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Come, Join the Dance! Cleveland
Blossom Music Center
08/20/2011 - & August 21, 2011
Matthew Pierce: Night
Elliot Goldenthal: Othello Duet
Arvo Pärt: After the Rain
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Pas De Deux
Igor Stravinsky: Violin Concerto
Members of the Joffrey Ballet
Jung-Min Amy Lee (violin), The Cleveland Orchestra, Tito Muñoz (conductor)
J.Wozniak, A.Holden & D. Agnoletti (© Herbert Migdoll)
Almost every seat in the Pavilion was taken and the lawn area was full on the first dry and comfortably cool evening in weeks, but ballet tends to bring out the best and the worst in audiences and this was no exception. Men accompanying wives and girlfriends end up snickering or snoring while little girls who slip on little pink ballet slippers and expect the Sugar Plum Fairy are disappointed when dancers garbed in storm-grey unitards take the stage. Thankfully the somnambulant men were elbowed by their female companions, but errant children laughing uncontrollably and talking full voice have no business in a public venue until they learn manners- and I’m not referring to small children but to those aged 8-12 seated in the Pavilion.
The orchestra was located in the pit area, making it impossible to see exactly who was handling the solos but under the baton of Maestro Muñoz the group was an equal partner with the dancers on the stage. The sound was perfectly balanced as a compliment to the dancers, supporting but never overpowering.
The first three dances of the evening were more modern numbers, the first a group of 12, the second a duet and the third a trio of couples. It quickly became clear that although the ballerinas were more than capable, the men of the Joffrey Ballet were the stars this night. Lithe, supple and strong they were so much more than mere partners there to present the women in an attitude sur la pointe. Granted, the choreography often gave them unique opportunities but each of them made the most of their time on stage. Especially impressive was Dylan Gutierrez, opening the performance as the aptly named Tall Man in Night and as the partner of April Daly in the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. In the latter, I found myself waiting for his variations and comparing him, quite favorably, to Peter Martins whom I saw dance this with the NYC Ballet years ago. The violin solo was lovely as were the entire evening’s keyboard passages played by Joela Jones.
J.-M. A. Lee (© Roger Mastroianni)
The featured piece was the Stravinsky Violin Concerto featuring violinist Jung-Min Amy Lee and danced by two couples and the ensemble of 16. Balanchine’s choreography opens with 1 female and 4 male dancers standing motionless together in the symbol of the letter “I” for Igor. As the dancers spring around the stage they often form the letter “V” in tribute to the violin. The women dressed in black, the men in black and white, they appeared as musical notes floating across a page. Abstract in nature, as were most of Mr. B’s works, the choreography was angular, with crab turns, handstands, much prancing around and even a little square dance, but this piece stands as Balanchine’s gift to celebrate the life of his good friend, Igor Stravinsky, who had died the year before this ballet’s premiere in 1972 (he liked the music so much that this was the second ballet he choreographed to it!).
Unfortunately, due to the pit’s positioning at the bottom of the Pavilion, the wonderful violin of Ms. Lee was difficult to discern. I never consider the Stravinsky Concerto as much about beautiful sound as it is about technical prowess and I would have loved to watch Ms. Lee’s playing. What we could hear was excellent and I hope that we get an encore performance soon.
Suzanne Torrey
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