A Nut to Squirrel Away

Anastasia Barsukova. Photo: Igor Siggul

Around the year-end holidays, we tend to settle into traditions and habits, and dance's one uncrackable tradition is The Nutcracker. The big two, at least through this year, are Balanchine's at New York City Ballet, and Alex Ratmansky's at BAM, which moves to California next year. A number of smaller companies mount productions, and Gelsey Kirkland Ballet's has risen surprisingly quickly as an alternative to the biggies. (She established her Tribeca-based school just four years ago and in recent years has mounted three or so ambitious annual productions.)

This production, choreographed primarily by Michael Chernov after Vasali Vainonen, takes few shortcuts other than using recorded music. The steps for the group scenes are smartly kept simple, garnering the basic desired effects. The costumes (also by Chernov) look of high quality, even from the close distance afforded by the wide house at Pace's Schimmel Center. With its shallow stage, there is nowhere to hide at such a proximity; jitters, sweat, and cheap fabrics could be easily detected by viewers, and the costumes fared well in this test (as did the jitters and sweat).

Chinese Ambassadors. Photo: Igor Siggul

At the Saturday matinee, Anastasia Barsukova danced the role of Marie, in this case both as a child and an adult (and shown above as a Flute from another cast). She impressed with her strong basics—balances, extensions, pirouettes—as well as in the fine tuning of her head positions and delicate hand gestures. A radiant Anderson Souza played her Nutcracker Prince, commendable for his partnering and the athletic sweep of his grand jétés. Of the many secondary roles, of special note were Katia Raj and Shelby Chaney as the Arabian Ambassadors, both long of limb and emanating a magnetic intensity, and an energetic Galen Bolard and Souza again, as the Russian dolls. 

The large group scenes felt well populated—no scrimping on the personnel—including the party scene, which the tiny Charles Klepner stole with his adorableness; the mouse/soldier battle, the snowflake dance, the angel scene, and the "Prince's Kingdom: The Theater of Life" scene with international dances. Chernov incorporated the dancers into the stage set by artfully arranging them in an upstage niche during the final scene. It's just one more indication of making the most of the company's assets, its dancers. Even the "that's theater" moments—seeing a stagehand haul the rope that moved the streetlamp, hearing the mesh-mounted Christmas tree unfold with a thud—had their charms, given the context.

With tickets ranging from $39—59, it's not the cheapest (ABT's tickets began at $20, but again, that's not an option starting next winter), but nowhere near the gulp-inducing range at the Koch Theater for NYCB's: $71—260. But it's the best production if you want your children to connect with the dancers; proximity and overcoming human vulnerability are its strengths. Kudos to Kirkland and company for making a real go at enriching ballet life in New York City. In May, the company takes on no less than a full-length Don Quixote.

Gelsey Kirkland Ballet, Taking the Classics Seriously

Cristian Laverde Koenig and Dawn Gierling in Leaves Are Fading pas. Photo: Eduardo Patino

What place is there in contemporary dance for classical ballet dating from the mid-19th century? Gelsey Kirkland Ballet's A Showcase of Classical Styles raised this question in its recent Symphony Space performances, which also included a duet from Anthony Tudor's The Leaves Are Fading, which Tudor set on Kirkland in 1975. That piece's relevance is not in doubt, particularly as danced by the gifted Dawn Gierling with clarity, partnered ably by Cristian Laverde Koenig. Gierling possesses both great flexibility and preternatural composure that translates as a whiff of hauteur, an often handy tool for a ballerina.

The balance of the program included the light comedy Cavalry Halt (Petipa), with set elements and red boots for most, and excerpts from Raymonda (Petipa), Ballebille (Bournonville), Flames of Paris (Vainonen), and a Pas de Quatre (Dolin). Costumes are traditional, elaborate, and of varying fit and finish. This raises one of the main interpretive factors—the audience is so close, some people not more than a few feet from the stage—that details such as safety pins and frozen smiles are unavoidably detectable. The proximity indeed forces the dancers to be even more precise and technically sound, but it soberly reveals cracks where they exist.
 

Dawn Gierling and Anderson Souza in Cavalry Halt. Photo: Luis Pons

In Raymonda Suite, Johnny Almeida as Jean found his center at the right moment, easing through five turns (and, adorably, fist pumping upon exiting the stage, visible thanks to non-existent wings), and complemented the elegant India Rose, in the title role. Bournonville's Ballebille, from the third act of Napoli, is a good indication of a classical aesthetic guidepost, and the dancers handled it well. Pas de Quatre, a perfumy high romantic work, was danced by four women in Giselle tutus with delicacy and great intent. But its seriousness and nearly Manneristic style of ballet evoked the Trockaderos, with their over-the-top earnestness. It's just a sign of the times, but it does raise questions of relevance, at least for this moment.

Cavalry Halt comprised the entire second act. This humorous work combines a romance (Gierling and the fresh-faced Anderson Souza), a platoon of soldiers led by the gangly, hilarious Alexander Mays, and a saucy beauty eager to catch the eye of any male within range (Katrina Crawford, radiant and dramatically accomplished). Gierling again impressed with her pliant spine and high extensions, although her placid face felt somewhat flat among the pointedly exaggerated expressions of the rest.

Kirkland certainly hasn't shied away from pursuing technically rigorous repertory for the company of 23. The dancers have been trained to a relatively high level of polish. (That said, the requisite, repeating mens' double tours en l'air did not impress; it remains a true test that is failed as often as not, even among the top companies. Reason enough to keep it in the canon.) The company performed a full Nutcracker last December, and has planned a Sleeping Beauty for May at the Schimmel Center. And when will contemporary ballet choreography make an appearance in the repertory? In any case, the ambition that drove Kirkland to her best performances is now serving her company and the classics, with promising results.