The theme “Beyond Borders,” harnessing a trio of works for the Joffrey Ballet’s season opener, is not about physical borders. Rather, the creative voices making up the fall program are thought to be boundary-breakers — “mavericks of dance,” as Joffrey’s moniker says.
“Beyond Borders” opened Wednesday with works choreographed by Liam Scarlett, Chanel DaSilva and Gerald Arpino. The program continues through Oct. 23 at the Lyric Opera House.
It is fitting that oneof Joffrey Ballet’s two original mavericks, co-founder Arpino, would be celebrated in a program aimed at breaking the mold. Moreover, this fall is Joffrey’s official kickoff to Arpino’s centennial year. His “Suite Saint-Saens,” the evening’s exquisite finale, is not the most outside-the-box dance in Arpino’s catalog, but nevertheless is a glorious reminder of his choreographic genius.
A dwindling few who spent time with “Mr. A” remain in this company. Indeed, the newest members were in grammar school when he died in 2008. In a program note, artistic director Ashley Wheater recalls meeting Arpino while the latter set “Suite Saint-Saens” on the Australian Ballet in 1984. It was there that Arpino invited Wheater to join the company he’d eventually lead. Rehearsal director Suzanne Lopez, a veteran Joffrey alum and one of the best stagers in the business, reconstructed Arpino’s 1978 masterpiece with razor sharp precision after nearly 20 years in the vault. The piece reveals its age only by its ombre dance dresses, ’70s color palette washed across the cyclorama — and several passes of hokey cheerleader runs. It is an otherwise evergreen tribute that withstands the test of time.
Arpino painted the stage like few choreographers could, creating swirling patterns of runs, leaps and turns to carve a fervorous whirlwind around arresting solos, duets (including a terrifically-danced one by Victoria Jaiani and Dylan Gutierrez tucked into the third movement) and an intricate pas de trois for Anais Bueno, Jeraldine Mendoza and Edson Barbosa.
Choreography aside, it’s up to the dancers to do it. “Suite Saint-Saens” requires near-perfect ensemble dancing, plus unabashed solo virtuosity from nearly all its 20 dancers. This is among ballet’s hardest tests, and they pass with flying colors.
British choreographer Scarlett’s 2013 “Vespertine” opens the evening, a piece first done by the Joffrey in 2019. It is repeated here as a posthumous tribute to Scarlett, who died in 2021 at age 35. The end of Scarlett’s life was plagued by turmoil and controversy, such that the catalog of this prolific and remarkable talent is unlikely to be broadly performed — and there is no one entrusted with staging it.
The bold move, then, is not about the ballet itself but the decision to present it. “Vespertine” was reconstructed by Joffrey’s rehearsal directors; its stunning sets are on loan from Atlanta Ballet (who debuted the ballet on this side of the pond five years ago). And it is a beautiful ballet.
“Vespertine” pays homage to the baroque era in several ways, most obviously in Scarlett’s choice of music. Living composer Bjarte Eike co-mingles with quintessential tunes by John Dowland, Arcangelo Corelli and Francesco Geminiani (reinforced by orchestrations that fold in a delightful dichotomy of electronic and baroque-era instruments). The dancing also plays in this quasi-antiquated sandbox. Overtly sensual, contemporary duets rub elbows with coquettish, bouncy partner dances and etiquette-laden bows and nods.
This juxtaposition is further echoed in the costumes (conceived by Scarlett): The cast’s burgundy corsets and long skirts or knickers and waist coats are more than once stripped to nearly naked, leaving them to dance only in flesh-toned underthings. By the end, several of the women have even traded their pointe shoes for soft slippers. Lighting by Michael Hulls plays a starring role. By turns, Hulls dimly illuminates Scarlett’s ethereal atmosphere with moon-tones or amber candlelight radiating from transparent bulbs hung above the stage in clusters like modern candelabras.
The message, I think, has something to do with the perception of decorum — and what we do when nobody’s looking. How do we act when we are stripped down, defenseless and unfettered by obligation or expectation?
“Colorem,” a world premiere by Chanel DaSilva, is the modern meat in this classical sandwich, putting a bold, contemporary stamp on a program whose “Beyond Borders” mantra is otherwise subversive. From the Latin word for color, “colorem” divides a large ensemble into two squads with contrasting red or charcoal gray turtle-necked, gloved unitards and matching ballet slippers (conceived by DaSilva).
The concept is taken directly from photographer Tim Tadder’s “Nothing to See” series of waifish models in monochromatic body paint posed as statuesque busts. Contrasting colored hands cover the subjects’ eyes, grab at their necks or clasp their shoulders. These images are clearly reenacted throughout “colorem” — the key difference, of course is DaSilva’s medium requires more than a singular, static moment in time.
“Colorem” is therefore aesthetically striking (reinforced by dauntless lighting design from Nicole Pearce) but compositionally bizarre. Maybe it’s those awful unitards, but there’s a vintage tint to DaSilva’s movement invention that, were it not for the beefed-up production value, could be mistaken for a Merce Cunningham piece. She seems encumbered by strict adherence to both her inspiration and to Cristina Spinei’s original score. An exception: a gorgeous duet for Amanda Assucena and Xavier Nu’n~ez — one in gray and one in red such that Romeo and Juliet vibes creep in — after a surprising moment of onstage magic (no spoilers here). In this section, DaSilva liberates herself from the driving pulse dictating the first and third sections of the piece to explore her own rhythms, underscored by more Spinei’s more atmospheric timbres.
Lauren Warnecke is a freelance critic.
Review: Joffrey Ballet’s “Beyond Borders” (3.5 stars)
When: Through Oct. 23
Where: Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive
Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Tickets: $36-$186 at 312-386-8905 and www.joffrey.org
