The opening sequence of George Balanchine’s Mozartiana had the kind of ethereal quality you get in the Bell scene from Coppelia, yet the rest of the ballet never quite matched up to it.
All of which may have had something to do with the ugly black satin costumes which gave away little of Balanchine’s intentions and the long-winded flat choreography which gave away even less.
Elisha Willis was serenely accomplished in the Preghiera section and Jonathan Caguioa had a happy spontaneity in his Gigue solo, which took your mind off his absurd black satin breeches and scooped out doublet neckline, but there was little else to encourage one’s frequently flagging concentration.
Occasionally Balanchine’s rigorous synchronisation was not all it might have been, and the quartet of young Elmhurst girls brought on to the main stage for the event frequently seemed out of their depth.
All in all, this was not the best Balanchine to open BRB’s summer season.
Fortunately, Ashton’s The Two Pigeons could not have been in greater contrast.
The lyrical dances were a pleasure to watch with the eminently watchable Chi Cao, now at the height of his interpretative powers, as the confused young artist who, bored with the feckless behaviour of his girlfriend (Nao Sakuma) goes off with the gypsies, magnetised by the sexually alluring Gypsy Girl (Elisha Willis looking for new prey) and her mates (colourful dancing from a lively company).
Ashton was always drawn to metaphor and so the young girl droops like a hurt pigeon when the boy departs, and recovers when he returns. The live pigeons, so much part of this ballet, always delight audiences, and the pair we saw here behaved themselves perfectly (I have known more wayward birds) and mirrored with their billing and cooing the lovers’ final and deeply touching reconciliation.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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