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Flash Review 1, 7-24:
Technique Serving Art
Yet Another Schooling from the Bolshoi
By Susan Yung
Copyright 2000 Susan Yung
Maria Alexandrova
and the Bolshoi corps in "Giselle." Photo courtesy Lincoln Center
Festival.
The Bolshoi Ballet showed
the depth of its ranks in its second cast of "Giselle" yesterday
at the State Theater, with rising star Svetlana Lunkina in the lead
role and Nikolai Tsiskaridze as Albrecht. As Tsiskaridze took to
the air, beat his legs, landed on a bent leg, and sent the free
leg into a battement up to his nose while arching nearly into a
backbend, some concepts came to mind as my jaw dropped to my chest
in recognition of the freakish convergence of factors I had witnessed:
genetic selection from a huge pool, history, the recognition of
a national treasure, and training.
"Giselle" is, of course,
not the ballet to see if pyrotechnics are your fancy, and it is
a bit irresponsible to lead with their mention. The title role is
an elegant, complex one requiring infinitely nuanced gesture and
strong acting, from coltish maiden to sorrowful spirit. Lunkina,
a young star who earned the role of Giselle in her debut year (1997)
in Bolshoi Theatre director Vladimir Vasiliev's new production,
recovered from an injury earlier this week to dance a sublime, strong
Giselle with no hint of impediment. She finessed the ungainly sections
(ballet boot camp, demonstrating solid basics and strong muscle
and skeletal structure) such as the requisite stage traverse while
hopping on one toe and hummingbird-quick or cat's paw-soft footwork,
but the most memorable phrases showcase her disproportionately long
limbs unreeling -- in exquisite arm and hand motions and infinite
developpes in second, ending with a perfectly pointed foot. With
the confidence that age can bring, I anticipate a great deal more
command of the stage from Lunkina. She's just warming up.
Returning to Tsiskaridze:
There is actually a limited amount of dancing done by the men, although
both he and Hilarion, the gatekeeper (danced Sunday by Ruslan Pronin)
are sentenced to dance to death by the Wilis, the spirits of maidens
who died before their wedding day (evidently bitter, but who can
blame them?). Tsiskaridze possesses a narrow lower body; his slender
legs serve to emphasize his shapely feet. In one scene, he enters
wearing a cloak, and simply walking, tendus his foot past the parting
fabric. In another, he executes a phenomenally quick enchainment
with multiple beats; these and similar details display a rare refinement.
Maria Alexandrova danced
the role of Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, a challenging part that
taps on male bravura to underscore her great powers -- dramatically
clapping her feet together in beats -- as well as silken bourrees.
Alexandrova's lyrical sense of musicality truly drew out the life
in one passage. Pronin, in the second guy part, danced a characterization
that required less strict classicism and more of his amiable acting
ability.
The gorgeous costumes
were designed by Hubert Givenchy (with Philippe Venet). The palette
of the corps' costumes in the first act was striking: unpredictable
lavender tights on the men, ravishingly deep-toned velvets on the
royalty, and bold primaries for the FOGs (friends of Giselle). And
the classic, white, ankle-length tutu worn by the women in the second
act is practically archetypal, an indelible image when the corps
formed a colonnade or diagonal.
The Russians have demonstrated
recently why they still claim ballet as their own art form. The
aggressively conservative line the Bolshoi uses is pure classicism
at its best, with a geometric beauty of form and function, though
they are not above throwing a curveball and contorting that line
to showcase an individual dancer's gifts. They dance with a purity
of technique that is the eloquent and obedient servant to artistic
motive.
For a review of the first
cast of "Giselle" see Flash Review, 7-19: Strasvichay!
For additional coverage of the Bolshoi, see Flash
Review 1, 7-20: Bravo Bolshoi! and Flash
Interview, 7-21: Vasiliev! For more on the Bolshoi, visit the
company's web site.
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