Once upon a time, American Ballet Theatre’s Giselle runs were sold-out affairs, with international stars like Nina Ananiashvili, Diana Vishneva, Natalia Osipova and Alina Cojocaru guesting. I once had a weekend where I saw Diana Vishneva and Natalia Osipova in one day. Sublime.
That trend has died out, with ABT now casting more home-grown stars. It has increased company morale. So having Olga Smirnova guest in Giselle was a throwback to the “good/bad old days”. Last night’s Giselle was an old-fashioned Super-Event, completely sold out. In the lobby you saw a bunch of dance greats checking out the performance. I brought a friend who hadn’t seen Giselle in “years.”
So did it live up to the hype? Well, yes and no. First of all, ABT clearly decided to give this performance to the A-team. The often forgettable peasant pas de deux was danced by Lea Fleytoux and Jake Roxander. Fleytoux looks like a future Giselle herself, with the doll-like face, the long balances, the light jump. Jake Roxander is simply the most exciting male virtuoso I’ve seen since … maybe Angel Corella (a dancer Roxander actually resembles in many ways). His elevation is enormous. He has a way of opening up the scissors in his cabrioles to make it seem like he’s suspended in the air. He simply flew across the stage. He also decelerates his pirouettes and finishes in perfect fifth each time. I cannot wait for him to dance Albrecht.
Chloe Misseldine’s Myrtha had the silkiest bourrées and a commanding, space-cleaving jump. The only thing she’s lacking is the kind of stern, implacable authority the best Myrthas have. Part of this is genetics. Misseldine has a very soft, pliant upper body. This is fantastic when she’s dancing Odette/Odile or Giselle (which she will be debuting later in the run). But Myrtha needs a more block-like, unyielding torso.
As for Olga Smirnova? She is definitely an internationally renowned ballerina for a reason. Her Vaganova training is apparent in the way her arms and back seem almost boneless, and she’s able to make almost all her movements have this silken, liquid quality. In Giselle’s variation, she didn’t hop across the stage on pointe so much as she skated. Every hop was connected to the previous one in effortless legato. In the second act, her leg floated up to a high developpé à la seconde without even a split second of hesitation.
Russian ballerinas work with one coach in a role for long periods of time. You saw this painstaking preparation in Smirnova’s portrayal. In the mad scene, Smirnova cocked her head to the side just-so, and her eyes flashed with a demonic glee and her face had a creepy, disembodied smile that resembled Norman Bates. In the second act, she purposely broke her wrists and splayed her hands in a way to seem more ghostly, like the limbs were just flying in all directions. It is rare to see an American ballerina go into this level of detail in a Giselle.
My one criticism is that for all of Smirnova’s amazing qualities, she is not a natural Giselle. She has a very queenly, stately presence. This affected her portrayal more in Act 1. She didn’t look girlish or naïve at all. She was to the manor born. She accepted Bathilde’s necklace with the exquisite curtsy of an aristocrat. Smirnova’s dancing has such a controlled, marmoreal quality that you also didn’t get a sense of Giselle’s reckless love for dance. She danced the steps perfectly, but without that feverish, desperate quality that the best Giselles have.
Another quibble about Smirnova is that she does not have the most buoyant jump. That ability to seem suspended in the air was not present with Smirnova. But still, these are tiny quibbles in an obviously world-class portrayal.
Daniel Camargo as Albrecht was a good match for Smirnova. He has clean lines and an aristocratic reserve. Those wanting an emotive Albrecht in the Nureyev mold would have been disappointed. Having a more reserved Albrecht means his villainy is less pronounced, but also that his redemption is less far-fetched. Camargo didn’t sneer behind Giselle’s back. Camargo is an Albrecht who excelled in the second act. He is an excellent partner. He lifted Smirnova up in those tabletop lifts and spun her around 360 degrees. For the finale, he did a mixture of brisés and entrechats that worked even better than expected.
So it wasn’t perfect, but it was the kind of glamorous, old-school ABT night of yore. You sensed the entire company leveled up for the occasion. The corps girls were immaculate. One hopes that Smirnova will return in the future.
