Review: ABT'S THE WINTER'S TALE at Kennedy Center Opera House

American Ballet Theatre, the country’s great ballet company of theatrical stars and story ballets, returned to DC this week to present Christopher Wheeldon’s retelling of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. A star vehicle with six leading roles, the ballet succeeds in delivering sumptuous dancing and lots of drama. It falls short, however, in maintaining its focus over two intermissions and nearly two and half hours of dancing. 

The Winter’s Tale is dark. King Leontes of Sicilia falsely assumes his wife, Queen Hermione, is unfaithful, which leads to her imprisonment, the abandonment of their newborn daughter,  the death of their son, and her own death from heartbreak. All this leaves Leontes alone, regretful and sad, though thankfully we are not asked to feel too much sympathy for him. Once he becomes suspicious, his movements transform from presentational courtly steps to twisting, anguished turns and swipes, reflecting his inner turmoil. 

The first act, where this drama unfolds, is the strongest, the dancing serving to tell the story. Act II reveals the abandoned daughter, Perdita, has grown up under the care of a shepherd and is in love with Florizel, Prince of Bohemia. Florizel’s father is angered to learn his son is in love with a simple shepherdess and surprises the couple during the spring festival, before the couple flee on boat to Sicilia. As the plot for Act II could be told in ten minutes, it fills the stage - and too much time - with joyful dancing. It’s a lovely swirl of skirts, legs and lifts but a distraction from the plot. We see King Polixenes and his steward onstage observing his son for the better part of twenty minutes; a worried father would not wait to jump in until the formal engagement takes place but would rush the couple immediately. Here the desire to showcase ABT’s fleet-footed dancers is at odds with responsibility to tell a compelling story through dance. Perhaps if the group dances were more distinctive the time would have passed more quickly. The one highpoint was the dancing by Clown, the shepherd’s son. Danced by Takumi Miyake, Clown’s brief solos and duets with Breanne Granlund were charming divertissements that elevated the steps themselves. 

Act III concludes in Sicilia with a reunion of King Leontes and his daughter, a happy ending for the young couple (a princess is a suitable match for a prince, afterall), and Hermione’s return to life. It’s a far-fetched plot that is told in mere minutes, leaving me wanting more exposition. Why does Hermoine accept her father who banished her back so quickly? How can the two kings reconcile with a simple embrace? The challenge with using great source material is that the material is often better than the new work it inspires. 

Still, ABT’s dancers, especially its principals, should be credited for imbuing the work with vigor and intensity, especially Hee Seo and Isaac Hernández in the roles of Hermione and Leontes. Fabulous technicians, here they must lean instead on their acting chops. The work also features a beautiful set by Bob Crowley supported by silk effects (the ocean, a ship and a bear) by the renowned puppeteer Basil Twist. This is a ballet for people who love ballet and the magic of theatrical effects. Shakespeare lovers may delight in parts but will likely yearn for the original. 

Performances through Sunday, February 15 in the Trump Kennedy Center Opera House.

Photo Credit: Hee Seo and Isaac Hernández in The Winter’s Tale. Photo by Marty Sohl.