Miro’s New Wolfgang Rihm Ballet

Above photo by Arnaud Falchier

~ Author: Oberon

Saturday September 22nd, 2018 – A new ballet choreographed by Miro Magloire to music by Wolfgang Rihm was presented as part of New Chamber Ballet‘s 2018-2019 season opener tonight at City Center Studios. Also on the program were three works from the NCB repertory: AMITY (from 2017, to music of Mozart), MEMORIES (JS Bach), and THE LETTER (a narrative work, set to Haydn).

Just before heading out to Miro’s, I received some bad news on the family front. I thought briefly of just staying home, but then: what could I do at home but brood helplessly? Better to be where there is music and dancing.

The music of Bach is ever an antidote to daily cares. Pianist Melody Fader’s playing of the selections from The Well-Tempered Klavier that form the score of Miro’s ballet MEMORIES had both spirit and grace. Four dancers – Elizabeth Brown, Kristine Butler, Amber Neff, and Madeleine Williams – appear in Sarah Thea’s sleek, colour-vision costumes.

Above: Kristine Butler in MEMORIES, photo by Arnaud Falchier

In the opening moments of this ballet, varying trios of women seem to shut out the fourth. A solo for Elizabeth Brown highlights this dancer’s beautiful arms and hands. Amber Neff and Kristy Butler have an animated duet that evolves into a slow, stretchy, intimate partnership. Elizabeth and Madeleine dance in sync, then Elizabeth and Amber team up.

The tall women – Kristy and Madeleine – dance fast, followed by a vivid solo from Amber Neff. In this, Amber’s striking port de bras, and a hint that her ‘character’ might be wounded, give a narrative feeling. A floor-based trio for Amber, Kristy, and Madeleine follows, and then another solo passage from Elizabeth shows her special gift for illuminating the music. The foursome bring the ballet to an allegro finish.

Earlier this Summer, I spent two afternoons watching and re-watching a DVD of Rihm’s opera OEDIPUS, which I found quite engrossing. Yet even with that preparation, I was totally unprepared for the effect the composer’s Über die Linie VII, as played by Doori Na, would have on me. This made for an unusual experience: the music came to increasingly dominate my mind – to the extent that the dancing seemed more like an accompanying dream.

The ballet, entitled FEEL YOUR FALL, danced by Amber Neff, Madeleine Williams, and Rachele Perla, is rather floor-oriented, with the girls leaning upon one another in encircling embraces, their bodies and spirits enmeshed and entwined. As they rise and dance, one captivating motif stood out: a repeated gathering gesture from the dark-eyed, lovely Ms. Perla which created for me a link to Isadora’s port de bras language.

“So enthralled by the music!” I scrawled across my notes. From tonal depths of passion to hair’s-breath pianissimi, Doori gave a truly compelling performance of this long and demanding piece. I’ve come to think of Doori as a violinist who can play anything, and this evening his remarkable playing served as confirmation. He called his preparation of the piece “a journey”, and he repays his listeners by taking us on a journey of our own. Simply extraordinary.

I did have two thoughts on the overall effect of this ballet: I feel it could benefit from having more dancers involved – if for no other reason than that they could dance to this music, which must be a revelation. And I think darker, more dramatic costumes would be fantastic: this actually could be a proverbial ‘black’ ballet. But these are simply idle thoughts: FEEL YOUR FALL is fine just as it stands.

It took a few minutes for me to return to Earth from this cosmic experience. As a diversion, Melody Fader played Haydn for THE LETTER, a ballet in which Elizabeth Brown and Traci Finch might be viewed as mistress and maid. It has its comic aspects, but the mystery remains to the end: we never learn the contents of the letter.

The evening concluded with AMITY, Miro’s graceful, golden ballet set to Mozart’s violin sonata K. 296 which Doori and Melody played with distinction. Mlles. Butler, Finch, Neff, and Williams floated and flitted about the space, dancing Miro’s combinations with joyous abandon, so close we could almost reach out and touch them. AMITY was commissioned by dance-lover Edward Petrou in memory of his wife Rachel; this evening, Miro added a further dedication: to the great Arthur Mitchell, who passed away on September 19th.

~ Oberon