Seasons change, but you know what doesn’t? The Houston Ballet. The immensely talented folks over there opened Four Seasons, their latest mixed repertory program (and final show of the season) last night with a murder’s row of choreographing geniuses, starting with George Balanchine. The origin of Balanchine’s 1960 Tschaikovsky Pas...
, their latest mixed repertory program last night with a murder’s row of choreographing geniuses, starting with George Balanchine.was so dissatisfied with the choreography that she went to Marius Petipa to ask for a new Act 3 pas de deux for Odile and Siegfried. Petipa obliged, setting the new dance to music from Ludwig Minkus.composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who quickly devised his own music for Petipa’s new pas de deux, which he kindly made to match Petipa’s already conceived choreography.
The man and woman, danced by Tyler Donatelli and Masanori Takiguchi, are not so much Odile and Siegfried as they are unnamed young lovers, their duet as romantic as the simple costumes – originally designed by frequent Balanchine collaborator Madame Karinska – and as bright as the sky-blue backdrop sunnily lit by Christina R. Giannelli.Photo by Amitava Sarkar , Courtesy of Houston Ballet
The piece opens with the sound of a tree falling, crashing down , but it could just as easily be something breaking free. On the dark, fog-tinged stage, dancers enter, some to slide across the length of the floor on their backs, others seemingly writhing in slow motion. They are clothed by Zhang in oversized office wear and shapeless dresses with antler-like headwear that sprouts branches sitting atop their heads.
A long intermission is rarely welcomed, but in this case, it offered the audience a chance to catch their breath before the next work graced the stage, which was to be a world premiere from Dwight Rhoden. It turns out that break was doubly welcomed, because we had no idea the ride that Rhoden was about to take us on., and if it’s not a statement piece, I don’t know what is.
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