The
Ballet Nacional de Cuba graced the stage of
the magnificent Auditorium Theatre recently
with their eclectic mix of academic purity,
extreme modern as well as Latin-flavored repertoire.
Though at first glance this seemed a bit disjointed,
there was something for everyone, providing
exposure to new avenues for those who were
previously only moved by one particular genre.
Renowned
prima ballerina, Alicia Alonso, who was born
in Havana in 1921, is the choreographer and
general director of this talented company.
Ms. Alonso, who was another George Balanchine
protege, founded the troupe in 1948 after
being previously selected to join the American
Ballet Theater in 1940. She has danced as
guest star all over the world and was the
first dancer of the Western Hemisphere to
perform in the Soviet Union. Ms. Alonso's
highly talented company celebrated its 55th
anniversary this year.
As
one who adores and never tires of the classics,
I was thrilled when BNDC chose to begin their
Chicago performance with Act 2 of probably
the most famous ballet of all time, Swan Lake.
With its heart-wrenchingly beautiful Tchaikovsky
score, this company brought such academic
purity and grace to the sad time-worn tale
of the bewitched swan and her prince. Almost
every classic move in ballet comes into play
in this all time favorite.
The second piece entitled, "Canto Vital",
was in as stark contrast as one could get
to the opening piece. Although all the moves
employed were basically classic ballet, a
child would have described this performance
as "four men jumping around in their
underwear". Not to belittle modern, or
art in general, the movement was beautifully
choreographed and accompanied by classic Mahler
ironically enough. (I must be irreverent for
a moment and repeat my companion's query as
to the inequity of no women appearing in their
underwear.)
The
last piece, "Blood Wedding" was
extremely creative and included the only twinges
of Latin dance. It was a story of infidelity
with the requisite sad ending that included
some flamenco and a most intriguingly danced
slow-motion fight/death scene for which the
non-stop applause throughout the evening really
crescendoed.
As
one who grew up watching entire ballets portraying
solely one entire story in an evening, i.e.
the "Nutcracker", it is quite unusual
to see a performance of three such extremely
different pieces. It did work well. The lovely
landmarked Auditorium Theatre was the perfect
setting for this technically perfect company.
All of the accompaniment was admirably recorded
by the Orquesta Sinfonica del Gran Teatro
de La Habana. Even though ballet budgets rarely
allow for the bygone luxury of a live orchestra
these days, the music was lovely. As this
was only this troupe's second visit to Chicago,
I certainly hope we get to see more of them.
