Boston Ballet puts on a flawless performance

Boston Ballet puts on a flawless performance

By Mariam K. Sutalaksana

JAKARTA (JP): The stars of the Boston Ballet who performed in
Jakarta last week were enchanting and in command of the ballet
steps they performed. One could only wonder if they were ever
going to make a mistake. Their execution of leaps, jumps and
turns was almost perfect.

Unlike many other ballet company's that have visited Jakarta's
theaters, the Boston Ballet's dancers seemed to specialize in
smooth movements influenced by Balanchine American and Vaganova
Russian training. Another specialty seemed to be duets. Many
engaging images sprinkled their three night performance at Graha
Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta.

In Tchaikovsky's pas de deux, a ballerina dashed across the
wooden stage amidst the ocean blue backdrop. Leaping through the
air with her right leg bent, her left leg extended to the back,
and her arms reaching out. She was floating for a second,
creating the image of a fairy flying across the sky. Her consort
turned and moved to the tune of Tchaikovsky's symphony and caught
the blond nymph, just in time, before they moved together in a
graceful and glittering white reverie.

In Gluck Melody, a lady carried a flowing white fabric given
life by the colorful lighting. She waved this piece of cloth as
she turned and was raised by her partner in such refinement that
audience was in awe. These pas de deux or duets were snippets of
the Boston Ballet's technical prowess on their first night
performance on Thursday.

These eleven dancers, out of fifty eight company members, were
invited by the Namarina Ballet school to show their skills in
both modern and classical ballet to an Indonesian audience. Each
night they performed a three section show with numerous fouettes
or whipping turns, many flights into the air, many effortless
lifts by the male dancers and powerful jumps. The first section
was Nine Lives by Daniel Pelzig. The second section consisted of
four duets by different creators, while the last was an upbeat
choreography by Elisa Monte called VII for VIII.

Being the United States' fourth largest ballet company, with
some of the world's best ballet dancers, it was no wonder the
modern ballets were entertaining and the classical ones charming.
The whipping turns or the fouettes in the pas de deux impressed
the spectators so much that they applauded after each fraction of
the dance.

The first modern piece, Nine Lives, was accompanied by the
jazzy country music of Lyle Lovett. In one part, called Hot To
Go, Paul Thrussel, a principal dancer originally from England,
made the audience smile with his mischievous and flirtatious
gestures. The deliberate movements of his arms and feet and his
changing facial expressions were comical yet seriously powerful.
This piece was a nine dancer composition combining classical
ballet steps with American cowboy kicks and yee-ha and a little
bit of jazz. After a daunting high speed movement across the
stage and precise turns in the air, the male dancers paired with
the ballerinas to end the piece.

Following Nine Lives was a section of duets. On the first
night there was one dance from George Balanchine, two from
Russian classics: Le Corsaire and Don Quixote, and Gluck Melody
by Asaf Messener. Their presentation was beautiful and elegant.
With a simple 45 degree leg lift and curving of an arm, each
ballerina was able to capture the audience's attention. The way
the male dancers lifted the ballerinas appeared effortless,
especially when Thrussel thrusted Larissa Ponomarenko to the
heavens in Balanchine's duet. She looked like a feather raised by
a human finger.

Though each of the eleven dancers were stars in their own
right, in Monte's VII for VIII they proved they could also
perform well in unison. This was especially true in a routine by
Jennifer Gelfand, Jennifer Glaze and Ponomaremko. They wore
shining red, white and green costumes. They curved their upper
bodies to the front and bent their arms in the same angle, moving
as one to David Van Tieghem percussion work.

The solid, colorful costumes served as an accessory to the
engaging choreography and performance. The music helped the
dancer's rapport as they kept pace with the music and worked its
flow. The many hoists of the ballerinas by the male dancers
characterized the piece. Then, as the dance came to a close the
audience gave the dancers a standing ovation.

It was a pity the theater was nowhere near full. This might
have been because tickets were expensive. But for those who did
show up, it was an appetizer to entice anybody to watch a full
production by the Boston Ballet Company. Perhaps the classic Nut
Cracker production which they will perform during the holiday
season in December in Boston's Wang Theater. Maybe one day
Jakarta can host a full production by the Boston Ballet or
perhaps an Indonesian Ballet company of the same caliber. Just
food for thought.