A few years ago, Alexei Ratmansky mounted a streamlined, neoclassical Paquita for New York City Ballet with modern looking tutus. It was an interesting thought experiment more than an actual success. New York City Ballet’s style did not mesh with the old-fashioned, Imperial Ballet flavor of Paquita.
Now, American Ballet Theatre has decided to revive Natalia Makarova’s version of Paquita (originally staged in the 1970s). Makarova’s version is predictably more old-fashioned, with frilly Spanish-flavor tutus, and a frou-frou backdrop of a garden and trees. The variations are slightly different too – it’s a bit of a tradition in Paquita that each stager picks from a different set of variations. Therefore, no two Paquitas are alike. Paquita’s own solo variation is different. Ratmansky has her do the “Pavlova” variation, Makarova has her do the harp Sylphide solo.
How did ABT do? They didn’t have the company style that the Mariinsky has when performing this warhorse. It instead seemed merely like a collection of strong dancers. The corps looked under rehearsed and without much épaulement. I wondered about the musical arrangement too. The score sounded much soupier than it’s been in other versions.
With that being said, the individual dancing was very strong. Chloe Misseldine and Aran Bell were captivating as the leads. Misseldine is so regal and elegant, with such a noble carriage in the arms and shoulders, along with an airy jump and surprisingly sturdy turns. Her delicate harp solo had beautiful flicks of the wrists and fingers. Her and Bell did have one brief partnering mishap in which Misseldine fell off pointe on a supported arabesque. Bell matches both her line and her temperament, but his solo variation was surprisingly earthbound, without the soaring leaps I’m accustomed to from him.
The soloists were overall excellent. Standouts: Yoon Jung Seo’s Italian fouettés in the first variation were strong and centered. Sierra Armstrong was lovely in the gentle adagio second solo, which featured a difficult diagonal of pirouettes into high arabesque. Lea Fleytoux flew through the jumpy solo with space-cleaving grand jetés.
The most interesting work of the bill was Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort. Set to Mozart’s piano concertos, it is a dialogue in which fencing becomes a metaphor for sex. The literal swords at the start of the piece become dueling limbs. The dancers are in almost see-through leotards that give the illusion of naked bodies.
The highlight was the final pas de deux between Sierra Armstrong and Jarod Curley to the famous Andante of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21. Armstrong and Curley were sensuous, with choreography that showed almost constant intertangling of limbs. This sort of thing can look tawdry with the wrong dancers. The retiring Herman Cornejo and Yoon Jung Seo were captivating in their pas de deux. Cornejo has so much charisma still, that one believes the sexual duel.
This ballet hits the sweet spot of ABT – a company of dancers with strong acting skills, without the super-fast footwork that can trip up ABT dancers. It’s a mystery why Kylián’s work isn’t programmed more. It definitely shows off the company at its best.
There was a company premiere in Helen Pickett’s Petal. Petal was actually created nearly two decades ago for the Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet. The music is a mix of Philip Glass and Thomas Montgomery Newman. The costumes are dayglo unitards. The choreography consists of a lot of high developpés and big overhead lifts on repeat. Part of that might be the propulsive Philip Glass score, which I’m convinced always makes a ballet more watchable. Of the soloists, I really enjoyed Calvin Royal III and SunMi Park. The ballet overall doesn’t have the impact to sustain repeated viewings, but it was fun.