Cal Performances
presents
Joffrey Ballet
Zellerbach Hall,
Berkeley
March 15th,
2015
by Heather Desaulniers
The Joffrey Ballet has a
signature look, or maybe it’s more accurate to say a signature style. Fusion
ballet. Fused genres sometimes get a bad rap because the term implies that two
styles are simply being meshed together. But ever since Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe in 1973, The Joffrey Ballet
has proven time and again that fusion ballet works. It is a distinct mix of
traditional, classical elegance and edgy, contemporary surprise. And The
Joffrey Ballet’s recent engagement at Cal Performances confirmed that they do
fusion ballet better than anyone.
Val Caniparoli’s Incantations was full of geometric
curves – from the costumes and spiral hanging lights (both designed by Sandra
Woodall) to the abundance of upper body curves in the choreography. When Aaron
Smyth was on stage, it was impossible to take your eyes off him, especially in
the middle section of the ballet. His jump sequence had height, ballon and technical
accuracy, but the landings! Not only did his heels fully meet the ground after
every jump, the landings were silent. No sound whatsoever. Caniparoli’s choreography
was spot on throughout Incantations, including
a lovely pas de trois three quarters of the way through. There was just one
puzzling moment. Toward the end of the piece, an African dance motif popped up
in one of the men’s solos. The movement itself wasn’t puzzling, but the fact
that it was only used twice and introduced so late in the game made it seem out
of place.
Up next was Stanton
Welch’s Son of Chamber Symphony, a
three-part work that the Joffrey originally premiered back in 2012. The first
movement was by far the best of the bunch - the music, lighting design and
choreography conjuring a life-size chess game. The queen was present in this
chapter along with five pawns. Each dancer got a chance to solo, showing what
they could do as individuals, and through duets and group sequences, what they
could accomplish as a collective. Unfortunately, the second and third movements
lost this whimsy, and the forward momentum of the work stalled. Jeraldine
Mendoza and Miguel Angel Blanco danced the second movement’s lengthy duet. Mendoza
and Blanco both have significant technical and artistic acumen, but visually,
they made a rather curious pair. And though Travis Halsey’s costume design
showed some out-of-the-box thinking, the armpit cutouts on the men’s wardrobe were
an odd choice and not very flattering. After a brief pause, Victoria Jaiani and
Temur Suluashvili took the stage in the stunning pas de deux from Yuri
Possokhov’s Bells – a meditation of
dynamic highs and lows, choreographic simplicity and complexity, sweet moments alongside
dramatic interactions.
The Joffrey Ballet’s Cal
Performances program closed with creative gusto as the company took the stage
in Alexander Ekman’s Episode 31. A
solo dancer (dapperly attired in a suit) turns on a lamp downstage left, and
begins to walk in slow motion across the front of the stage. The curtain
periodically rises and falls revealing the rest of the cast looking part punk
youth culture part futuristic restaurant staff (Luke Simcock’s costumes being a
wild combination of black and white). Ekman’s choreography was equally diverse
with ballet, tap, modern and calisthenics. And so was the mood and energy – a
meditative section would morph into pandemonium; hysteria would halt to become
stillness. As the first dancer continued his slow motion route around the edge
of the stage, the curtain remained open revealing the fullness of the party scene.
A community of folks working together, enjoying each other and celebrating
life. As the suit finishes walking the perimeter, he turns off the lamp and Episode 31 is over. Why was he there?
What was his function? Was he just an observer? Did he want to be part of the
action? Was he trying to box in those who are unconventional? None of these
questions were answered, and that is why Episode
31 is truly a great dance.
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