The Washington Ballet performed the world premiere of artistic director and choreographer Septime Webre's new ballet "oui/non" last weekend at the Kennedy Center. Based around a French cabaret, the performance featured the live vocals of Karen Akers, who was flanked by a piano and a bass.
Webre knows his troupe and showcased their skills accordingly in his ballet, which was divided into eight parts to correspond with the songs. Many segments centered on incredible lifts that made the ballerinas look as though they weighed nothing. One particularly pleasing example of this was during "Sympathique," when the three dancers actually tossed Maki Onuki in the air and kept her aloft for almost the entire performance.
Webre also knows the importance of emotion in his performances. "Au Suivant" featured the entire ensemble in a nightclub scene that captured the passion and romance of French culture. It was a sexy and modern take on ballet, and lives up to the Washington Ballet's reputation for making ballet not only more contemporary but more interesting as well.
The performance also had some humorous moments, especially during "Padam, Padam." This song featured three "danseurs," male dancers, who switched between testosterone-laden bravado and a more playful, almost boyish attitude that made the crowd chuckle. Aaron Jackson, Marcelo Martinez and Alvaro Palau had great height in their leaps and even occasionally lifted each other during this entertaining segment, but it was their facial expressions that really captured the audience.
The costumes added beautifully to the performance and the Washington Ballet deserves commendation for their continued quest to step away from the tutus of the past and toward a more comprehensive presentation. Designed by Vandal, the costumes made the women look pouty and the men look dangerous, setting the mood for the pieces.
The only stumble came during "Ne Me Quitte Pas," which was the weakest part of the production. This slower love song was plagued with minor errors between the principles Elizabeth Gaither and Jared Nelson. A missed hand connection or a shaky lift can be overlooked occasionally but this couple really needs to work on their chemistry and comfort level with each other if this piece is to reach its true potential.
Also performed were Jerome Robbins's "In the Night" and Twyla Tharp's "In the Upper Room." "In the Night" told the love stories of three couples set to Chopin nocturnes. One couple seemed to dance a new love, the second a married love and the third a more dramatic love full of conflict. The finale included all three couples dancing together on stage. It was a great production to warm up the audience before Webre's world premier.
Although the first two couples were fun to watch and showed tremendous technical skill and attention to detail, it was the third couple, Sona Kharatian and Luis Torres, that had the best emotion, told the best story and stole the show. Their dance had a quicker tempo and included fast swinging lifts that required tremendous strength and control.
"In the Upper Room," however, was perhaps a little too experimental for the audience. Known for her modern takes on ballet, Tharp may have crossed a line into too much modern and not enough ballet. The production was split into nine segments but it was difficult to tell when each one began and ended, which maked it hard to know when to clap for the dancers. Also, the music was largely repeated sounds and ambient noise, with no clear melody to it.
The costumes showed an interesting progression from the jailbird jumpsuits of the beginning to the beautiful red leotards and shirtless men of the end. Unfortunately the sneakers got in the way of any really impressive dancing and even flew off and tripped a dancer at one point, who was left to continue dancing in his red sock.
Even though actual ballet dancing becomes the focus by the end, it was not enough to save this piece. It is unclear why this was selected, and while the Washington Ballet should be commended on their willingness to take artistic risks, it was a disappointing end to an otherwise fabulous night at the ballet.
