquisite dancing that made us long to see the whole evening-length romantic ballet.
Closing the program was Rodeo, Agnes de Mille’s ballet of Americana that set the dance world on its heels when it was created 70 years ago. Set to Aaron Copland’s heel-stomping, thigh-slapping score, Rodeo still managed to pull in some punches with its story of a rough-and-tumble cowgirl who falls in love with a handsome cowboy. Xiomara Reyes played the role of the cowgirl that Agnes De Mille herself performed for the premiere in 1942.
Hitching up her pants with pluck and determination, Reyes was utterly charming as she struggled with coming of age and reaching for love in the wrong place. Ignored by the handsome head wrangler Grant DeLong, who was smitten by the pretty rancher’s daughter Lauren Post, Reyes was cajoled and finally won over by the engaging champion roper Craig Salstein.
It was all a bit corny but without a doubt, it was as American as apple pie and it does have its place in ballet history. After the opening scene in the corral, there just isn’t that much real dancing in it. Here, the cowboys’ antics and horse riding movement are memorable, along with the authentic square dance, which was performed to the voice calls and clapping of the dancers as they promenade and do-si-do in a narrow area at the front of the stage.
There were little acting gems like Sklyar Brandt, who gave a terrific cameo appearance as a young girl who gets her first resounding kiss at the dance. The movement in Rodeo settled into redundancy until the end, when Salstein, showing off his versatility as a dancer, delightfully tap-danced his way with great bravura into Reyes’ heart.
As the evening proceeded during this coveted one performance, the programing left a feeling of being unsatisfied. I felt shortchanged, and that I didn’t see enough strong dancing.
In a full season, with many programs to choose from, this program would clearly have its merits and appeal. It would have been yet another view of this great company which houses such a vast array of works and artists but, here in Palm Beach County, where ABT has not performed in a very long time, this contained, low-impact program didn’t resonate.
It was skimpy, and just didn’t deliver enough. We weren’t left with a real sense of what a treasure American Ballet Theatre is. Is it too much to ask that this company, chock-full of such amazing dance artists, should always present a full, satisfying program? I don’t think so.