Review: The Mariinsky Ballet

BWW Review: BAM presents, the MARIINSKY BALLET: A Tribute to Maya Plisetskaya

By Jennifer Fried

Civil unrest, classic folk tales, imperial decadence, fairy tales, and the exotic romantic east: all tenants of late imperial Russian ballet that can at times feel irrelevant to contemporary audiences. However, the Mariinsky Ballet's tribute to the late and great Maya Plisetskaya on the evening of February 26th 2016 successfully captivated audiences at BAM, recreating the best of Russian classicism for audiences old and young.

The evening was framed as a historical exercise with images of Pavolva, Cecchetti, and Njinsky projected before the presentation of the scenes. The evening opened with Uliana Lopatkina performing a blend of ballet and Russian folk steps from Gorsky's (1901) Swan Lake. Next was Fokine's warm and sensual Le Spectre de la Rose (1911). Most enjoyable in the first half was the duet Pavlova and Checchetti choreographed by John Neumeier (1970) performed by Uliana Lopatkina and Roman Belyakov. The simplistic choreography featuring Belyakov instructing Lopatkina at the barre depicted the pure classical elegance of ballet. As the piece progressed to center exercises, the chemistry between the pair was soft, subtle, and romantic. A reminder that sometimes less is more: the purity of the elegance and expressivity of the art form shone throughout the piece.

The second half of evening was a showcase of the dynamics and diversity of the Russian repertoire. Excerpts from Fokine's 7th Waltz from Chopiniana (1908), followed by the challenging yet romantic choreography of Petipa's pas de deux of Princess Florine and the Bluebird from Sleeping Beauty (1890). The exotic Eastern pieces that French audiences of the belle époque delighted in from the original Ballet Russes stood out in stark contrast to the previous pieces. Fokine's pas de deux of Zobeide and the Golden slave from Scheherazade (1910) stood out in its fusion of ballet and Eastern steps. However, the excerpt of Fokine's Firebird (1910) was perhaps the most striking piece. The pas deux of the Firebird and Prince Ivan captures the complexity of Russian identity: the fusion of French ballet technique with a purely Russian folk dance, performed for a French audience resulted in a captivatingly athletic, enticingly sensual, yet effortless choreography.

The evening ended with Petipa's pas de deux from Giselle (1884) a sad, romantic fairy tale: the fantasy of every young ballerina's dreams left the audience gasping, wishing there had been more than just one section danced before them. The grand finale though, about which I could only imagine how the original audience of 1905 would have felt, left the audience speechless, almost in tears at the sad, beautiful, and exquisite performance by Uliana Lopatkina of Pavolova's political piece, The Dying Swan.

The evening confirmed that even within the contemporary scene, pure classical Russian ballet has a notable and worthy place. While abstraction can captivate, the story ballets still are relevant and always worth revisiting. The evening seemed to end too soon with each performance quickly moving to the next piece, making it an ideal introduction to new audiences and reaffirming to ballet aficionados alike. The Mariinsky certainly proved its place of preeminence and magnificence.

Photo by Gene Schiavone

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