The Dede Wilsey Dance
series
Ballet Gala
July 19th, 2013
The Lincoln Theater,
Yountville
Every year, balletomanes
and ballet novices (and those who fall somewhere in the middle) join together
at Yountville’s Lincoln Theater, in eager anticipation of the Napa Valley
Festival del Sole’s Ballet Gala. This year’s program featured nine excerpts
from eight different ballets, including Raymond Rodriguez’s reconstruction of ‘suite’
from Michel Fokine’s “Paganini”. A bicoastal cast, sixteen members of Ballet
San Jose were joined by three phenomenal guest artists – San Francisco Ballet’s
Tiit Helimets and American Ballet Theatre’s Stella Abrera and Sascha Radetsky. With
variations from “Swan Lake”, “Leaves Are Fading”, “Giselle” and others, the
variety and beauty of classical ballet was heralded to the packed house. The
evening’s only downfall was that curtain time was delayed for nearly thirty
minutes.
Three variations from “Swan
Lake” opened the program. First a musical overture by The Russian National
Orchestra under the direction of George Daugherty, followed by the pas de cinq
and lastly, Act II’s pas de deux. While the pointework was stunning throughout
the pas de cinq, much of the choreography had to be shortened and compressed.
The Lincoln Theater is beautiful, but the stage is small and so a five person
divertissement was a bold choice for this event. A truly sublime pairing, Ballet
San Jose’s Alexsandra Meijer and San Francisco Ballet’s Tiit Helimets were up
next with Act II’s pas de deux. Meijer and Helimets’ technical and narrative
interpretation of this well-known duet was a highlight of the entire evening.
The pas de deux from “The Toreador” (choreography by Flemming Flindt after
August Bournonville) journeyed to Spain, with dramatic choreography and stylistic
flair. In addition to the expected lifts, poses and balances, some delightful
side by side unison was danced by Ballet San Jose’s Maria Jacobs-Yu and Alex
Kramer. American Ballet Theatre’s Stella Abrera and Sascha Radetsky followed
with the pas de deux from Tudor’s “Leaves Are Fading”. A conceptual duet,
Abrera’s willowy grace and Radetsky’s robust strength captured every nuanced
moment of suspension and release. Act I closed with the aforementioned reconstruction
- ‘suite’ from “Paganini”. Again, the cast of ten was very squished on this particular
stage, but despite that, no one can deny that as the Divine Genius, Amy Marie
Briones (Ballet San Jose) stole the show with a rare combination of strength,
flexibility and fearlessness.
The shorter Act II
brought a collection of famous pas de deuxs from “Giselle” , “Le Corsaire”, “Méditation
from Thaïs”, and “Don Quixote”. Ballet San Jose’s Karen Gabay was striking in “Giselle”,
truly otherworldly. A nice complement to their lyrical duet in Act I, Le Corsaire’s ‘pas d’esclave’ was all
about Abrera and Radetsky’s technical acuity. The entire variation was about as
close to perfect as is possible. The complicated and sometimes awkward lifts in
“Méditation from Thaïs”, were easily and effortlessly handled by Meijer and
Helimets. And Ballet San Jose’s Junna Ige and Maykel Solas closed the gala in
style with the dynamic and technical tour de force that is Don Quixote’s final
pas de deux.
Because Ballet San Jose
danced the lion’s share of the varied repertoire, the Napa Valley Festival del
Sole’s Ballet Gala was a unique opportunity to see the South Bay company
outside of their home theater. This group can jump and turn with the best of
them and their batterie is incredibly intricate - the enunciation and
articulation is really quite something. Having said that, there were some basics
that weren’t given the same attention and focus. In terms of pointed feet, the
transitional steps and petit allegro sequences were not consistent. So, when it
comes to technique, it was kind of an odd mix from this ballet company. On the
one hand, undeniably detailed skill and on the other, some missing fundamentals.
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