Atlanta Ballet: Don Quixote

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Robbie

I mentioned to a friend at work on Wednesday or Thursday how I wasn’t feeling excited about going to the ballet this weekend. It was purely my mood at the time, though, and had more to do with my general lack of interest in anything at all and nothing to do with my expectations. I wasn’t really able to shake that feeling by the time Saturday rolled around and I was worried because Atlanta Ballet tends to program their February show to be more accessible to a non-dance audience. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does generally mean that it will be an evening-length narrative ballet with nothing particularly avant or challenging for the audience. That, of course, means that if I wasn’t able to feel drawn into the work then I’d not be able to fall back on my general interest in the art as an art. Fortunately, just as children often have misgivings about taking a bath and then won’t get out of the tub until the water is cold and their skin has wrinkled, I found myself happily drawn into the show once “Don Quixote” began.
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Atlanta Ballet: Firebird

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Robbie

The evening began with a rather mediocre performance of Balanchine’s “Allegro Brillante.” The staging itself, I think, also detracted from the piece: I think that it would have looked better on a smaller stage or, perhaps, keeping the dancers closer to center. As it was, the stage often seemed to swallow the pastel and light-gray dancers. Had it been perfectly staged and performed, though, I’d still have found it dull. Like most people who enjoy ballet, I like a lot of Balanchine’s work but I also dislike a lot of Balanchine’s work. I suspect that there isn’t a perfect overlap between what interests a dancer about his work and what interests the audience and, with a large repertoire developed in near total absence of local competition, the disjunction between the two points of view leaves a lot of opportunity for audience disappointment.
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Atlanta Ballet: Gennadi’s Choice

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Robbie

Gennadi’s first choice for the evening was Marius Petipa’s “Paquita” with some tweaks for this particular staging. The costuming and stage design were both traditional, with tutus, tight pants, and a backdrop of a staircase in a grand ballroom. This is a piece that really lays bare the capabilities of a company: the legs and feet of the dancers are very exposed and there is a lot of coordinated ensemble work that makes any missteps pretty visible to the audience even if they aren’t familiar with the piece. There was some muddiness from the corps, with a dancer here and there being slightly off and one particular dancer seeming to be permanently a fraction of a beat behind the rest. The principles and demi-soloists, however, were all excellent, making the overall performance beautiful and enjoyable. Rachel Van Buskirk, in particular, handled the technical demands of the titular role most impressively. Unfortunately, the tech crew began fading the lights and lowering the curtain just before the final pose, so we only had a brief glimpse of the ending image.
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Atlanta Ballet: Carmina Burana

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Robbie

I remember seeing Atlanta Ballet’s production of David Bintley’s “Carmina Burana” when they staged it in 2013 and absolutely loving it. The choreographed movement isn’t super complex or exciting, but it is incredibly impressive that Bintley managed to pull three coherent stories out of the the collection of fairly random, raunchy poems in medieval vulgar Latin that Orff put to dramatic music. And the work is often hilarious and is entirely entertaining.
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Atlanta Ballet’s MAYhem: Kissed

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Robbie

Atlanta Ballet’s dancers really rose to all of the challenges of their spring concert, MAYhem: Kissed. A mixed repertoire show, the first two pieces were modern dance followed by some real ballet. It was a good mix of styles and I suspect that anyone who can appreciate dance created in the last 10 years could find something to enjoy in it.

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Atlanta Ballet: 20|20 Visionary

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Robbie

Despite some weaknesses on the front in the of the program, Atlanta Ballet’s March production, 20|20 Visionary, was generally good. A mixed repertoire program, all three pieces were commissioned by the company, although only one received its premiere with this program.
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Atlanta Ballet: Moulin Rouge® The Ballet

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Robbie

I did not expect to find Moulin Rouge® The Ballet to be of particularly high quality and my expectations were not betrayed. Unfortunately, neither of the narrative ballets programmed for this season appealed to me but, still, I wanted to go to at least one. I didn’t bother with this one the first time that they staged it, so it was new to me, and, unless you have a kid performing in it or you have a crush on Alessa Rogers, I can’t think of a single reason for a person to go to see the Princess and the Goblin. I’m sorry, I mean Twyla Tharpe’s™ the Princess and the Goblin© (patent pending).
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