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The Sacramento Ballet – “Western Symphony,” “John Adams’ Violin Concerto” and “Medea”<BR>October 26, 2000<P>The nutshell summary: This is what I imagine many companies strive to achieve—a complete show.<P>Even before the first rise of the curtain, the atmosphere was being set. To complement the rustic Western theme of the evening’s principal piece, members of the California Square Dance (Association? Group? Club? I didn’t catch it.) were performing on the Grande Tier landing. Even these folks danced with remarkable smoothness considering that they came from various clubs from around California. A light touch, but it kept folks entertained before the performance.<P>1 – “John Adams Violin Concerto”<BR> Music by John Adams<BR> Choreography by Kathryn Posin (assisted by Angelica Burgos)<BR> Costumes by A. Christina Gianinni<P> The first movement was slow and atmospheric. The dancers’ costumes ran a strong counterpoint—using primary and secondary colors, washes of yellows, purples and oranges. There was a wonderful balance and interaction between the dancers, three male and four female. The movements were extremely smooth and poses were both crisp and dramatic. The flow of the dancers worked extremely well with the relatively slow pulse of the music. There were some gorgeous poses in this set.<P>The second movement, by contrast, set more of a physical challenge for the dancers. The violin performance, while prerecorded, was excruciating in its speed and technical prowess. Truthfully, the dancers never quite exuded the same frenetic abandon that I felt from the music. Rather than a critique, though, I would chalk this up to my stronger understanding of the musical demands, as compared to my understanding of dance. This was a far more spirited piece, and adding three more female dancers to the stage allowed the energy level to be maintained evenly across the segment. Again, there were some absolutely stunning poses.<P>2 – “Medea”<BR> Music by Samuel Barber<BR> Choreography by Ron Cunningham<BR> Costumes and Scenery by Mabel Astarloa-Haley<BR> Lighting by Steve Odehnal<P> The piece opened with Jason and Medea on the Argo. Eight dancers performed water-esque movements that set off the stage design, the rigging and bow of the ship placed to the rear. And the story begins. For those who need a refresher in Greek mythology, Medea, princess of Colchis, assisted Jason in his pursuit of the legendary Golden Fleece. The crux of the tragedy, as written by Euripides, is that after Jason marries Medea, and sires two sons, he leaves her for a younger, prettier princess, named Creusa. From there things take a dark turn.<P>One of the interesting motifs is the use of “shadows,” dancers in dark costumes that pair up to their principal. The “shadows” danced commendably, so they did not detract from the piece. However, it was not until the final scene, where Medea is dancing with her shadow, that the full impact is made, as intended. In this passage, the interaction is much more expressive of the torment and guilt that the title character feels after exacting her revenge.<P>And the manner of that revenge is portrayed very convincingly. In an article titled, “How to kill a princess,” (Sacramento News & Review: October 19,2000), R.V. Scheide describes the company working on the demise of Creusa…with three weeks left until opening night. I won’t spoil it for those who would go see it. It just works. <P>3 – “Western Symphony”<BR> Music by Hershey Kay<BR> Choreography by George Balanchine<BR> Costumes by Frankie Fehr<BR> <BR> Before I get into the review, let me acknowledge each of the pairs of principal dancers—Whitney Simler and Jack Hansen, Angelica Burgos and Michael Separovich, and especially Kirsten Bloom and Charles Hodges. This was a very well done piece, and I enjoyed each couple in each of their respective movements.<P>The music works extremely well. Melodic allusions to seminal works, such as <I>Red River Valley</I> and <I>Golden Slipper</I>, bring instant familiarity to the work. And that familiarity assists the viewer in his or her suspension of disbelief. I will admit to cynicism about the mix of ballet slippers and cowboy hats, but the costumes, on loan or purchased from the Pennsylvania Ballet (as was the scenery), were attractive without creating much dissonance.<P>The program notes state that George Balanchine was very much enamored with the America West…and it shows. This is American nostalgia and romance all wrapped up in a warm, pretty picture. This is the West where cowboys are nineteenth-century knights and saloon dancers are maids with pure hearts. In other words, this is a fairy tale.<P>Overall, and I know this will sound like heresy, but I wish the order of the program had been slightly rearranged. “Western Symphony” was meant to be the jewel of the evening, but I would have liked to see the company open with it. Not to say that the final moments of “Western”, with thirty and some dancers exuberantly spinning to the curtain’s drop, was unimpressive. All three pieces were fantastic; however, speaking personally, I enjoyed “Medea” and “Violin Concerto” just a tad more. Each of these pieces had standout performances in Whitney Simler and Angelica Burgos respectively. <P> As the season opener, this was a very auspicious start. I was very impressed with just about every aspect of the evening. The company continues their season with “The Nutcracker,” “Swan Lake,” a run called the “Golden Age of Russes” (containing “The Rite of Spring,” “Apollo” and “Aurora’s Wedding”), and looks to end with “Modern Masters” (including David Parsons’ “The Envelope”). <P><BR>------------------<BR>"Learn from the Past.<BR> Prepare for the Future.<BR> Act in the Present."<BR> -the Rogue Wolf<p>[This message has been edited by Rogue Wolf (edited October 27, 2000).]
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"Learn from the Past.<BR> Prepare for the Future.<BR> Act in the Present."<BR> -the Rogue Wolf<BR>
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