It's seldom that I cry at a ballet, but it's seldom that I see one like Swan Lake as presented by the Manassas Ballet Theatre and Orchestra. It tore at my emotions, extracting unexpected physical responses as they were affected by outstanding music and dance.
It was Peter Tchaikovsky's classic which never grows old.
Odette/Odile*(Aliaksandra Krukava) was the prima ballerina, both good and evil in different roles, the white and black swan, captivated by the evil minded Rothbart* (Nurlan Kinerbayev) and rescued in love by the handsome Prince Siegfried* (Vladimir Tapkharov).
In perfect unison, Mr. Kinerbayev and Mr. Tapkharov made grand jete leaps and splits simultaneously in opposite directions towards the corners of the stage to take away your breath to see them hang in space together and independently in solos.
Mr. Tapkharov's lifts of Ms. Krukava were made with ease, he never exhibiting the slightest weariness.
Ms. Krukava was equally as impressive, capturing her flight and waving her swan wings up and down, her arms about as long as her legs, as she fluttered all over the Prince and tried to beat back the evildoer Rothbart, he, who disguised his daughter, Odile (Ms. Krukava), as a copy of Odette (identity theft!) so the daughter could steal the Prince, and Odette would forever remain a swan.
It almost worked.
Odette was shy and timid, chosen by the prince to be his bride, trying hard to resist the evil around her. But as the cruel Odile, Ms. Krukava became aggressive and loud, matching the fast movement of her wings with those of her father, both in black, he like a giant raven swooping in and around and waving his arms like a flying dinosaur about to catch his prey.
One of the ballet's most famous scenes is Act II's "Dance of the Little Swans" when four ballerinas clasp their hands crisscross with perfect precision, bobbing and turning their heads and dancing together across the stage. Victoria Bartlett, Annemieke Bruce (also a costume assistant), Alice De Nardi, and Claire Thomas were the pas de quatre for Manassas.
They followed the delightful Pas de Trois in Act I, another synchronized dance by Veronica Plys (also a costume assistant), Hallie Wilde, and Pavlo Yevtushenko.
But, it was the jester* (Pavel Bochkovsky) who stole the scene whenever he was on stage with huge leaps and splits mid-air and a jolly good nature to bring dashes of humor to the tragedy in play.
The ballet included a large cast with children, some who appeared to be as young as four years old, whose long hours of rehearsal were evident with their attention to timely dance and steps.
Each scene's finish was timed to equal the final orchestral sequence, the music under the baton of Christopher Hite, the beloved conductor who received enthusiastic endorsement by the audience. Eric Sabatino dominated much of the ballet with Tchaikovsky's soft harp of which I can still fortunately hear 48 hours later.
Costume mistress Juli Masters, aided by assistants Ms. Bruce and Ms. Plys with Marie Komyathy, Morgan Mikluscak and Jennifer Sparlin, created beautiful gowns and tutus with luminous sparkle for the ballerinas while the men wore white tights and feminine vests to color coordinate with their female companions.
Stephen Winkler's lighting was on pointe, fading and brightening as the acts required, showering the two lovers at the end with bright diamond light.
After the first act, the ballet's executive director Mark Wolfe popped from behind the curtain and came on stage to thank major sponsors and to recognize the talents of scenic artist, Tim Grant, who created the massive, colorful backdrops of a garden, the haunting lake, and a magnificent ballroom.
At the end, the audience warmly received artistic director Amy Grant Wolfe and choreographer Vadim Slatvitskiy, whose assistants were Joshua Burnham (who was Prince Siegfried at other performances), and dancers Claire Thomas and Hallie Wilde.
Some Swan Lakes end sadly but Manassas gave us a happy finish to send us all into that good night and revel in the grand evening.
If the ballet and music were independent performances, one without the other, they would be marvelous, stunning as separate shows but the combination of the ballet with live music produces joy to those lucky enough to witness them.
The dancers came from around the world: Egypt, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and the U.S. exhibiting excellent showmanship and demonstrating that culture and the arts should not suffer for war and political reasons.
The performance was at the Hylton Performing Arts Center with free parking, printed programs, comfortable seating and more room between rows than what is usually found at Washington venues.
*Dancers in these roles at other performances were Pavel Bochkovsky, Hannah Locke, Kyrylo Kruhlove, Ahmed Nabil, and Kurumi Miwa.
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