Scene from Alexei Ratmansky’s “Bernstein in a Bubble.” Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.
Last night’s opening program for the American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center proved to be bittersweet. Sweet because the ABT dancers appeared fit, fierce, and thrilled to be dancing live on the Opera House stage. Bitter as Kevin McKenzie took his final bow on that stage as artistic director of the company he has led for the past 30 years. What a celebration it turned out to be!
…’Bernstein in a Bubble’ is a hoot and will chase away those winter blahs quicker than you can say, ‘Alexei Ratmansky.’
Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter greeted the audience with a toast to McKenzie who began his training at the Washington Ballet School, under the guidance of Mary Day. He later went on to perform leading roles for the Washington Ballet (where this writer first discovered his talent). Today, he is considered one of the foremost directors in the world.
“It’s wonderful to have you back in the Opera House for so many reasons,” President Rutter told the audience from the stage. “We are celebrating our 50th Anniversary that began with Leonard Bernstein’s ‘Mass’ on Sept. 8, 1971 and the following day, the American Ballet Theatre performed…and has done so nearly every year since.” She praised McKenzie, pointing him out in the orchestra seating. “Thank you for the beauty and strength of these glorious dancers,” Rutter acknowledged, then invited the audience to stand for Ukraine’s National Anthem.
Moments later the curtain rose on “Bernstein in a Bubble,” created for its digital premiere last year and danced by Skylar Brandt, Catherine Hurlin, Cassandra Trenary, Aran Bell, Patrick Frenette, Blaine Hoven, and Tyler Maloney. It kicked off the triple-header program and will be repeated tonight with some cast changes. It also was my favorite of the evening.
With the first notes of Leonard Bernstein’s “Divertimento” score of blended styles, including jazzy sounds and Latin rhythms, we immediately thought of his “West Side Story.” And like Justin Peck’s creative choreography for the 2022 film, Alexei Ratmansky, ABT’s first artist-in-residence, has a gift for creating characters that mirror the music, whether romantic or sultry or combative.
To be honest, I am a big Ratmansky fan. The dancer-turned-choreographer is known for updating old warhorse ballets by adding his own quirky touches that defy explanation. His works are bold and colorful, like “Bright Stream,” first created in Russia, later for ABT. New York Times reviewer ,Alastair Macaulay, called his choreography of “Romeo and Juliet” “the most gifted choreographer specializing in classical ballet,” encouraging this writer to travel recently to catch his rendition of “Swan Lake” for the Miami City Ballet, yet another gem.
So did this Russian-born master live up to these hypes in this 2021 work? Indeed, “Bernstein in a Bubble” is a hoot and will chase away those winter blahs quicker than you can say, “Alexei Ratmansky.” With costumes constructed by Marc Happen and digital fabric painting by Gene Mignola, “Bubble” is both colorful and whimsical with the seven dancers flying across the stage to delight us with fresh, honest charm. What continues to surprise us about his work is its unique, sophisticated cool, which combines at its core a detached, sensuous playfulness and a serious involvement with movement.
Conductor Charles Barker—his hair flying as fast as the dancers whirling on stage—added to the frivolity of the ballet with his handling of Bernstein’s brilliant score. I must point out the fabulous dancing by Zimmi Coker who never flinched when turned upside down multiple times.
Luciana Paris, Devon Teuscher, and Cassandra Trenary in Jessica Lang’s “ZigZag.” Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.
Closing Program A is another easy-to-watch modern ballet with hummable tunes by Tony Bennett with a special duet with Lady Gaga. With eye-popping costumes constructed by John Kristiansen New York Inc., Jessica Lang choreographed “ZigZag” as a showpiece for solos, duets and small groups. It’s a free-wheeling, hip-swaggering, fun-loving cast that gives an audience renewed vision of what dance is all about. Before the curtain rises on the eye-popping-costumed ballerinas circling around and around, the theater is dark with only the voice of a young Tony Bennett crooning “What the World Needs Now.”
And clearly the world could use some love, the only thing, Bennett sings, that there’s just too little of. Ah! We definitely need more love in our world…and our dances. Still this 30-minute ballet seems focused on the past and not the future that seems so promising for ABT. There’s no message here. You just sit back, listen to the recorded songs and let your thoughts fly away with the dancing. On the other hand, one might recall the words of Martha Graham when she said, “If you can sing it, don’t bother to dance it.”
His familiar tunes come to life by the company dancers—look for Howard County’s own Katherine “Katie” Williams in “Fascinating Rhythm” and the haunting “Smile.” Other highlights include Isabella Boylston with whomever she is dancing and Calvin Royal III, Catherine Hurling, Sung Woo Han, and the full cast in ”It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.”
This leaves a most intriguing middle offering from Alonzo King, founder/artistic director/choreographer of his renowned LINES Ballet in San Francisco. Totally different from the opening and closing ballets, this work is spiritual in its message fierce in presentation. Gorgeous backdrops in shimmering gold define the setting of the work that has dancers in front and in back to create a mysterious feel. Obviously when you work with professional dancers—all classically trained—you have the advantage of presenting a work that audiences will enjoy watching. Last night, the crowd stood for the bows.
Kudos to dancers Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns, Herman Cornejo—still one of my favorite ABT dancers, Devon Teuscher and Calvin Royal III for their magnificent presentation. Jason Moran, who is an artistic advisor at the Kennedy Center, performed the piano concerto for “Single Eye,” with its motto, “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. – Matthew 6:22.” The Egyptian-like costume design by Robert Rosenwasser deserves praise as does Jim French for the lighting (without his touch, much would be lost).
I plan to see this intriguing work again when ABT returns to its New York home in July. Meanwhile, I can’t wait to see the Kennedy Center’s production of “Don Quixote,” an old work made new by Kevin McKenzie and his crew. Kudos to all.
Running time: Two hours and 20 minutes with two 15-minute intermissions.
The American Ballet Theatre performs now through Sunday, April 3, 2022 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20566. Note that Katie Williams performs in “Don Quixote” as the Flower Girl, March 31, Mercedes and Queen of the Dryads, Saturday evening, April 2, and a special role, Sunday, April 3. For information and tickets for ABT and the 2022 Dance Series, visit here. Proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and a valid photo ID are required to attend all indoor performances and events at the Kennedy Center.
Get there early and check out The REACH at the Kennedy Center as it presents COAL + ICE is a documentary photography exhibition that brings together the work of over 50 photographers and video artists from around the world to visualize the climate crisis – its causes and consequences – as a large-scale immersive experience. COAL + ICE is co-curated by Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas and renowned exhibition designer Jeroen de Vries, and led by Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society.
Asia Society is honored to collaborate with the Kennedy Center to bring COAL + ICE to our nation’s capital for its East Coast premiere, March 15th to April 22nd, 2022. COAL + ICE has been uniquely adapted for the Kennedy Center. 50 projectors illuminate the 30,000-square-foot exhibition space built on the Kennedy Center’s REACH Plaza.
