PNB's "Contemporary 4", A Tasty Mix of Unexpected Treats
Hungry for ballet? Pacific Northwest Ballet's "Contemporary 4", running now through March 27, satisfies like a well-crafted meal. The program blends the familiar with the fresh - a mixed dish of contemporary dance. Mark Morris's sweet, soothing Pacific softly opens the show, while Concerto DSCH simmers with complex flavor. The Piano Dance, Paul Gibson's series of short vignettes, is a like a ballet amuse-bouche. And the main course: the world premiere of Marco Goecke's Place a Chill, a stupendous display of craftsmanship that alone is worth the price of the bill.
More than anything, the program exemplifies an ongoing effort by Artistic Director Peter Boal to bring innovative dance artistry to Seattle, to stretch his company's ability beyond the bounds of the Balanchine ballet. In 2004, Boal introduced PNB audiences to German choreographer Marco Goecke, in 2009 he brought the first sampling of the Czech choreographer Jirí Kylián. "Contemporary 4" brings more Goecke back to the table, and this reviewer, for one, loved it.
Inspired by the cello stylings of the late Jacqueline du Pré, Goecke's Place a Chill is exquisitely rehearsed and impeccably performed. It's a lengthy work of minute proportions; quick, complex micro-movements with the weight of vaudeville and the pace of jazz. The dusky lighting and twitchy dramaturgy evoke images of our parasitic insect friends: head lice, dust mites, fleas; the preening, cleaning of a house fly (and indeed, in rehearsal, Goecke explained, "you have to show up like the devil in person"). A crop of PNB's corps are Goecke's stars, and while the darkness hides their faces, their dancing shines superb. Overall, simply wonderful; one of my newly crowned favorites.
The Piano Dance (2005) delivers ten tantalizing works set to solo piano. Choreographed by Paul Gibson, former principal and company ballet master since 2005, The Piano Dance is a contemporary taste of PNB's homegrown neoclassical style. Here, the men function to lift, to support or to simply get out of the way; the ballerina rules the stage. It's a stark display of clean strength, quickness and sensuality, punctuated by hues of scarlet, blues and blacks. PNB pianist Christina Siemens, illuminated offstage, trills moody music by Chopin, John Cage and György Ligeti, and in one case, teases out an especially stunning performance by soloist Lesley Rausch.
Mark Morris's Pacific (1995), the program opener, is sparse and geometric, with measured, sweeping movements of the legs and neck. Leaps blast high and land low, absorbing the weight and heaviness of impact. Dancers skim across the stage in straight lines, arms held stiff, upper bodies bare, clothed in loose, flowing pants. Finally, the program closes with the PNB premiere of Concerto DSCH (2008), from Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. The meaning is layered and complex: blink once, it's a playful, communal party atmosphere; blink twice, it's a commentary on the Stalin-era social idyll.
Rounding out PNB's 2010-11 season is Balanchine's frisky Midsummer Night's Dream, and the world premiere of Peter Boal's staging of Giselle.
"Contemporary 4" continues through March 27 // Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St. // times and ticket prices vary
