(A review of The Sarasota Ballet's "Masters of Movement" program; additional performances Saturday, Dec. 20 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.)
For those who’ve been along for The Sarasota Ballet’s steady rise to fame on the coattails of choreographer Frederick Ashton’s work over the past decade or two, this year’s company has a different look and feel. More than a few familiar audience favorites are no longer around and in their stead are a batch of fresh, young faces whose earnestness, athleticism and fervor make up for a certain lack of seasoning. The overall effect is less individuality and more uniformity, but even if they lack some artistic maturity, this bunch has definitely got game.
Director Iain Webb cut them no slack in programming two challenging ballets by George Balanchine for the ballet’s third program of the season, “Masters of Movement.” One -- “Mozartiana,” set to Suite No. 4 by the choreographer’s favorite composer, Tchaikovsky, and created as a 1981 farewell to his muse Suzanne Farrell -- was a company premiere. The other, “Divertimento No. 15” from 1935 is one of Balanchine’s early “plotless” ballets, a technically demanding study of classical form, and a pure expression of music as movement.
While the work of the “father of American ballet” and former New York City Ballet ballet master is now performed by companies far and wide, it is not always performed well. His devilishly fast footwork, changes of direction and neoclassical novelties of body angle -- which often derived from his detailed and expert readings of a score -- require dancers who are both technically adept and musically interpretive, and who emphasize precision over personality.
To complicate the challenge further, with an announcement at the beginning of the evening, audience members learned that one of the only two female principals returning from last year, Jessica Assef, was unable to dance, leaving the other, Marijana Dominis, to step in last minute as the female lead in “Mozartiana” (and causing a shuffle of other understudies to fill her assigned roles).
What could have been a recipe for disaster instead became a challenge adeptly met. From the reverent and solemn opening “Preghiera” (“prayer”), through the unconventional partnering of the “Theme and Variations” to the luminous finale, Dominis was a pitch-perfect mix of light on her feet and languid with her upper body and, unlike some of her younger counterparts, she refused to rush, filling every note of the music to the fullest.
With principal Luke Schaufuss also missing in action, the company was down to two male principals as well, so Ricardo Rhodes did double duty as the male lead in both Balanchine works. And despite the fact that he is one of the few remaining veteran dancers -- he joined the company in 2007 --Rhodes executed both roles and the frenetic footwork of his solo in the former with finesse and the energy of someone half his age.
Also to be commended was newcomer and soloist Gus Payne, who came to the company from the Royal Birmingham Ballet this year and who danced the “Gigue” in Mozartiana, a variation NYCB dancer Daniel Ulbricht once likened to “dancing in a Rubik’s cube.” The lengthy solo, during which the audience gets a view of his steps from all angles, was appropriately buoyant and lively. Oh and let’s not forget the four sweet young things from The Margaret Barbieri Conservatory -- Charlie Barron, Qwynn Dureska, Katherine Palka and Aurora Shifrin -- who made their debut on the big stage and were as well rehearsed and polished as their professional peers.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Sarasota Ballet program without a little Ashton, nor a Webb-designed triple bill without an upbeat finale to send the crowd home happy. The program closed with Ashton’s “Jazz Calendar,” a suite of dances representing the seven days of the week, inspired by the nursery rhyme “Monday’s Child.” (“Monday’s child is fair of face…”) Nearly the entire company got a chance to don one of the colorful and fanciful costumes by Derek Jarman and show a bit more personality and histrionics than the Balanchine allowed.
It was obvious they had a lot of fun doing it, but the real star of the piece may have been the members of the Sarasota Orchestra (under the baton of Ormsby Wilkins) who made the Sarasota Opera House feel like a nightclub with their splendid rendition of Sir Richard Rodney Bennet’s jazzy score.
The company is clearly in a rebuilding phase and it will be interesting to follow along and see which of these new dancers emerge to fill or outgrow the shoes of their predecessors. Right now they don’t know what they don’t know, which allows them to be fierce and fearless -- and quite fun to watch.
