BWW Reviews: Mikhailovksy Ballet's THE FLAMES OF PARIS

Mikhailovsky Ballet paid homage to universal struggles for justice in their opening performance of The Flames of Paris at the Koch Theater, Friday, November 15th. Originally created to mark the 15th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, The Flames of Paris as a narrative succeeded because it appealed to the people (any people group experiencing the desperate, unifying force of oppression) while paralleling the arch of a traditional story ballet. The ballet's three acts moved swiftly, another reason for the ballet's success and poignancy. The choreography avoided frivolity, which allowed the energy of the story to remain high throughout the evening. Russian ballet history endured numerous revolutions of its own and, for the dancers performing this work a very prescient, perhaps cathartic experience (turmoil still present in light of acid attacks on Sergei Filin of the Bolshoi Ballet and on a broader scale, the more polished peer to the Pussy Riot).

Mikhailovsky Ballet has a more contemporary dynamic than its peers - Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato among its previous artistic directors - but with the stately presentation of a gloried tradition. Mikhailovsky Ballet is a company of jumpers, as seen in Ivan Vasiliev's amplified tour jetes slicing the air and leaps entournant with legs whipping open into attitude. As magnificently airborne as all the dancers were, few true fifth positions appeared. But since they spent more time above ground than on it, maybe tight fifths were irrelevant anyway.

Act I introduced the reach of the revolution, beginning with a peasant family rescued from the vindictive Marquis by the Marseillais. The majestic sets combined with the smartly used projections breathed a cinematic presence into the ballet. In the court of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, divertissements in the manner of royal society occurred. Veronica Ignatyeva's Cupid variation showed the range of the ballet with some Bournonville technique. In the court, Victor Lebedev unleashed the power of petite allegro with cat-like changement. The opening act ended in deception and injustice, as King Louis XVI placed his faith in the Prussian Marquis for bloodshed in the court.

Ivan Vasiliev, as a cocky and passionate Philippe rallied the people in Act II. To sum up Vasiliev's technique: it's all in the ballon. He launched his character sky-high with maniacal devotion and a chest bursting forward. His Philippe dominated the stage, footsteps heard pounding the ground. His legs sailed so high in his leaps, that his body was parallel with the ground at times. He used his tour de force bravura to boost rather than outshine the cast. Oksana Bondareva as Jeanne proved to be the balance for Vasiliev as she championed his Philippe in the quest for justice. The village dancers in clogs played percussion for the revolutionaries' pep rally; their claps and stomps a furious staccato.

The palace fell in Act III, but at a price. Bodies strewn across the destroyed court; the revolutionaries honored their dead. In celebration and reflection of their cause, Jeanne and Philippe were married as beacons of hope for the future. Vasiliev's wicked virtuoso on full display as he taunted the audience with a false start for this variation. Bondareva followed her gleeful hops en pointe with a direct challenge to Vasiliev in her turns a la seconde. A challenge fantastically met in celebration as a pledge of Liberté, Égalité, et Fraternité.

Photo by Costas.