Houston Ballet - Detroit 11/2Yuriko & Jared in Giselle

There is no ballet that makes Haglund love the art form more than Giselle does. No ballet restores his faith in the art and energizes his commitment to its artistic principles more than Giselle. There is no ballet that more beautifully stirs the complexities within the question of what it means to be human and then proposes an answer.

On Sunday afternoon at the Detroit Opera House, Houston Ballet presented a production of Giselle that was stellar by any standards – from the principals to the corps de ballet. The staging by Ai-Guil Gaisina, long associated with the Australian Ballet as artist, teacher, and coach (and before that the Stanislavsky Theatre), was first presented by Houston Ballet in 2011. It is a traditional, carefully detailed production with beautiful designs by Peter Farmer. In Act I, the roof of Giselle’s house had fallen leaves scattered upon the shingles. In Act II, a delicate moon watched over the forest from a distance. The Act I costumes were a tasteful combination of fall colors: pale yellow, warm brown, and burnt orange - all of which made autumn look like the best season of the year.

Having seen Yuriko Kajiya’s Giselle debut and Jared Matthews' near-debut as Albrecht two and a half years ago in Chicago (before they quit ABT), Haglund fully expected to feel quivers on Sunday. He also expected to see the best Giselle performance of the year. But three days later, and after considering a half century of Giselles attended, he’s still convinced that Yuriko Kajiya offered a miraculous performance in the title role - one that hopefully the rest of the world will one day see.

In Act I, Giselle's unforced, uncalculated naiveté combined with formidable but unshowy technique to articulate her young love - probably her first love - in which she had no inkling of the depth of the hurt that she was about to experience. Perfect attitude turns followed by delicate ballonnés, lovely arabesques that were effortlessly sustained, quick little hops on pointe that seemed so spontaneous – all were danced as traditional variations by Yuriko. But it was the foreshadowing of heartbreak and the final shattering of Giselle’s life that set this Act I interpretation apart and above so many others’.

The "insanity" that so many who have grand delusions about their own artistry overplay was in this performance seemingly portrayed as the confusion and life-flashing-before-one’s-eyes that come at the end of one’s being. When Yuriko’s Giselle came to the edge of the stage and looked out, we all were suddenly in the midst of her grief. She stared motionlessly while the sadness in her eyes sapped her life away. A couple of small tremors in the arms signified that the end was near. And when it finally came, there was both relief that Giselle’s pain had ended and grief that she was gone.

Yuriko’s Act II elevated her Giselle above most others in memory. Part ghost, part angel – her serenity was expressed with a slight smile throughout most of Act II. When the light caught her face, it was the moon’s light reflecting her peaceful acceptance of her state and her confidence in saving Albrecht. She felt nothing but love and forgiveness toward him and wanted nothing in return for it. Her movement was filled with such lightness that one could sense the air under her sweeping arabesques and tour jetes. Occasionally she caught an unexpected moment of stillness in a balance that contrasted so beautifully with the quickness of the feet. The arms and the hands created continuous curves that we don’t see from any other artist anywhere.

As Albrecht, Jared was not an opportunistic cad – the more common interpretation these days. Instead, he truly loved Giselle and was simply too confident in his ability to pull off his well-intentioned ploy. Either Jared is getting more handsome or else Houston Ballet has much better makeup artists on staff than ABT. Maybe it’s both. Not only did he look fabulous, but his dancing was in top form and more secure than we’ve ever seen before. In Act II, Jared performed both the entrechat sixes and the brises that travelled down the diagonal and ended with a confrontation in front of Myrtha. The entrechat sixes were absolutely wonderful. They moved forward as Albrecht signaled more and more desperation with his arms. When he got to the front of the stage, his face and body were filled with exhaustion and hopelessness.

Jared’s partnering was as skillful as ever. His lifts of Yuriko in Act II were epic; the lowerings so slow and so easy that they reinforced the perception of Giselle as a weightless spirit. Time and time again throughout Act II, Jared guided Yuriko into those iconic poses. The supported arabesques with Yuriko leaning forward over her pointe while Jared leaned back and away were images of such classic and romantic beauty that they will be forever remembered and will serve as the standard by which all others will be measured.

A few words about the remarkable theatrical performance of James Gotesky as Hilarion. Oh, it hurt badly to see this man thrown into the drink by the vicious Wilis. His heart was always in the right place and he would have made a wonderful husband for Giselle. True, he was clearly backwoods in comparison to the slick Albrecht and maybe a little too sooty, but he had the audience pulling for him even though most knew that he didn’t stand a chance.

This production nixes the soloists’ Peasant PdD in favor of four couples (Giselle’s friends) who dance together and in pairs. There seemed to be more choreography for them than in the Peter Wright production danced by the Royal Ballet and National Ballet of Canada that also nixes the Peasant PdD, and it seemed a lot more interesting - to the point where Haglund didn’t miss the Peasant PdD at all.

The corps de ballet was outstanding in both acts. Such natural acting and energetic dancing in Act I. In Act II, the Wilis were beautifully in sync in their voyage in which the lines of ghosts crossed one another in arabesque. Maybe one could quibble with the sneering of the two Wilis who had the privilege of tossing poor Hilarion into the wash. But other than that, all the ladies were perfectly Xeroxed from head to toe in their presentation, and they danced and breathed like menacing sisters.

It has been such a privilege to be in the audience for the performances of Giselle by Yuriko Kajiya and Jared Matthews. They are the future of this particular ballet in this country, and one hopes that we'll have many more opportunities to see them perform it. It doesn’t matter where they perform these roles next, Haglund will try his hardest to be there.

The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a 24K gold stiletto by Stuart Weitzman, is bestowed upon Yuriko and Jared. We sure do miss them in New York, but we have tremendous respect for what they have accomplished and have the greatest optimism for their futures.

 

Comments

[Haglund]

Haglund forgot to mention that the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra sounded gorgeous. It was conducted by David Briskin from the National Ballet of Canada. By the way, he quit ABT, too.

[Jennifer]

Very articulate and expressive review. I appreciate the specificity of your comments. Worth the wait! ;) Thank you.

[Matthew Rusk]

Haglund, who was Myrtha in this performance?

[Haglund]

Hi Matthew.

Myrtha – Katharine Precourt
Two Wilis (Moyna & Zulma) – Jessica Collado & Nao Kusuzaki
Wilfred – Charles-Louis Yoshiyama
Bathilde – Jessica Collado
Berthe – Barbara Bears

All were very good. Myrtha was very commanding with strong jumps. No technical issues. The character was very straight forward and uncomplicated.

[Haglund]

Jennifer, thank you for your comment. Sorry it took so long to get this posted. A very busy week has gotten in the way of blogging and much else. Thanks for reading H.H.

[Matthew Rusk]

Haglund, thanks for that. Being from Houston I was wondering about the supporting cast. Precourt has done fine work in a lot of roles, namely Snow Queen, Sugar Plum, Lescaut's Mistress, Sicilienne in Emeralds amongst many others. I know she danced Odette/Odile earlier this year (I think for the first time), but I didn't get to see it.

[Haglund]

Hi Matthew. Good to hear. I look forward to seeing much more of Houston Ballet.

[Tiffany]

So happy to hear that Houston Ballet represented us Houstonians proud! Whenever I have the time and extra cash I will defiantly see Yuriko and Jared. It's a shame that they had to travel across the country to not only dance do these roles, but dance them together since they couldn't at "America's National Ballet Company".

[Haglund]

True, Tiffany. It is a shame that New York had to be gypped out of their Giselle year after year. We got to see Jared opposite Xiomara Reyes, but it definitely was not the same.

[angelica]

Translating subjective artistic experience from one medium to another is not a simple undertaking. Yet, Haglund, you have managed to paint a picture in words, and a picture in motion at that! What a wonderful review of two of my favorite dancers, and how happy it makes me to read of their success.

I had been following Jared's career for some time and watched him grow as both a dancer and an actor. Yuriko, on the other hand, burst onto the stage fully formed, with a consistently dependable technique and a distinctive ability to portray a character. Jared does look ravishing in that photo!

I was saddened to see them undervalued at ABT, and understood completely their need to stake a claim elsewhere. I only hope that Houston Ballet comes to dance in New York--maybe at the Joyce?? I hope I have a chance to see this wonderful Giselle that you describe.

[Patricia]

Thank you, Haglund, as always. I've been eagerly awaiting your comments.

Does anyone know how far ahead the cast lists are released? I can only find the list for Nutcracker. I'd like to divert some of my ballet travel $$ from NYC to Houston to see Jared and Yuriko again. I'm looking at R&J, and I've wanted to see Cranko's Taming of the Shrew which they are doing in June.

[Haglund]

Hi, Patricia.

I've never been able to find Houston Ballet's cast lists – except for the Nutcracker which you so kindly pointed out. I got the Giselle casting from a third party who was visiting Houston. I'd like to make a couple of trips to Houston, too, for Cranko's Shrew and the mixed rep program in March. That will be difficult to accomplish if casting isn't released in advance – advance enough to get a decent air fare.

How nice to see on the website that Yuriko Kajiya will be the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Opening Night performance of Nutcracker on Nov. 28th opposite Charles-Louis Yoshiyama. The following night, Nov. 29th, Jared will dance the Nutcracker Prince opposite Sara Webb.

Last year in Ratmansky's Nutcracker, Jared and Yuriko were exquisite. They are the ONLY two dancers in that production's HISTORY to have accomplished the Grigorovich Lift in the PdD.

When you go to Houston, please definitely report back.

[Patricia]

I may just take a leap of faith because I always get tickets way in advance to get good air fare, etc. I spent a lot of time looking at their dancers today, and I'm willing to take a chance on the cast. That is something I'm not willing to do with ABT now - more dancers that I want to avoid than dancers that I want to see. I really want to see Shrew and I plan to be in NYC the week of June 20 to see Gillian/Marcelo in SL and then Veronika/Marcelo as Purple Rothbart, so that means I go to Houston earlier in June. I'm glad that ABT is now listing Rothbart since I've always wanted to see Marcelo in that part.

Thanks very much for exposing me to new ballet opportunities that I may not discover on my own! Air fare from Atlanta to Houston is cheaper than to LGA. Hobby looks like a nice airport in which to spend the night. Or I can go to 2 pm matinee and fly there and home on the same day.

[Haglund]

Patricia, HB has lots of fabulous dancers. I recall Karina Gonzalez from when she was with Tulsa Ballet, and Aaron Robison from when he was with Corella Ballet. Incredible dancers. From what I saw last Sunday, there's a lot for us to discover in Houston.

And you know, Patricia, you might be able to use your H.H. Ballet Commuter Winged Pump Bump Award which we bestowed upon you last year to get through airport security a little faster or maybe it'll get you a discount on a drink.

[Haglund]

Catching up to Angelica - five comments above this one:

Thanks much for the compliments.

Houston Ballet was, indeed, at the Joyce Theater in October 2013 with a contemporary program. Unfortunately it was at the same time that San Francisco Ballet was at Lincoln Center.

[Patricia]

I've now purchased one ticket to Shrew, and I'm debating staying overnight to see another cast. I have high expectations after spending a lot of time looking at videos and reading about the company. (There is a great prepaid rate at the hotel next door also.) But, Haglund, my HH award from last year is too valuable to take out of its locked glass case for mere travel perks.

On another subject, I just sent you an email with news about Sarah Lane and Luis Ribagorda dancing as Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier in two Nutcracker performances at a small venue in Marietta, GA in December. I haven't seen any PR about this, and others in the Atlanta area may have interest. Most seats are still available.

http://www.georgiaballet.org/#!performances/c1t44