Blessed be those who make things happen in the art world. One such is Christina Lyon, who, after a successful career as a dancer with American Ballet Theater, channelled her passion for the arts into a new gala concept, beginning in 2013 with a performance in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Alongside dance, the gala includes musical performances and an art exhibit. There was even one performance that mixed the two: an extraordinary symphony by William Close, performed by him on his self-designed Earth Harp. The visual effect of this was as striking as the created soundscape, the illuminated strings reaching out over the audience. Guitarist Marcin played an exciting solo, and accompanied UK Latin Ballroom Champions Anton Sober and Patrizia Ranis in the Habanera from Carmen; they returned later to dance a sinuous Rumba. Megan Glover opened the show with Winter from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, played on tenor sax.
It was a joy to hear the great countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński, as his performances sell out very quickly and I have never managed to get a ticket. His youthful charm and wit have garnered him a significant following worldwide, but the core of his appeal is, of course, his beautiful singing, with a wonderfully full, rounded tone imbued with artistry and emotion. Listening to him, even on recordings, is like looking at liquid gold. He gave a succulent account of Vivaldi’s Vedro Con Mio Diletto, and his duet with dancer Braylon Browner (more of him later) to Schubert’s Ave Maria soared.
Two solos by Jade-Hale Christofi, Mercury and Take me to Church, were well danced by Vsevelod Maievskyi of English National Ballet and Nikolas Gaifullin of New Orleans Ballet Theater respectively.
I think I am right in saying that the only piece by Juliano Nunes that has been seen in the UK is his lovely Interlinked for Birmingham Royal Ballet. I was delighted to see two of his works on the programme here, Swan Lake, made in collaboration with Youth America Grand Prix and featuring fifty dancers who have competed, and in contrast, a stunning Romeo and Juliet pas de deux for the superlative Kayla Mak and Braylon Browner. Browner is only nineteen, and to have the mature level of artistic sensibility that he conveys is quite extraordinary. Both he and Mak are physically gifted but there is so much more going on here: both are able, through artistry, to send emotion out into the very back of the auditorium, and it’s thrilling to watch. Mak, as part of the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, had shown in the Linbury the previous week that she is an accomplished ballet dancer as well as a contemporary one.
Many will be familiar with the hypnotic patterns of Murmuration company from You Tube. Choreographer Sadeck Berrabah produces amazing shapes from his dancers’ limbs, clearly seen in his appropriately lace-like Dentelle, and in Into the Wild.
London always welcomes dancers from New York City Ballet, especially in the much-loved pas de deux from Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes. Principal dancer Emma von Enck gave a sparkling account of the fleet footwork and quirky salutes of the female variation, and Andres Zuniga from the NYCB corps acquitted himself very well in his solo and the coda. A little strengthening of his partnering capabilities will be easy to achieve and will aid his upward path in the company.
I liked Un Petit Depart, choreographed by Emma Evelein and performed by some very impressive dancers from Rambert. The piece, well-made and engaging, clearly conveyed life’s journey through arrivals and departures.
The Royal Ballet was well-represented. In Mauro Bigonzetti’s pas de deux from Caravaggio with Maievskyi, Melissa Hamilton confirmed yet again her rightful place as a Royal Ballet principal. The final pas de deux from Onegin, heartrending as it is in the light of what has gone before, held up surprisingly well as a stand-alone piece, especially as danced by Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales. Hayward is like a diamond swathed in gauze, shimmering but softly seductive and resolute at the core. Corrales has the impressive ability to keep evolving as a dance actor, never complacent, always seeking greater depth.
The loudest cheers were for Shale Wagman and Viola Pantuso in Flames of Paris. Pantuso, newly promoted to soloist at the Royal Ballet, is a neatly fleet-footed dancer with lovely extensions, plenty of bouncy ballon and secure turns, and everything is in place for a stellar future for her. Wagman has been a thrilling virtuoso since his teens, and during his time in Munich he worked insightfully to bring greater artistry to his work, achieving sleeker extensions and a more expressive upper body. There will be no stopping him at Paris Opera Ballet. Bags of charm top the technique and talent.
I cannot finish without mentioning the utterly adorable Spencer Collins, winner of the Hope Award at Youth America Grand Prix. Only twelve years old, he danced Franz’s solo from Coppélia with the aplomb and technique of a far more experienced dancer. And what a charmer! My heart melted.
