Review: Minnesota Ballet dazzles with ‘Firebird’
Stravinsky’s “Firebird” had top billing Friday night at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center’s Symphony Hall, but the trio of pieces the Minnesota Ballet offered on the undercard were equally captivating, creating a dazzling night of dance.
In a rare stage speech, artistic director Robert Gardner spoke briefly but passionately about supporting the National Endowment for the Arts, quoting Ronald Reagan on reasons to honor the arts.
First up was “It Just Doesn’t Have To Be,” choreographed by company veteran Nikolaus Wourms to cellist Greg Birdwell’s live performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Suite No. 1.”
Working with a changing combination of six dancers, Wourms crafted several moments with Jordan Carney and Sarah White, where it seemed like we were watching ice dancers. Then, Ryo Munakata was posing Emily Reed in a series of languid positions and turning half-lifts into full lifts, to repeated audience applause.
Against a blood orange backdrop, Marta Kelly danced “Solo” to Dominick Argento’s “Tango,” striking several sinuous poses. Gardner’s choreography matched the music to as great an extent as I have seen.
With Alexander Sandor playing Debussy’s “Clair de lune” on the piano, Gardner’s “Limelight” offered a wonderful pairing of expressive dancers, Charles Clark and Suzie Baer, in a charming story of boy meets muse.
Bursting out of the auditorium at intermission one little girl exclaimed “That was so much fun!” Meanwhile, a group of women talked about the very busy flower boy, tasked with delivering bouquets to all the ballerinas.
The opening of “Firebird” made wonderful use of the screen curtain, with Kenneth Pogin’s lighting creating a beautiful wall of flames, the first appearances of Emma Stratton’s Firebird and the capture of Prince Ivan’s brothers by a trio of monsters.
The first highlight comes after a game of Prince and Firebird, when Ivan (Munakata) captures the red bird in a scene well-staged and choreographed. The look on Stratton’s face when she seeks to escape was poignant, and her anguished expressions made her plight palatable.
There was also a cute little moment when the princesses reacted to Ivan’s initial attempt to kiss the hand of Yelena the Beautiful (Reed).
The grand showpiece of “Firebird” is the “Danse Infernale,” an extended sequence with a dozen dancers. Stealing the show was Sam Neale’s evil Koschei with his grand gestures and high leaps landing into deep crouches. His fouette turns, whipping his mane of gray hair and great black cloak around, were quite striking.
The Firebird returns to save the day, which dramatically sets up her solo dance. Lit by just a pair of overhead spotlights, Stratton’s hands fluttering at times like wings. The piece has such a slow pace that her dancing becomes both fragile and grand at the same time.
Then Koschei learns never to bring an egg to a sword fight, especially if that egg contains your soul (that’s right, kids, it’s a horcrux!). Princes and princesses pair up, and Stravinsky’s most memorable and majestic music closes out the ballet in grand style.
Ann Gumpper’s tree of golden apples is marvelously detailed, and Sandra Ehle’s gorgeous costumes run from traditional Russian garb to exotic bug-eyed monsters.
Ballet review: There’s more to this night of ballet than ‘Firebird’
“Firebird” might have been the main course of the Minnesota Ballet’s season finale, but there was ample opportunity to feast on the evening’s first two courses Friday night at the DECC’s Symphony Hall.
The evening began with “Two Andantes” by guest choreographer Penelope Freeh, last seen in this neck of the woods in 2008 when she debuted her “Flying Over Greenland” piece. With music by Franz Schubert and featuring particularly pretty costumes for the ballerinas by Kathryn Marsaa, “Two Andantes” continues Freeh’s exploration of unconventional movement.
Next up was the utterly charming “Harlequinade Pas de Deux.” As Columbine, Emily Reed came out with a bemused smile and quite the enthusiastic appreciation for her dancing partner. Then she started displaying the pristine lines that are the signature part of her style as a dancer, a most compelling combination. Her solo offered some fancy en pointework, especially when combined with an impressively tight circle of twirls.
Her partner, Michael Agudelo, in a sharply articulated performance, gave the Harlequin a nice impetuosity, which he used to fine advantage to establish a rapport with the audience. The colorful costume created by Sandra Ehle, with its rows of colored diamond shapes, made his leaps and spins even more dazzling, especially when he changed the position on his raised leg.
As the titular character, Megan Wolfson has massively expressive eyes, eloquent limbs and an ability to make the Firebird’s mercurial changes of direction and emotion seem elegantly subtle and quite bird-like. Besides her capture, the other high point is Wolfson’s solo dance in the Berceuse, dramatically lit just from above by Kenneth Pogin, who I suspect also worked the creative light and magic with which the piece begins.
The gate to the enchanted garden and the tree of golden apples designed by Ann Gumpper is marvelously detailed, Sandra Ehle’s costumes for the monsters were a big hit with the kiddies, and there is also a nice special effect when Ivan destroys the egg that contains Kostchei’s soul (that’s right, kids, it’s a horcrux!).
Stravinsky’s musical approach in his first ballet is reminiscent of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov, with the contrast between the folk themes for the human characters and the chromatic motifs depicting the supernatural. However, his thundering final music is so triumphant it effectively trumps whatever is happening on stage.
As this season of the Minnesota Ballet concludes, instead of wondering which company members are not returning next fall, I find myself hoping they all come back.