Picturing Good and Evil in 'Dorian' By JACK ANDERSON A fresh cast took over three leading roles in ``Dorian'' at American Ballet Theater's performance on Nov. 6 night at City Center. But the dancers only intermittently breathed fresh life into Robert Hill's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's ``Picture of Dorian Gray.'' Mr. Hill's choreography, though rich in steps, is not always rich in dramatic vividness. Too many characters seem sketches for portraits still to be completed. At the start of the ballet, Jesus Pastor appeared totally innocent as Dorian, whereas Carlos Lopez, as the Picture, was confident from the very moment that magic canvas came alive. The two men performed all steps well, moving expertly in unison as mirror images. But as time passed, there was little sense of increased age or moral decay. Despite some wild leaps and turns, Mr. Lopez, as the supposedly sinister Picture, looked severe rather than evil. Xiomara Reyes fared better with the character of Sibyl Vane, making her an impulsive, flighty young woman who was easily charmed by Dorian. Just as easily, his rejection of her drove her to suicide. The performance as a whole had greater tension than the production did at its premiere on Oct. 30. But the physical agitation was not always emotional turmoil as well. David LaMarche conducted Jon Magnussen's arrangement of music by Chausson, Schumann and Chopin, with Blair McMillan as piano soloist and Ronald Oakland as violin soloist. Sharp ensemble dancing invigorated two ballets to Mozart by Jiri Kylian: ``Petite Mort,'' which equated lovemaking and dueling, and ``Sechs Tanze,'' which abounded with comic fidgets. Charles Barker conducted both, with Mr. LaMarche as the pianist for ``Petite Mort.'' Source: NY Times |
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