Review: THE SARASOTA BALLET Celebrates Sir Frederick Ashton's Legacy

An air of bravura swirled through the Joyce Theatre on the evening of Tuesday, August 9th 2016 as The Sarasota Ballet premiered its 26th season with "A Knight of the British Ballet," the company's love letter to famed choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton. Led by director, Ian Webb, the company prepared a six-excerpt tribute spanning Ashton's works from 1947- 1978. From the very start, the dancers' precision and commitment to the movement was unwavering.

The curtain rose on Valses nobles et sentimentales, the physical manifestation of Ravel's swirling waltz score. Clad in crushed red velvet and clouds of taffeta, the dancers exuded an easy opulence, executing lovely suspended arabesques and à la secondes in the midst of strong partner work. But the most striking element of the piece transcended the choreography and stood with the transparent screens on stage, which served as both physical and figurative barriers to mark the space and separate the dancers in distinct times and places. Tweedledum and Tweedledee followed, lightening the mood and the air with cartoonish glee. Joined by Samantha Benoit's Alice, the trio beautifully showcased impressive balances and staccato footwork to punctuate the hilarity of outlandish costumes and facial expressions; a guilty pleasure devoured, like a sugary-sweet dessert.

But perhaps the most stunning of all, The Walk to the Paradise Garden gave greater meaning to true love as Ricardo Graziano and Danielle Brown exuded utter passion with dramatic assisted runs and repeating series of intricate lifts. Basking in feathered lighting, the pair kept in constant contact, exploring human touch on a journey of awakening, only to be fated to death at the piece's end.

A personal favorite, Jazz Calendar | Friday's Child came next. An interplay of opposites that created perfect balance, the pair crafted gorgeous shapes, bringing to life a sensual exhibition of tactical movement and precision, accentuated beautifully by the syrupy jazz-inspired score of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett. Sinfonietta | 2nd Movement continued the thread of Ashton's experimentation of shaping the human form. Set in an otherworldly place and time, the dancers moved together as one singular organism, executing counterbalanced spirals and experimental lifts that redefined the very form of "dance."

To close the evening, Façade showcased the company's storytelling capabilities with aplomb. As a collective unit, the dancers brought to life shades of nuance, depicting each unique character with polish and tongue-in-cheek flair. As a means of bringing more visibility to such longstanding British works, The Sarasota Ballet is a trailblazing company - one I'm positive will only continue to break boundaries and soar.

Photo Credit: Frank Atura