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Round 2, Session 1, June 21 - part 2

Katia Carranza
© Richard Finkelstein

The two senior competitors from Estonia, Eve Andre and Sergei Upkin, danced a curious number choreographed by Radu Poklitaru to J.S. Bach, called the The Improvisation, a work which they apparently have danced in other competitions. I did not expect to see Scottish kilts in a contemporary piece, complete with a sporran, on a male competitor. But there he was, complete with kilt and a kooky pas de deux. It was well executed by the pair, and marked by unexpected, off-balance pauses and intricate partnering. The ending, with Andre bent backward as if choked, with Upkin reaching down as if in her throat, and emerging with a red posy. Obviously, the analogy to “coming out smelling like a rose was intended.

Saneyuki Kawashima
© Richard Finkelstein

Saneyuki Kawashima, Japan, chose the Dies Irae of the Mozart Requiem for The Last Day, his own choreography. His was a bare-chested, head-long flight of impassioned extremes, accented by persimmon colored tattoos on chest and back, and an appreciable fall in a circular round of turns, from which he recovered admirably. With the soaring musical background, I wished he had his movement checked by a seasoned choreographer.

Jon Drake
© Richard Finkelstein

Jon Drake, U.S.A., co-choreographed Mudai to Matthias Schmitt’s Ghanaia. It was Danse Arabe to African rhythms, bandana hair covering, harem pants, lots of multiple turns, torso flexes and a final touch with acrobatic double flips.

The Intermission was welcome.

Katia Carranza & Mikhail Ilyin
© Richard Finkelstein

Katia Carranza, Mexico, and Mikhail Ilyin, Russia, danced to Alberto Dominguez’ Perfidia as set by Luis Serrano. I wished it had been sung entirely in Spanish. It was comparatively simple, giving the spotlight to Carranza dancing in pointe shoes, with an uneven black hemline and silver spangles in front. I kept waiting for Ilyin, in dark trousers, shirt and suspenders, to break into a double tour. No, it didn’t happen. The intricacies were left for Carranza and a display of skillful partnering by Ilyin with an emphasis on the lateral planes of Latin social dance.

Agnieszka Szymanska, Poland, wore black jazz boots below a turtle-necked, bare-armed short red dress. Beate Wrzosek’s The Way to the Sky was created to Cecilia Bartoli’s singing Rossini’s Giusto Ciel, in Tal Pediglio. Szymanska hurtled around the stage before drawing us into a passage remarkable for her concentration, and a generalized feeling of despair. I did not experience catharsis, however.

Enter Joel Prouty, U.S.A. to the second Viktor Plotnikov piece on the program, Rene Aubry’s Zingaro. Like so many pieces on the program, an initial beginning, seemingly promising, was soon dissipated by length and the need to show off Prouty’s remarkable technical ability. Stripped to the waist and wearing cream-colored trousers, we had to wait over long for a repetition of some interesting right handed gestures. Where has the sonata allegro form gone, choreographically or musically

Sergiy Mykhavlov, Ukraine, danced to a lengthy squeaky rendition of a traditional Tango, as constructed by Vadim Fedotov. The virtuoso excuse was a short stogie and a couple of convulsive attempts at the lighter, as well as coughs and at least three discards and retrievals. As an excuse for multiple jetes and pirouettes, we got a wonderful display of energy.

Rezart Stafa, Albania, danced in lavender tights and a one-shouldered tunic to Marinel Stefanescu’s movement sequences for Charles Gounod’s Ave Maria. Alas, the piece was repeated, and over-taxed the display of suppliant gestures, beyond the modesty of the mood. Stafa’s port de bras never truly beseeched the Mother Mary with any degree of urgency.

Luis Serrano’s second choreographic display was created to Jose Abreu’s Tico Tico, mercifully free of its lyrics and wonderfully danced by Yaroslav Salenko, Ukraine. In an oversized, heavily padded red suit, and White Panama, Salenko’s exaggerated postures and pauses helped make a characterization in a modest but engaging piece. It was one of the three or four number I would enjoy watching a second time.

Nao Kusuzakai, Japan, and Raul Salamanca, U.S.A., danced Lazlo Berdo’s version of a conflicted relationship to the Gotan Project’s El Capitalismo Foraneo. Part of the cliché of such relationships seems to be man in semi-dress, dark trousers with suspenders and woman in short, tight black dress on point. Salamanca partnered and danced more comfortably here than in the initial round. For Kusuzakai, it was 180 degrees away from Giselle as a wraith, and some degrees more in temperature. There was a fair amount of tango movement involved, and an equal amount of pause, confrontation and tension. It was one of the pieces I would enjoy looking at again.

Janessa Touchet, U.S.A, appeared in Raymond Lukens’ piece Encounter to Claude Debussy’s La Plus Que Lente with Anthony Krutzkamp as partner, one of the ceded competitors. What a thoroughly nice, American guy Krutzkamp appears to be, and what a superb partner. It was male-female encounter with blonde Touchet in black, dancing with obvious rapport and ending in a definite embrace.

Pavel Gurevich, Belarus, danced Simon Dow’s Aria to some of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and partnering ceded partner Jenninfer Provins. Dow’s choreography called for intricate partnering, which Gurevich handled in a nice, understated manner. While his solo displayed his height and long legs well in royal blue milliskin tights, the piece did not tell us much about Gurevich’s dramatic abilities, but more about Dow’s ability to create a dominant part of Provins’ pointe work. It was mercifully classical in its choreographic form, a good reminder for a highly uneven evening of unfamiliar choreography.

This piece is part of Ballet.co's overall Jackson Competition coverage. The competition runs from the 15th to the 30th June 2002 and we plan daily reports to keep you in touch:
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