Review: PHILADELPHIA BALLET at Wolf Trap

Despite having been born and raised in Russia and only immigrating to America at 29, George Balanchine took great pride in being American, becoming a citizen just 6 years after arriving. He was fascinated by American culture and traditions, from John Wayne to Broadway. While his musical taste typically favored European composers, he did embrace selected Americans, embodying their sounds with his newly-developed American ballet technique. 

This appreciation for American culture was on full display Thursday night for Philadelphia Ballet’s program at Wolf Trap, Stars and Stripes Forever!. Featuring four works by three American choreographers, Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Eliot Feld, set to music by American composers and featuring the overarching theme of joy at being American. 

Robbins’ 1944 Fancy Free opened the program and was beautifully danced by Arian Molina Soca, Jack Thomas and Nicholas Patterson. This often-performed work takes place one night during WWII when Three Sailors are on leave in New York City, drinking beer, chasing women and enjoying being young and, well, fancy free. Set to a modernist score by Leonard Bernstein, the ballet’s premise and music are extended in the full-length musical On the Town, but the ballet’s plot and tone are darker. Whereas in the musical each sailor gets his girl, here, the girls leave the sailors (and rightly so) when their macho pugilism becomes tiresome. The early chasing of the girl with the red purse is also unsettling; the sailors pick on her repeatedly, yet she chooses to have a drink with them? It’s the one element that hasn’t aged well, though that is saying a lot considering the work is 82 years old and performed worldwide. 

The appeal lies in the balletic interpretations of quotidian life. Robbins, who also choreographed West Side Story, was heralded for his naturalistic choreography. But these sailors don’t move like sailors; they move like how we imagine sailors would dance when they are having the best time of their lives. It speaks to the magic of the theater and the endorphins and energy that dance elicits in the body. While the sailors don’t get their girls, they clearly had fun with each other. 

Variations on ‘America’ set to William Schuman’s orchestration of Charles Ives’ variations based on “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” was the weakest piece on the program, reading purely as patriotic propaganda rather than art. Principal dancers Yuka Iseda and Ashton Roxander made a valiant effort to imbue the work with meaning, reverently pumping fists and moving across the stage with purpose. Originally choreographed for Mikhail Baryshnikov, this short work is intended to be witty but instead felt stuffy and overly serious, counter to many of Feld’s works. I have to imagine that something has been lost overtime since this work was created in 1977, but I saw nothing to compel me to go looking for it. 

Who Cares? (Concert Version), Balanchine’s quartet to Gershwin music, was the best piece on the program, a tender romp that showcased the dancers’ musicality and looseness. Sterling Baca in particular was a standout, though that isn’t quite the right word. As a partner, he gamely supported and featured his ballerinas, without drawing attention to himself. That is a gift and the absolute right approach to partnering for this piece. 

Stars and Stripes, also by Balanchine and set to John Philip Sousa marches, closed the program with over the top costumes and gaudy ebullience. The dancers were committed to the cause, mimicking cadets, buglers, baton twirlers and more with sincerity. This piece is hardly subtle with no moving subtext to speak of, but Balanchine’s skill with groups and musicality at least make the work visually compelling. Knowing Balanchine’s fierce love for his adopted country, I suspect he wanted the work to stir something in the audience, but it doesn’t quite get there. The ballet is light and fun, and on a stunning September night with the wind rolling through the Filene Center, I felt happy to be there if not called to something more. 

Runtime: 2 hours and 20 minutes with two intermissions

Photo Credit: Alexander Iziliaev

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