Review: MARIINSKY BALLET Pays a Tribute to Maya Plisetskaya at BAM

BWW Review: MARIINSKY BALLET Pays a Tribute to Maya Plisetskaya at BAM

Photo Credit: Marc Olich

On Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, I attended A Tribute to Maya Plisetskaya. The mixed bag of pas de deux was performed by a handful of the Mariinsky Ballet's dancers. The program included a total of ten pas and an encore solo of The Dying Swan. The last time I saw the Kirov Ballet, which was the former name of the Mariinsky Ballet, was in the 90's at the Metropolitan Opera House. From those memories, I was anticipating their return to see how this new breed of dancers would perform the classics. Since there was a total of eleven pieces, this review will focus on the top three, as well as one that did not represent the elite status of being the foundation for which the company was noted.

Melody

This pas de deux was danced by Uliana Lopatkina and Andrey Ermakov, who were in their element. Whoever cast them for Melody must have noticed this duo's chemistry and strengths of sublime partnering by observing them from prior performances. Honestly, I do not know if that is the case. However, Lopatkina utilized her lithe form and extraordinary classical training to showcase all she owned-beautiful feet, extension, balance, and her flexible back. In addition to her outstanding technique, the translucent veil she held looked like a soul following her throughout the pas. When Mr. Ermakov lifted her numerous times in arabesque posé, the veil seemed to breathe with Lopatkina, while the material resembled a jellyfish deep within a bottomless ocean. The music by Christoph Willibald Gluck utilized the orchestra's flutes and violins, which blended wonderfully with this piece. Lopatkina and Ermakov's most dynamic strengths are within their lifts. I could not see when they prepped. To not realize when a lift was to about to happen is an accomplishment of their abilities and to those who coached them.

La Rose Malade (Death Of The Rose)

Famed ballet choreographer Roland Petit was the creator of this next pas de deux. You might have seen his work in the film White Nights, danced by Mikhail Baryshnikov, which took place at the beginning of that movie. Mr. Petit's nuances of classical and modern movements were easily recognizable by those familiar with his style. The same dancers who performed Melody also performed this piece. For some reason, I noticed their stature. It could have been due to the fluid and trance-like movements that created this illusion for me. Lopatkina was so precise in each step. From standing in fifth position-perfectly 180 degree turnout -- to rolling through her pointe shoes delicately, I was lost in the duo's connectedness. This piece must have been eight or ten minutes long. Solos were not part of the choreography nor were thirty-two fouettés prevalent...and those elements were not needed. The first act was culminated by the La Rose Malade.

Adagio from Act III of Shurale

My third favorite act was with dancers Valeria Martinuk and Maxim Zyuzin in Shurale. As Melody and La Rose Malade also exhibited adagio tempos, Shurale had a sprightlier tune than a traditional adagio. Playful, highly technical with Martinuk's double à la seconde pirouette and lifts, revved me up during the second half of the program. Adorable costumes of Martinuk's pink-orange romantic tutu and Zyuzin's Mongolian matching outfit brightened the stage. Yet what shown through them was the effervescence and characteristics of youthful love.

The Legend of Love

To say that I was disappointed is an understatement. To begin with, dancer Lopatkina was costumed in a solid long-sleeve shiny black unitard with what appeared to be sparkling red pasties from my seat in Row O. The choreography was stifled and strange in its trying-be-modern ballet steps. For instance, there were fewer than a dozen cymbal crashes without any grand steps. The music did not fit the bend square-like pas nor the circus lift ending. Lopatkina legs were parallel while she was upside down and holding onto the fabric of her partner's costume. The ballet was created in 1961 when the Soviet Union was still in power. From my assessment of history and speaking with many Russians who lived during Soviet times, I believe that the choreographer, Yuri Grigorovich, did not have the ability to incorporate other dance influences due to the isolationism. To watch this uncoordinated choreography was painful. Don Quixote, which could probably been performed by any of the other dancers within the company because the classics are ingrained in Russian ballet training, would have been preferable even though Alexei Popov's injury caused that piece to be eliminated.

The final criticism I have was the tempo for the pas de deux from Giselle. I strongly felt that the music was conducted too fast, which in turn had a negative affect on the melodramatic aspect that is an integral part of this particular scene. At least Vladimir Shklyarov had flawless double cabrioles within his solo.

From my experience watching Kultur videos on VHS (i.e. The Children of Theatre Street) and seeing the performance of the Kirov Ballet at the MET in the 90's, this evening's Mariinsky Plisetskaya tribute as a whole was not as I had expected. Yet these dancers can hold their own within the competitive and aristocratic art form called classical ballet.