Chase Swatosh in "Chaconne" at Miami City Ballet's "Spring Mix" program. Choreography by José Limón. (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev for Miami City Ballet)
Miami City Ballet presented four pieces signifying “where we are today” in its opening of Spring Mix at the Adrienne Arsht Center on Friday, March 26.
And the four pieces couldn’t have been more different.
"Spring Mix" now heads to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale for shows on Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6 at at West Palm Beach's Kravis Center on Saturday, April 12 and Sunday, April 13.
The program opened with "Pictures at an Exhibition" with music by Modest Mussorgsky. Accompanied only by a piano solo played by Francisco Renno, the piece featured ten principal dancers in pastel costume. The movement combined traditional ballet steps as well as abstract movement. I found the sound of the women’s toe boxes from their pointe shoes hitting the floor an interesting addition to the piece. There was also sudden percussive movement that was surprising.
Chase Swatosh and Mei Mei Luo in José Limón's "Chaconne." (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev for Miami City Ballet)
The women’s A-line dresses were diaphanous and floated around their bodies when turning or descending from lifts. And the lifts appeared so sudden and effortless revealing the strength of the male dancers and the control and form of the women.
One section of the piece featured the five male dancers with humerus and unexpected movement. Here too, the strength of the men was exhibited.
Miami City Ballet dancers in "Glass Pieces" in Miami City Ballet's "Spring Mix." (Photo by Alexander Izilliaev for Miami City Ballet)
I enjoyed the use of the diagonal line in the choreography as it gave the audience a new viewing perspective.
The second piece was a male solo choreographed by the modern dancer José Limón. Long gone, it was interesting to me how his choreography held up in today’s world. Dressed in black, Chase Swatosh moved on the darkened stage while violin soloist Mei Mei Luo played music by Bach. Physically the violinist was interesting to watch as well, as the music required a forceful sound.
Miami City Ballet's Hannah Fischer in "Picture's at an Exhibition." Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky. The piece was part of Miami City Ballet's "Spring Mix" program. (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev for Miami City Ballet)
Tschaikovsky’s "Pas De Deux" with choreography by George Balanchine followed, after a brief pause. Originally choreographed as a part of the "Swan Lake" ballet, it has stood on its own for many years as a dance for two. Having seen Nureyev perform this in New York years ago, I was interested to see how the piece looked today. Two beautifully strong dancers, Ashley Knox and Stanislav Olshansky brought the piece to life. With duets and solos, these two displayed their marvelous technique along with their ability as performers. Soaring leaps, dizzying spins and one of the best ever exits in dance.
The fourth and final piece with music by Phillip Glass and beautifully played by the Miami City Ballet orchestra, this piece featured the entire company. Most interesting were the dancers performing upstage in a row in silhouette. Dancing in unison, some of them would suddenly break out in turns and other movement and then get back into the line as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile the dancers downstage were moving with beautiful and elegant extensions. At times the piece had the feel of "West Side Story," especially when all the dancers were onstage.
Miami City Ballet dancers in "Picture's at an Exhibition." Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky. (Photo by Alexander Izilliaev for Miami City Ballet)
Again, credit must be due to the rehearsal directors as the pieces were so well performed. These Miami City Ballet dancers are the best trained in the world, and their performances are outstanding. More than that, these are star athletes with form.
This same program will be repeated at the Broward Center and the Kravis Center in coming weeks. And coming up at both the Arsht Center and the Broward Center is the MCB world premiere of the new ballet Carmen later this month. For more information, visit www.MiamiCityBallet.org.
