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Review: “Gennadi’s Choice” by Atlanta Ballet

March 18, 2017 by Rachel Hellwig

Atlanta Ballet in Gemma Bond’s
“Denouement.” Photo by Kim Kenney. Courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

by Rachel Hellwig

Gennadi’s Choice marks a new chapter for Atlanta Ballet as the company is shaped by the new artistic direction of Gennadi Nedvigin. The first mixed bill of his inaugural season, the program  provides a glimpse of his commitment to classical ballet and contemporary works with a strong classical basis. It features excerpts of Paquita, Denouement by Gemma Bond, and Vespertine by Liam Scarlett.

Paquita’s sunny foray into classicism showcases Christian Clark’s calm strength and finesse and Rachel Van Buskirk’s precision, musicality, and creativity. Variations also highlight Ashley Wegmann’s long lines, serenity, and sumptuous phrasing, Monika Haczkiewicz’s elastic jumps and balance, and Jackie Nash’s projection and pointe work.

In Denouement, a premiere by Gemma Bond, the company evinces its continuing strength in one-act, abstract, contemporary works. With themes of time and choice as inspiration, Bond constructs a detailed work that casts a quiet, increasing tight spell. Imagery recalling Swan Lake surfaces at times, including frequent, wing-like motions of the arms and bourrées conveying a struggle for freedom. James Whiteside’s costumes also contribute to these echoes as strips of pale fabric forming skirts sometimes appear to be feathers fluttering in the wind. Predominantly cold, blue lighting by Joseph R. Walls coupled with scrims to suggest doorways and distance adds dimensions to the drama.

Vespertine, the North American premiere of a work Scarlett created on the Norwegian National Ballet in 2013, likewise highlights Atlanta Ballet’s adeptness in one-act, contemporary works. In Vespertine, Scarlett is at his most poignant when melding contrasting movement elements—grounded, historically-inspired and naturalistic steps with the abandon, force, and freedom of contemporary ballet. Adding to this is his gift of charging small gestures with intensity and layers of meaning. As in Denouement, the lighting design—here by Michael Hulls– has a leading role in the drama: clusters of lights hovering above stage, most evocative when dimly glowing, represent both chandeliers and a canopy of magnified stars.


Gennadi’s Choice repeats on March 18 at 8 p.m. and March 19 at 2 p.m.


Disclosure: Atlanta Ballet Dancer Alessa Rogers is a contributing writer at 4dancers.

Filed Under: 4dancers, Reviews Tagged With: atlanta ballet, dance review, Denouement, Gemma Bond, Gennadi Nedvigin, Gennadi’s Choice, Liam Scarlett, Paquita, Vespertine

A Program To Remember (Pacific Northwest Ballet)

December 1, 2013 by 4dancers

Image courtesy of PNB
Image courtesy of PNB

by Gigi Berardi

Stunning, breathtakingly beautiful, and unparalleled in programing and performance, PNB’s November program, Kylian + Pite, was one not to be missed. It is easily the most memorable (non-full-length ballet) program in the almost 20 years that I have been viewing and reviewing the company.

Huge kudos to Peter Boal, ballet masters all, and the generous supporters that made the PNB premieres possible – Forgotten Land (Kylian) and Emergence (Pite). Both ballets were utterly unforgettable, not to mention the gorgeous music of the PNB Orchestra.

In terms of performance, here are just a few highlights –

Foster and Mullin as the insect creatures emerging from the depths in Crystal Pite’s Emergence

  • Orza, Porretta, Bold, Gaines, and Bartee, as well as every single principal female — in anything
  • Samuelson breaking out and through in everything
  • Actually, all the petite mort dancers, who lived and breathed the ballet’s roles
  • In Sechs Tänze, the Imler, Merchant, Foster, Kitchens crew – mesmerizing
  • Forgotten Land – every single dancer made that piece come alive – haunting with a capital “H,” the dancers were aided in their other-worldliness by the literal and exquisite East Anglia backdrop
  • Week 2, virtually all the corps dancers (there were a few that needed a bit more confidence, if not rehearsal) in first-time roles – Bravo, Brava, Bravi, Brave!!!!!

This program, quite simply, will live in PNB’s history as one of its finest. Of course, there’s always 2014-2015.

Gigi Berardi
Gigi Berardi

Gigi Berardi holds a MA in dance from UCLA. Her academic background and performing experience allow her to combine her interests in the natural and social sciences with her passion for dance, as both critic and writer. Over 150 articles and reviews by Ms. Berardi have appeared in Dance Magazine, Dance International, the Los Angeles Times, the Anchorage Daily News, The Olympian, The Bellingham Herald, and scientific journals such as BioScience, Human Organization, and Ethics, Place, and Environment. Her total work numbers over 400 print and media pieces.

Her public radio features (for KSKA, Anchorage) have been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists.  She has served on the Board of Directors of the Dance Critics Association, and is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, as well as Book Review editor for The Journal of Dance Medicine & Science.  A professor at Western Washington University, she received the university’s Diversity Achievement Award in 2004.  Her fifth book, Finding Balance: Fitness and Training for a Lifetime in Dance, is in its second printing. Her current book project is titled A Cultivated Life.

Email: Gigi.Berardi@wwu.ed<mailto:Gigi.Berardi@wwu.edu>u

Website: http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/~gberardi and http://www.gigiberardi.com/

Blogs: http://blog.gigiberardi.com/ and http://resilientfarmsnourishingfoods.blogspot.com/

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: dance review, kylian, pacific northwest ballet, pite

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