American Ballet Theatre
May 21st, 2007 by Erica
Everything truly is beautiful at the ballet. I digress from my search for the perfect margarita and guacamole to talk about one of my other favorite things: dance in New York City. American Ballet Theatre opened its spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center earlier this week, and it is definitely one not to be missed.
Having studied dance steadily for 18 years of my life, I take every opportunity I can to see dance in performance. When I recently found myself with a free evening (a true rarity for a girl on the go in NYC), I decided to embrace spontaneity and head over to Lincoln Center. I hoped to snag a ticket for La Bayadère, ABT’s first ballet in repertory this season. That’s one of the phenomenal things about New York City—anyone craving a live performance will have many choices within reach on any given night.
After grabbing a quick bite near the Met (a simple yet delicious turkey and roasted pear sandwich), I wandered back to the theater. Despite the fact that I have been there many times now, it never ceases to take my breath away. The regal red carpeting and grand, bowing staircases crowned with the glowing chandelier is truly a magnificent sight. When you enter the theater on any of its various levels, you cannot help but be swept up by its beauty and enormity.
“Amid the sweeping vistas and grand temples of mystical India, Natalia Makarova’s staging of this great Russian classic is a glorious epic of eternal love and godly revenge,” read La Bayadère’s program. A quick glance at the principal dancers revealed that Ethan Stiefel, whom many know from the 2000 dance movie Center Stage, would perform the part of a brazen warrior, while ballerinas Diana Vishneva and Stella Abrera danced the role of the heroine, a doomed temple dancer, and her archrival, respectively.
From the extravagant sets and props to the elegant and colorful costumes to, most importantly, the challenging yet extraordinary dancing, I was completely captivated by La Bayadère from the minute the curtain rose. Between Stiefel’s enormous strength and precision and Vishneya’s elegance and grace, the principal dancers alone could sell this ballet. Add in the enormous ensemble and you have a spectacle that simply cannot be topped. Simply put, the principals made this ballet seem effortless, when in fact the nearly three-hour ballet is probably one of the more grueling currently staged.
That being said, though the principals’ solos are usually my favorite elements of a ballet, since they truly showcase the abilities of each particular dancer, my favorite part of La Bayadère was the “Kingdom of the Shades.” I have never seen anything like it. The sweeping ensemble piece consumes the majority of the second act, featuring “the corps de ballet in gossamer white tutus, filling the stage in perfect unison, as sublime as angels arriving from heaven,” as the program notes describe.
As I left the theater and wandered dreamily into the warm night, I couldn’t help but feel light on my feet. The feeling of dance was alive in me again. Though, I guess it never truly dies, does it?
Check out the summer schedule of ABT performances including Othello, Manon, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and Cinderella.