Philadelphia Ballet is quick, clean, and precise in a program of modern masterpieces
Four days after closing the very classical 'Giselle,' the dancers returned with 'Dance Masterpieces,' a powerful program of very modern work by Alvin Ailey, William Forsythe, and Twyla Tharp.
On Sunday, Philadelphia Ballet was dancing one of the most classic ballets in the canon: Giselle.
Thursday night, the company took a hard left turn and opened its Dance Masterpieces program at the Academy of Music, with three highly technical modern works. The company had previously danced all three pieces, but none in at least a decade. And this time, it was mostly marvelous.
Philadelphia Ballet isn’t a huge company, so there was little time to reset between pieces. (Nor do most dancers want breaks from dancing.) Nearly all of the Giselles, Albrechts, and other courtyard dancers were back on stage just days later in a very different look.
The program opened with Alvin Ailey’s The River. The late Ailey, whose company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed at the Academy three weeks ago, choreographed The River in 1970 for American Ballet Theatre. Philadelphia Ballet artistic director Angel Corella was later a star with that company and said he wished but never had the opportunity to perform this work.
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Ailey worked closely with Duke Ellington on the composition of the score by the same name (note to the man in the row in front of me who was Shazaming during the performance: information about the music is in the program) and the music and dance (ahem) flow well together.
It’s called The River, but the sections are named for a variety of bodies of water — Spring, Meander, Giggling Rapids, Lake, Falls, Vortex, Riba, Twin Cities. Ailey said audience members would see in it what they will, and I saw the journey of a man — the increasingly adroit Jack Thomas — to find himself via a watery wonderland.
The dancers all but swim across the stage, their hands sculling and the women’s feet in lifts kicking against an invisible tide. The choreography has many of Ailey’s signature moves (including angular positions and simple steps with the arms reaching straight out in front) and the dancers manage beautifully.
William Forsythe choreographed In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated in 1987 for the Paris Opera Ballet, and it is considered his masterpiece. The Philadelphia Ballet dancers looked wonderful in this one, too. Precision is a necessity in this stripped-down work. Dressed in green and dancing to dramatic, often pulsating music by Forsythe’s frequent collaborator, Thom Willems, the dancers were sharp and decisive, despite one fall.
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The lighting (also by Forsythe, supervised by Tanja Rühl) shines such that every line and angle of each dancer is visible, but their faces remain mostly in the shadows.
Oksana Maslova, who is stretchiest of hyper-flexible dancers, is especially suited for such choreography, her legs always in impressive extensions, and her positions precise. Zecheng Liang and Sydney Dolan danced fast and clean. A dancer is sometimes set off to the side, almost out of view, but their position is no less important than those dancing center stage.
The program concluded with Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room. Danced in black and white striped Norma Kamali jammies — as well as red tank tops and dresses, and either sneakers, flat shoes, or red pointe shoes — it is a marathon of high energy. The dancers, obscured by a thick haze, brush in from seemingly nowhere and never stop moving, whether doing pirouettes and jumps, or simple backward runs or calisthenic-type movements.
Tharp choreographed it in 1986 for her own company, then called Twyla Tharp Dance, and it’s set to Philip Glass’ music that opens with a crash and a bit of drama from the dancers. From there, they were on constantly with boundless energy for nearly 40 minutes. Fatigue showed in the last few sections, though, as several dancers hopped through their turns to complete the rotations.
The triple bill program is the shortest in Philadelphia Ballet’s season, so it may be gone before some people realize how much it was worth seeing.
Philadelphia Ballet’s Dance Masterpieces program through Saturday. Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. Tickets start at $25. 215-893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.org