Ashley Knox and Renan Cerdeiro in "Nine Sinatra Songs," part of Miami City Ballet's "Firebird" program.
After the significant, first ever collaboration between Miami City Ballet and New World Symphony, “Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Monumental Collaboration” presented at the end of January, Miami City Ballet continued its series of "firsts" with the sold out Miami premiere of Balanchine’s “Firebird” presented at the Adrienne Arsht Ziff Opera house. Performances were this past weekend at the Kravis Center in Palm Beach, and you can catch it next weekend in Fort Lauderdale at the Broward Center.
Balanchine created the ballet in 1949, and for the first time, since its creation, the bird of fire was "flying south" as Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez, said in her pre-performance speech, to make MCB the first and only company to present "Firebird" other than New York City Ballet.
Miami City Ballet's production of "Firebird." Choreography by Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev.
Not only, was Lopez given permission from The Robbins Trust to present the ballet, she was also allowed to oversee the redesign of the production. The new “Firebird" was presented in an updated, colorful new production created by a dynamic dream team of designers comprised of Anya Klepikov for sets and costumes, James Ingalls for lighting and Wendall Harrington, (who is becoming a MCB regular) for creative design and projection, overseen by Lopez (who had danced many roles leading up to the lead in Balanchine’s earlier production of "Firebird").
The scenic design and costumes for "Firebird" paid homage to Russian folk tales and the vibrant colors and intricacy of the Diaghilev Ballet Russes as set designer, Klepikov had desired. The front drop had the saturated color palette of Russian black lacquered boxes with the ever dominant "bird of fire" motif. The elaborate and elegant drop was an apt beginning to this vibrant fairy tale brought to life.
Nathalia Arja in "Firebird." Choreography by Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev.
The MCB production of "Firebird" was a lovely marriage of decor, costumes, choreography and music. The dance was clearly able to be seen and the story told without diminishing the over all beauty of the production elements. The characters seemed as though the they had come to life right out of a Pushkin fairy tale book.
Golden yellow was a thematic color. Prince Ivan, played boyishly by Chase Swatosh, wore a bright yellow jacket that was carried through in the yellow sleeves of the princess gowns to golden apples, to the golden braids of the monsters. Each princess had a filigreed beige kokoshnik crown, its size only amplifying the fairy tale quality.
Miami City Ballet's production of "Firebird." Choreography by Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev.
The monster scene was a fantasy gone wild.
Slick iridescent unitards in shades of magenta, teal, greens and grays, exotic make-up, the long golden braids, shaggy green and brown moss men with brambly headpieces, red devil creatures, jackals and a slew of other nameless animal-esque oddities contributed to the fantasy. Kaschei was scary and surreal, with a crown of bones, a bodice of chains and longer than long fingers with bright yellow nails.
The Firebird, Nathalia Arja, was a beauty. Flaming red from head to toe, a majestic tail of feathers and a golden crown proudly perched on her head, she was effervescent; never soft, and seemingly, always in control, even in captivity. She was a bird, with little human emotion. Arja’s scintillating bourré’s were a manifestation of her energy and stoic emotion.
Harrington’s projections, while never overt, moved the story along. With a magical twinkle and a billowing leaf, she magically transitioned to a glowing sunrise indicating that all was well.
Miami City Ballet dancers in "Four Dance Episodes." Choreography by Justin Peck. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev.
Balanchine loves children and this tale was no different. The final majestic scene of pageantry had small pages, some with huge sunflowers in their hair, huntsmen, flags and the fairy tale ending that all lived happily ever after. It was elegant, lavish as necessary and simple enough.
Also premiering on the program, and no less impactful, was Justin Peck's "Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes." Choreographed to the famous Aaron Copeland score that was created for Agnes de Mill’s 1945 “Rodeo,” Peck at once pays tribute and evolves the cowboy love story into the 21st century. A work for fifteen men and one woman, camaraderie, playfulness and craft work together to create a showpiece for the men. Arabesques seemed prevalent in the adage section, and each one was higher than the next. The men seemed to revel in the opportunity to show their abilities.
Seeing this many men dance together at once for a full ballet, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes in canon, gave a real chance to observe them, something that rarely happens. Interesting to see who stood out and why, whether technical prowess, artistry, or perhaps, both. Collectively, it was a showcase and the men were brilliant. Kleber Robello, Renan Cerdeiro and the charming, Jennifer Lauren were effusive, as was the entire piece.
Miami City Ballet's production of "Firebird." Choreography by Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev.
The familiar,“Nine Sinatra Songs” by Twyla Tharp premiered for MCB in 2004 showing seven couples in various moods from elegant and glamorous to cheeky and tart. The challenge here is to capture the mood of each couple. Fun to see Lauren and Shimon Ito in a comic role and Julia Cinquemani with Carlos Quenedit in nonplussed harmony. Emily Bromberg and Rainer Krenstetter were lovely, as was Ashley Knox and Renan Cerdeiro. Nicole Stalker with Alexander Peters were a blur of sassy red. Katia Carranza and Robello burned up the stage. This was yet another validation of the versatility of Carranzo after seeing her recently in “Apollo.”
Performances of "Firebird" continue in Fort Lauderdale at 7:30 p.m.on Saturday, Feb. 29 and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. 201 Southwest 5th Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312. (954) 462-0222
Performances in West Palm Beach are 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 22, 2 p.m Saturday, Feb. 22 and 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb 23 at the Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. (561) 832-7469.
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