Pacific Northwest Ballet
June 1, 2006
It would have been difficult to comprehend the significance of Peter Boal’s decision last year to conclude his first season as Artistic Director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet with George Balanchine’s three-part 1967 ballet Jewels, but seeing the company perform the piece on opening night last Thursday, it seemed the perfect culmination of a year in which Seattle audiences saw the company transformed into a much more expressive and artistically relevant version of its old, albeit solid, self.
In a season marked by programming that often stretched the parameters not only of the PNB but of ballet company repertoire itself, closing the season with a full-length Balanchine work may have seemed like hedging one’s bets. But Jewels is an unusual ballet; contained within its Baroque structure are qualities of movement that demand a range of emotion and drama seldom required in Balanchine’s non-narrative work. Watching each segment of the piece unfold, you could see the effect that performing a wide range of newly-acquired works -- from Jerome Robbins’ In the Night to Susan Marshall’s Kiss and Marco Goecke’s Mopey -- has had upon the company over the past year. What is more, the three-part piece provided the perfect showcase for the Ballet’s three major principal dancers; Louise Nadeau danced the lead role in Emeralds, Ariana Lallone in Rubies, and Patricia Barker – who announced her retirement at the end of next season -- in Diamonds.
Jewels was inspired by Balanchine’s visit to the private collection of Van Cleef and Arpels jewelers in New York. Did he find solace, during this tumultuous decade of social upheaval, in the permanence of precious gems? Perhaps. But more likely, he recognized something in their spectacular combination of brilliance and symmetry that he had always strived to create in his dances.
Emeralds, with its dream-like languor and restrained elegance, harkens back to an earlier, more classical ballet style. Spare but not minimalist, it is set to a swelling but less than dramatic arrangement of compositions by Fauré. Louise Nadeau, paired with Christophe Maraval, radiated feminine beauty throughout her performance, dancing what may someday be remembered as her most definitive role with the company. The tone of Emeralds is strangely muted, the overall feeling somewhat remote; the composition, which ends with three men remaining on stage with their arms raised upwards, appears deliberately unresolved. As the rest of the dancers slowly exit the stage, we are left to contemplate passing of an older, European ballet tradition.
Rubies, set to Stravinsky’s Capriccio for piano and orchestra embodies the composer’s jazziest and most exuberant avant-garde tendencies. Beneath the high-pitched brass refrains and tempo shifts we hear the stops and starts of lusty American melodies, and Balanchine’s movement, however abstract, has an almost dance-hall-like swagger. Ariana Lallone physically towered over the company, exuding her familiar charisma and exoticism, but this performance – like so many of her others this year – revealed a sparkling and almost carefree sense of humor. Jonathan Porretta danced his role in the dazzling, over-the-top manner we have come to expect from him, but for the first time his penchant for showmanship seemed a distraction. His solos, however arresting, made him appear out of sync with his partner, Kaori Nakamura, and the rest of the dancers on stage. Still, it was enjoyable to watch him execute his moves with such smiling, cocksure self-confidence.
The work is a joyful celebration of Balanchine and Stravinsky’s adopted country. America’s robust energy may have unleashed their artistic sensibilities, but one wonders if they also recognized something of their native land in the rhythms and improvisation of jazz.
Diamonds was awaited with considerable anticipation that night. Days earlier, Patricia Barker had announced that she would retire at the end of next season after 25 years with the company. While I was expecting these circumstances to create a significant and memorable performance, I was not prepared for the dramatic spectacle that would follow. Coming at the end of a season in which she did not figure as prominently as she had in years past, it was a triumphant return to center stage. Paired with the intense and emotional Stanko Milov, Barker gave what was likely the most expressive and unrestrained performance of career. Watching her, I was reminded of Yeats’ famous question, “How can you tell the dancer from the dance?” The Pacific Northwest Ballet has had many great principal dancers over the years, yet Barker remains in a class by herself.
Set to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.3 in D Major, Diamonds – like all ballets set to the composer’s music -- concerns the fulfillment of romantic longing. With its brass flourishes manifest in Balanchine’s sweeping gestures, it also pays homage to the choreographer’s Russian beginnings.
In the past year, Peter Boal has taken a ballet company with a tradition of excellence and turned it into one that can now perform with more feeling and greater nuance. He has done this, as we know, by adding unorthodox new works to the repertoire and remounting long-established ones with excellent casts. With Jewels, however, he demonstrated that he can pair the 20th Century’s greatest choreographer with the PNB’s biggest stars to create the season’s most satisfying evening of dance.
