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Recent Review

Bass Hall hosts a 150-year history of ballet

The Metropolitan Classical Ballet presented 150 years of ballet at Bass Hall on Saturday.

Posted Sunday, June 14, 2009

By Chris Shull
Special to DFW.COM

FORT WORTH – The Metropolitan Classical Ballet presented 150 years of ballet at Bass Hall on Saturday. Three numbers charted the roots of the Russian classical tradition in the 1800s and then its Soviet continuation in the 1900s. A final piece, choreographed by Paul Mejia in 1986, still seemed contemporaneous.

That dance, Webern Pieces, was a duet featuring husband and wife Yevgeni Anfinogenov and Olga Pavlova, principals in the company. A rapport was evident throughout the austere and athletic work, set to the weird and robust music of early-20th century composer Anton Webern. Though sounds were often dissonant and askew (played first by pianist Gleb Ivanov and joined as the piece progressed by violinist Eric Grossman and cellist Eugene Osadchy, all stationed in Bass Hall’s pit), the two dancers made beautifully sculpted shapes to Mejia’s movement.

Olga Pavlova and Yevgeni Anfinogenov
Image by Marty Sohl

The work began with Pavlova standing upright, heels together and feet splayed in ballet’s first position — with her arms waving and wrapping her body like a sea anemone. Then Anfinogenov joined her, their interplay hypnotic and kaleidoscopic, intertwined in wonderful feats of strength and stillness.

Their partnering was modern, each dancer equal but independent, together making magical moments of cohesion.

The two other ballets displayed more traditional beauty. Paganini, choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky, was a melodramatic portrait of the "tormented" violin virtuoso, set to Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. The showpiece was played with vitality and verve by Ivanov and the Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Ron Spigelman. Shea Johnson gave a dashing and athletic portrayal of Paganini — first tormented by fiddling demons, then revived by a company of white-clad muses. Alexander Vetrov, the company’s co-artistic director, staged the 1960 Russian ballet with flair.

The evening ended with the charming Paquita by legendary Russian choreographer Marius Petipa. The ballet recalled a time when dancing was as much about deportment as physical feats.

Guest star Marianna Ryzhkina was beguiling; her partner Andrey Prikhodko was elegant during jaw-dropping leaps, kicks and spins.

Another delightful feature was the corps of girls in flouncy pink and white tutus and arranged in perfectly balanced lines and pert classical poses. Marina Goshko, Sarah Marr, Jacqueline Jensen, Lea Essmyer, Ekaterina Ostroven, Liliya Aronova and Maiko Abe took pretty and poised solo turns.

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