Review: Festival Ballet Providence's UP CLOSE ON HOPE Returns

Festival Ballet Providence's popular UP CLOSE ON HOPE series returns to their black box theatre. This innovative program is comprised of four unrelated pieces - two contemporary, one neoclassical, and one romantic, two of which are world-premieres. These shows are the perfect way for audiences to experience different styles of dance, and that is certainly true with this specific line-up.

The evening begins with "Returning Points," a reprise of choreographer Annabella Lopez Ochoa's contemporary work. This was originally performed by FBP in Fall of 2021, though not in the intimate setting of the black box theatre. Created for three women and one man (on Friday evening, Anna Lisa Wilkins, Fiona Kirkland, Tara McCally, and Alex Lantz), the dancing is angular and grounded.

Arm carriage if often straighter than in classical works, held straighter and often broken at the wrist, erasing the smooth curve. As each woman is partnered in turn, there is twisting and pulling against each other, with an emphasis on shapes and touch amongst the four dancers, particularly towards the end of the piece. The style well-matches the music of Arvo Pärt, whose Kanon Pokejanen, Ode 1, as performed by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is haunting and spare. "Returning Points" is altogether a strong start to the evening.

The second dance, "Pas de Quatre" is a sharp contrast to the previous piece, and easily my favorite of the evening. While originally choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845 for the greatest ballerinas of that era - Lucile Grahn, Carlotta Grisi, Fanny Cerrito, and Marie Taglioni - it was reconstructed nearly a century later by Sir Anton Dolin. FBP worked closely with the Anton Dolin Foundation, rehearsing through Zoom to ensure the particular style of this piece was done exactly right. And exactly right it is.

Eugenia Zinovieva, Nina Yoshida, Brenna DiFrancesco and Kirsten Evans perfectly embody the extreme Romantic style that makes this piece so charming. There's the very low, elongated ports de bras (compared to even modern romantic style such as the second act of Giselle), numerous small cabrioles and intricate footwork when they are dancing altogether. The way they acknowledge each other with deliberate glances that can best be noticed in the black box theatre setting. Each dancer also performs a short solo meant to show off the particular strength of the leading ballerina they portray - including some movements that are not commonly performed in modern times. Here too, the embodiment of each ballerina by the FBP dancers is distinct and moving.

"Amar é" is an ambitious contemporary piece choreographed by Boston Ballet principal Paulo Arrais, based off a digital piece he created for that company during the pandemic. Set to the very-well known Tchaikovsky music for Swan Lake's second act pas de deux, Arrais' piece ignores the gender binary that is so ingrained into the classic ballet by setting the piece for either two men or two women.

Audrey Lukacz and Tara McCally were the dancers during the Friday evening show, but a pair of male dancers perform during some performances. While the women do work well together, including a variety of bodily supports and outright lifts that completely breaks from traditional repertoire, as an audience member, it was difficult to get absorbed into the piece. At times the movement did not mirror the music well, and the costumes, long-sleeved white shirts with the lower body and feet clad in bright red, baggy pants and socks - while again highlighting the differences between this piece and traditional Swan Lake - felt distracting. However, this piece does end well, with a nod to both the connection between the dancers and bird-like fluttering.

Closing out the evening is Ja'Malik's neoclassical "Fragments of Hope (Sequence Four)." Set to the contemporary music of Peter Greyson and Max Richter, this piece features three couples (Nina Yoshida and Azamat Asangul, Eugenia Zinovieva and Mamuka Kikalishvili, Kirsten Evans and Joseph Van Harn) and one soloist (Kobe Atwood Courtney). Ja'Malik created this piece as a bridge between the perception and reality of ballet and succeeds in capturing this vision.

As the soloist, Kobe Atwood Courtney's dancing is expressive and the perfect choice to open and close the piece. The partnering of each duo is dynamic, with the choreography a perfect mix of classical with contemporary elements. In a program with both styles of dance on display, this was the perfect closing piece.

While only two performances of this version of UP CLOSE ON HOPE remain, drop your previously made plans and see this show instead!

Remaining performances are Saturday, February 19th at 7:30pm and Sunday, Feb. 20 at 4:00pm. For tickets, contact 401-353-1129 or go to festivalballetprovidence.org. All performances require mask wearing by audiences, proof of the COVID vaccine or proof of a negative COVID test.

Photo Credits: festivalballetprovidence.org

To post a comment, you must register and login.