ABT – Sylvia – Saturday 6/29 Mat & Eve

These guys were strolling through Hell's Kitchen on Sunday looking for a gig in an Ashton ballet.  Haglund had to tell them that they'd just missed their opportunity with Sylvia at the Met and that they probably could have found work at the Shrovetide Fair in Petrushka at Fisher Hall, but that was over, too.  They didn't look too disappointed, though, and one of them even celebrated with a little Fred Step.  We exchanged wing-salutes and they all marched off to the watermelon stand at a nearby street fair.  Yeah, those just-missed opportunities can be heartbreakers.

But sometimes opportunities present themselves when you least expect them.  Like this past Saturday when Jared Matthews, Sascha Radetsky, and Xiomara Reyes walked into some unexpected additional performances of Ashton's Sylvia.

For the matinee, Jared replaced Marcelo Gomes as Aminta to Gillian Murphy's Sylvia.  Both danced the role earlier in the week; Jared's first performance on Wednesday was a strong debut opposite Paloma Herrera.  This second performance found him even more assured technically and theatrically.  He seemed emboldened by the energy that Gillian threw his way during her own brilliant performance.  In the PdD, they looked like equals.

Jared will soon figure out how to add more dynamic elements to his stage presence between the execution of steps in his variations.  Cornejo and Gomes are masters at making those transition moments important, and they do it by applying greater amounts of energy and urgency.  When they take a few walking steps, they make you alert as to why and where they are going -- not just that they are walking.  When they are standing on stage and they suddenly turn their bodies to address someone else, you take notice of the direction of their focus.  Compared to the music in the evening performance in which Herman Cornejo danced brilliantly, it seemed that Jared could have used a brisker tempo in his own allegro variations.  His last set of jumps in the Act III PdD were at "Murphy speed" and looked pretty exciting.

Sascha Radetsky had another powerful performance as Orion, and again showed that he is a worthy and complimentary partner for Gillian.  Craig Salstein repeated his masterful performance as Orion.  Stella Abrera and Simone Messmer employed gorgeous, pristine classical form as Ceres and Terpsichore.  Isabella Boylston had lapses of concentration as Persephone, and her ensemble work was sloppy especially when she was downstage trying to dance in unison with the other soloists who were crisply coordinated. 

The evening performance saw the substitution of Xiomara Reyes for Natalia Osipova who bailed out with a feeble whimper.  Xiomara made her highly successful debut on short notice earlier in the week – a monumental achievement considering what's involved with Ashton's Sylvia.  Her performance on Saturday evening was terrific and began with a baby-faced killer entrance.  Dropped chin, shaking her weapon and fist, insolently glowering at the audience –– wait a minute, where was our cuddly cute Xiomara?  This was Sylvia from da Bronx.

Xiomara held nothing back and went for broke on every challenge.  On the early two sets of pique half turns where the working leg battement developpes forward, she threw her foot to the sky.  The first of each set was spectacular with the second ones less so because they were off balance.  She and Gillian handled this challenge the best whereas other Sylvias tried too hard to control and finesse the move or didn't battement at all.  The last of the series of high speed consecutive pirouettes went awry, but other than that, Xiomara was rock solid and thrilling in her technique and interpretation of Sylvia.

The PdDs of Herman and Xiomara were near perfection.  Hands down, they had the smoothest, most impressive execution of the move in which Sylvia pirouetted and then instantly and blindly swiveled 180 degrees to an arabesque hoping that Aminta was there with his arm for the promenade.  Aminta was not only there on Saturday, but his arm was outstretched at the perfect distance for Sylvia to reach.  It was like watching Legos fit together. 

Herman was magnificent as the shepherd, Aminta.  As always, his dancing was sharp and clear in tone.  Who could possibly make Ashton's direction-changing pique passes with fast double pirouettes look any better? 

Herman's Act I solo to the flute music was itself a song of love and longing for Sylvia.  Shepherds have  been associated with flutes for centuries. This ballet takes its inspiration from the 1573 poem about the shepherd, Aminta, by Torquato Tasso who was well acquainted with the work of Renaissance painters including Girogione.  One of Girogiones famous paintings is the 1508 Shepherd boy with a flute. The über contemporary NYT fool suggested that Aminta's dancing to the lovely flute music represented a gender attribute realignment.

As Diana, Devon Teuscher was much more fierce than in her debut performance earlier in the week and danced with good authority.  Daniil Simkin was fine as Eros, and Ivan Vasiliev definitely did not convey seductive evil with his Orion or offer any classical ballet dancing.  Messy blob of nasty was more like it.  Witness the Royal Ballet's Thiago Soares – this is what we should be striving for.  The corps de ballet had a few substitutions which may explain why it was at times untidy.

The Saturday Pump Bump Award, straight from the forest, is bestowed upon Xiomara Reyes for her engaging and brilliantly danced Sylvia.

Comments

[Angelica Smith]

Thank you, Haglund, for this wonderful review. I think you're spot on regarding Jared Matthews. His dancing this season has displayed stronger technique and greater dramatic expression, but I totally agree that he needs a greater stage presence to give meaning to the in-between steps, the walking steps, the turns of the body, and so on. In between his wonderful variations he was, at times, like a deer caught in the headlights. I would venture to suggest that a little more attention from ABT's AD would add greatly to Jared's self-image and help him reach the self-assurance required for principal status. Benign neglect is not benign in a world-class ballet company. Jared is a talent who deserves to be nurtured.

[Haglund]

ITA, Angelica. Having witnessed Jared's ABT debut as Albrecht to Yuriko's career debut as Giselle a couple of years ago in Chicago, I can only say that whatever assistance Jared got from the coaches at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet for his career debut as Albrecht in the months prior seems to have really paid off for him in that role. Artist neglect at ABT has been well documented, and I totally agree with you that it is not benign.