City Ballet's "Carmina Burana" at the Birch North Park Theatre

"Kingdom of the Shades" Makes It a Smart Double Feature

Dance Criticism by Kris Eitland Wednesday, March 12, 2008

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication," Leonardo da Vinci said.  And for 15 years Elizabeth and Steven Wistrich, City Ballet's resident choreographer and artistic director, have taken that expression to heart.  City Ballet's stripped down versions of the "Kingdom of the Shades" from La Bayadère and a new setting of Carmina Burana presented Sunday at the Birch North Park Theatre were simple, sophisticated and sexy.  City Ballet is a small company with a big Balanchine aesthetic that rejects the Disneyfied approach to ballet.

Carmina Burana is a theatrical epic based on poems found in an ancient monastery.  The lyrics are spicy, but unless you're fluent in Latin or old German, you'd never know they were written by a bunch of defrocked monks who liked to drink, gamble and lust after young women.

Ms. Wistrich's version was dark and edgy, and it didn't step too far away from John Butler's version from 1959.  Like Butler, Wistrich challenged the dancers with difficult choreography and timing.  Both men and women had to be athletic and delicate at the same time.  And the movement was big.  It had to be big to stand up to the Carl Orff's soaring score.

Burana is a crowd pleaser everywhere.  It's a concert hall favorite that's crossed over into rock-n-roll, commercials, and countless films such as Excalibur, The 300, and my favorite, Jackass.  Written in 1937, Burana employs soloists, a chorus of more than 200, and an orchestra of 200 plus.  In a perfect world, City Ballet could afford a live orchestra and chorus, but the recorded version sounded good and fueled powerful dancing.

In the tavern scene, five men - Grigori Arakelyn, Evegeny Lushkin, Daniel Salvador, David Levy and Taurean Green - slammed beer steins onto a small table and whirled into intrepid leaps and manly horseplay.  The Court of Love section has the most explicit lyrics, of course they're in Medieval Latin, but not much was lost in translation.  A highlight was the Pas de Deux with willowy Tara Formanek and guest dancer Arakelyan, who seemed to be a God in a shiny gold tunic.  To exit, they walked off as one, their bodies pressed tightly together and legs stretching in unison.

Ariana Samuelsson was on fire with twisting extensions in a red peek-a-boo sheath dress.  And things really heated up in "Curca mea pectora," a song which roughly translates to "the gods consent to grant my spirit's fond intent that she depart my company unchained from her virginity..."  Janica Smith and Lushkin portrayed a couple in a medieval court struggling to maintain proper decorum.  As Lushkin got closer, Smith flicked her foot and swept her hand, and as he pushed her into a spin, she reached out with her hands, as if trying to catch her breath.  In her solo, "Si puer cum puellula," Smith leaned back till she was folded in half, as a baritone and chorus sang "our imaginations run wild as we ponder what happens when a lad and maid slip away..."  Again, we didn't hear those words and didn't need to.  Smith's body language was more than enough and carnal images abounded.

Tara Formanek in Carmina Burana

Formanek was also stunning in her solo "In trutina," where she contracted, turned, and leapt onto silent feet; she had to choose love or chasity, and finally chose love.

The program opened with "The Kingdom of the Shades" from La Bayadère, Petipa's dreamy tragedy from 1877.  Over the years there have been some giant productions.  There are old photos of dancers dwarfed by sets of the Taj Mahal and avoiding a live elephant clomping across the stage.  City Ballet's approach was authentic, but more refined.  All eyes were on the dancers.  And there were no notes in the program, so here's a quick summary to get you up to speed.

Solor and Nikiya are lovers, but the Rajah wants Solar to marry his daughter Gamzatti.  Gamzatti sends Nikiya a gift basket that contains a poison snake.  Nikiya dies and Solar grieves.  City Ballet skipped all that and had us jump in after the grieving Solor puffed on his opium hookah, so there was some confusion.  I heard mutterings of "huhs?" in the voice of Scoobydoo and furious program flipping, so in future renditions, they should keep a few seconds of the pipe section then start the dream section; it has a gorgeous harp introduction and it helps understand the exotic story.  The score's by Ludwig Minkus.

In his dream, Solar visits his love in the great beyond, The Kingdom of the Shades.  As in Giselle with dead virgins called Willis, this ballet has young ghosts called Shades.  Large companies may have 32 to 48 in stiff white tutus step into a serpentine chain, repeating the same step, tendu, arabesque for an eternity.  City's corps filled the small stage with 16, but the affect was still hypnotic and beautiful, and just as eerie.  Soft gauze looped from their heads, arms, and wrists.

Green embodied the lovesick Solar, and Smith portrayed a conflicted Nikiya.  Her deathly expressions were captivating and drew you into the world beyond.  Both Green and Smith were on their game Sunday, particularly in lifts and spins that were executed with confident ease.  The couple was also tantalizing in the iconic Scarf Pas de Deux, where they didn't quite touch and danced at a distance.  The fascination was the illusion that Green could support Smith with only a scarf.

City Ballet's 15th Anniversary Season continues with Don Quixote, May 9-11 at the Spreckels Theatre.

City Ballet's
"Carmina Burana" Performances

Carmina Burana and La Bayadere
	Birch North Park Theatre Friday, March 7, 2008 8:00pm Saturday, March 8, 2008 8:00pm Sunday, March 9, 2008 2:30pm Tickets: $29 - $39 - $49 - $59
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