Colorado Ballet MasterWorks - Tippet, Balanchine, Kylián

[Sophoife]

So I travelled from Albury, Australia to Denver, Colorado to see this mixed bill, as Yosvani Ramos, former ENB and AusBallet principal, was to retire.

 

The programme was all new to me, and I was favourably impressed. Thanks to Yosvani I was able to see two shows, and can now report.

 

The first piece was Clark Tippet's Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 which was made for ABT in 1988 and showed off a small, but beautifully trained company. The soloist was Benjamin Baker, who produced a lovely tone from the pit, and was deservedly applauded enthusiastically as he took his on-stage bows. The costumes, by Dain Marcus, showed tutus cut shorter in front that moved most beautifully as the dancers did, with the men's doublets and tights a little more subdued. Lighting by Jennifer Tipton was well reproduced. The soloists wore a turquoise blue, brilliant red, bright pink, and the lead female soloist was described as purple but the effect with the iridescent blue-green bodice was more that of a peacock.

 

Tippet shows off the classical vocabulary with some diva tosses of the head and arms; all the soloist men did was lift and present, hardly any dancing to speak of. Ramos and his long-time partner Dana Benton (gorgeous line, also retiring this season) appeared from behind the yellowish-green clad corps and didn't dazzle (not that sort of piece) but glowed. He presented his ballerina to her best advantage and it was just lovely. Notable was Kenny Allen whose elevation and joie de vivre stood out. I'm afraid I skipped the rest of the programme on the first night as I went to dinner instead.

 

On Sunday afternoon, The Day, the Tippet was again delightful, and I'd be happy to see it again. On this occasion, the pink couple appeared to be having the best fun, despite the male dancer clearly not being as neat in his footwork as could be desired. He shone for other reasons. Overall it was quite reminiscent in parts of Balanchine, with a touch of Cranko thrown in (those rushing promenaded jetés in act 1 of Onegin).

 

The second piece was Balanchine's Prodigal Son to the eponymous score by Prokofiev. It's an oddity for me, as I don't really like Balanchine, and particularly not his narrative works. This, however, was created for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1929 and almost completely changed my mind.

 

The story is from the parable in the Gospel of Luke, and focuses on the rebellious son who is ensnared by a Siren, robbed by her followers, and eventually returns, to be forgiven by his (tall, bearded, noble-looking) father (Domenico Luciani, born and trained in Naples). The Siren, Asuka Sasaki, was by turns slinky, seductive, arrogant, compliant, and finally dismissive and sneering. Excellent portrayal.

 

The son, of course, was Yosvani Ramos. Stripped and humiliated by the Siren and her followers, he looked damn good for 43! In the first scene we were treated to some wonderful jumping and Ramos-signature turns, in the final scene he was dragging himself along the stage and then on his knees, eventually hauling himself up to his forgiving father's embrace.

 

Flowers, applause, tears, cheers, and a sudden outbreak of bright red streamers shooting across the stage from both wings. A fitting farewell.

 

The third and final piece was Jiří Kylián's Sinfonietta, to the score of the same name by Leoš Janáček. The fun touch was the brass section out in what in the ROH would be the side stalls circle areas, fist-pumping after a bright, clear performance.

 

It's meant to express "the contemporary free man, his spiritual beauty and joy, his strength, courage and determination to fight for victory". It does. The final tableau, dancers facing the backcloth which has brightened to an Impressionistic sunrise, arms raised in salutation or celebration, will linger in my mind.

 

So three pieces, all new to me, all enjoyed (and I was dubious beforehand about the Balanchine), and well worth the trip.

 

As a final note, Colorado Ballet's AD is Gil Boggs, former ABT principal, who told me he had thought long and hard before choosing to add the Balanchine to his company's repertoire, especially for Ramos' retirement. All three works on the programme credited ABT with providing the sets and costumes.

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by Sophoife
Typos

[Jan McNulty]

Thanks for your report @Sophoife.  I'm so glad Yosvani's final performance went well.

 

I always enjoyed watching his performances with ENB and was lucky to meet him in London last May when he was guest teaching Northern Ballet (a class that the dancers clearly enjoyed).

 

Best wishes to Yosvani for the future.

[alison]

Yes, indeed.  It's good to know that his career went on so long after he left ENB: I just wish we'd been able to see more of it here.  Thanks, Sophoife - when are you coming here?

 

(Oh, and can I say how annoyed I was that, of the cancelled 2020 Royal Ballet bill, the piece I really wanted to see, Prodigal Son, hasn't been rescheduled?   In fact, there's a contribution I can make to another thread ... 

[Sophoife]

@alisonI'm sitting on my terrace looking out at a garden, in an ibis Styles on the Cromwell Road - which I can't hear!!!! About 100m from Gloucester Road tube station, couldn't be more convenient 🤣

 

I genuinely enjoyed Prodigal Son, even though the Tippet and the Kylián appealed to me more.

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, Sophoife said:

@alisonI'm sitting on my terrace looking out at a garden, in an ibis Styles on the Cromwell Road - which I can't hear!!!! About 100m from Gloucester Road tube station, couldn't be more convenient 🤣

 

I genuinely enjoyed Prodigal Son, even though the Tippet and the Kylián appealed to me more.

Fantastic to hear the news from Colorado, Sophoife, and glad Yosvani’s farewell show was a great success. I’ve heard of Tippett’s Bruch Violin Concerto no 1 from the 80s ago but never managed to see it live; I’m glad another company is doing it as well. Prodigal and Sinfonietta well known from other companies presenting it and Yosvani perfect for tour de force acting and dancing role of the Prodigal Son. Impressive long career and achievements he’s attained! Pity I couldn’t see it but sounds like it was an incredible and marvellous evening. Enjoy the rest of your trip and all the other shows! 😊🎭💃

[alison]

Am I imagining it or did ABT bring the Tippett to the Coliseum way back when they came last century?  I'm pretty certain they had something by him.

[miliosr]

On 26/04/2023 at 08:51, alison said:

Am I imagining it or did ABT bring the Tippett to the Coliseum way back when they came lasty century?  I'm pretty certain they had something by him.

Clark Tippet created Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 for ABT:

American Ballet Theatre - Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 (abt.org)

 

Bruch Violin Concerto was in-and-out of the repertory rotation during the 1990s so it stands to reason that the company took it with them on tours. (The third section of Bruch Violin Concerto was the closing performance on the American Ballet Theatre Now DVD, which was filmed in the latter half of the 1990s. It's also readily available on YouTube.)

 

The real mystery is why we haven't seen it at ABT in at least a dozen years. Colorado Ballet has staged it at least four times and the now-defunct Ballet San Jose and Barcelona Ballet both presented it while they were still operational. ABT still performs Tippet's Some Assembly Required. (In fact, they performed it in Chicago in April!)

 

Whatever the problem is with ABT programming Bruch Violin Concerto, I can only hope that new artistic director Susan Jaffe can resolve the matter. Jaffe, after all, was part of the original 1980s cast.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by miliosr