Ballet Tucson is capping its exuberant 2018-19 season this weekend with its signature “Dance & Dessert” concert, an eclectic tasting menu of dance followed by a dessert buffet.
This year’s program, which opened Friday, March 8, offers a marvelous feast for connoisseurs and a superb introduction for the curious.
The program opens with the premiere of company ballet master Daniel Precup’s one-act romantic tragedy “La Dame aux Camélias,” starring prima ballerina Jenna Johnson as the doomed heroine. Three short, sleek contemporary ballets hold the center, then Johnson returns for a brilliant performance of the Russian Dance from “Swan Lake,” a virtuoso piece drawn from the Russian classical tradition.
The program finishes with a sparkling rendition of George Balanchine’s “Donizetti Variations,” led with sunny effervescence by Danielle Cesanek, in her second season with the company, and clearly a dancer to watch.
Aurora Ledesma and Kaitaro Kodama shined in Sam Watson’s comic jaunt “Something Blues,” capped with a delightfully silly surprise. “Hibiki,” by assistant artistic director and resident choreographer Chieko Imada, made a welcome return to the stage, featuring the elegant lines and power of Mauricio Vergara and Megan Steffens. Set to the taiko drumming of Kodo, punctuated with Japanese-inflected flexing of wrists and ankles, the piece remains a fine demonstration of Imada’s striking creative range and musicality, especially when paired on the same program with her staging of a classic variation from “Swan Lake.”
Sandwiched between the fine work of established choreographers Precup, Watson and Imada, and the profound genius of Petipa and Balanchine, “A Convenient Contraposition” by Violet Rose Arma held its own as the work of an impressive new choreographic voice.
Sierra Sebastian and Tim Kolman led a fine cast in exploring not only the sensual shaping of individual bodies and ensemble patterns, but also the negative space between bodies. Arma, an apprentice with the company, won first place in this past fall’s “Footprints at the Fox” choreography competition with this piece, set to Philip Glass’ “Metamorphosis.”
Opening the program, Precup’s “La Dame aux Camélias,” set to the music of Chopin, offered a new version of Alexandre Dumas fils’ tale of star-crossed passion between a worldly courtesan and a naive young gentleman from the “respectable” class. From her dramatic intensity right down to her pre-Raphaelite looks, Johnson is a natural to dance the role of Marguerite Gautier. Both she and Precup’s choreography were at their best in the final two scenes, balancing sculpted simplicity, pathos and exquisite technique. The through-the-looking-glass death scene was particularly fine.
A one-act tragedy, however, affords no moment to spare from the main narrative, and some of the intricate ensemble dancing and amusing variations, while admirable in themselves, pulled focus from the lovers. The partnership of Johnson and Isaac Hawkersmith as Armand Duval was often tour-de-force but did not quite ignite the mysterious chemistry of love. As a whole, the ballet has the feel of a potentially great work that still needs time to pare back and settle in.
The Saturday matinee cast of “La Dame aux Camélias” again featured Johnson as Marguerite Gautier, this time paired with season guest artist Vasily Boldin as Armand. Great partnering is a deft and delicate art, as magical and inexplicable as love. The chemistry between Johnson and Boldin ignited even the smallest glance with smoldering intensity, in turn giving the ballet clear shape and drive. The pair’s explosive shift from attraction to passion crystallized in the moment when Marguerite first appeared before Armand in half-undress in the privacy of her home: from that moment, their fate was sealed and the dancing took fire.
At the same performance, Shannon Quirk and Isaac Hawkersmith made a vibrant pair as the leads in “Donizetti Variations.”
Balanchine’s ferociously difficult “Donizetti Variations” made for a triumphant finale to the season, all fire and speed, with breathtaking pointe-work paired with superhuman leaps and beats. Cesanek and Vasily Boldin danced the lead roles with joy and verve. Together with the company, their joie de vivre offered up this dance as a bright tease of an invitation – creating the illusion that the whole audience might all join in the fun.
