Passion, grace in dramatic ballets
Dancers raced across the stage in Pacific Northwest Ballet's repertory program "Points of View," debuting Thursday night, as if in chase or in fear of being caught. The three dramatic ballets that made up the evening all had a breathless, rushing quality, and all were danced with the abandon and grace typical of this vivid season, the first under artistic director Peter Boal. Though not as uniformly successful as last month's "Valentine," it was another reminder of this company's seemingly limitless potential.
The evening's world premiere, Dominique Dumais' "Time and other Matter," was its most uneven outing; the ballet may well need time for seasoning. Performed to music by David Lang, it has startlingly beautiful moments. Noelani Pantastico and Christophe Maraval danced a lyrical pas de deux that mixed anger and tenderness; Pantastico followed it with a willowy solo, as if blown by the same wind that wafted red leaves onto the stage (a pretty effect but ultimately distracting). Stacy Lowenberg, in a trio, had a wonderfully loose, slinky quality, with her long ponytail echoing her limbs.
But lead soloist Ariana Lallone too often seemed stranded, left with nothing to do but writhe in the silvery light or grip the textured wall that dominated the stage. A voice-over, speaking poetic but seemingly disconnected phrases, added little. In an evening titled "Points of View," it's not clear exactly what the narration in "Time and other Matter" meant to say; perhaps Dumais should let the dance speak for itself.
More successful was Val Caniparoli's "The Bridge," last seen at PNB in 1998. A dramatic, tragic ballet about two doomed lovers in war-torn Sarajevo, it features a repeated theme of the female partner gliding or sliding, as if skating on dangerously thin ice. The dance's five couples all found moments of poignancy. Louise Nadeau and Olivier Wevers, in their slow, romantic waltz together, seemed alone in the world.
George Balanchine's "La Valse" closed the evening on a high note. Though the female trio opening the ballet was a little ragged, the dance itself burst forth gloriously, gaining momentum as Ravel's music grew more and more feverish. Nadeau, a PNB veteran who's dancing beautifully this season, brought an enchanting delicacy to the role of the girl in white. Early in the ballet, dancing with the dashing Wevers, she preens happily, as if trying the poses out for the first time.
In her final waltz with Death (a black-clad Maraval), you see her visibly diminishing, her head sinking back in delicate horror. And the corps de ballet, tutus swirling, rises around her, whirling endlessly as the curtain goes down. It's part of Balanchine's magic that you believe that somewhere, they're dancing still.
Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725
or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com
Pacific Northwest Ballet, Thursday night, McCaw Hall