Ballet Boyz

Well Christopher Wheeldon may name himself the leading contemporary choreographer working in balllet, but after last night's performance of "C. to C. (Close to Chuck)" by ABT, I would have to say Jorma Ela is along with William Forsythe far beyond him. It was gorgeous, haunting, deep, and almost perfect.

Set to a score by Phillip Glass that was composed as a musical portrait of his friend, the painter Chuck Close (who has done numerous portrait of Glass), the piece also transcended the feedback loop that its premise suggested. Yes, the piece had a beautiful backdrop designed by Close (that paid homage to his self-portraits wearing glasses) and yes, the pianist who commissioned the piece orginally, Bruce Levingston, was on stage playing the very difficult music (whose second half moved beyond what one expects of Glass with its staccato rhythms). But Elo's choreography had its own meanings that yes, may have spoke of Close's physical condition (he is wheelchair bound) but also expressed the possibilities of partnering, with beautiful transitions, and individual expressivity in movement. The piece was also about the potential of movement itself. And so it glided away from Glass telling Close how great and important he is and vice versa (and also it avoids Elo telling both of them how great they are).

Ir began with a startling image of dark figures in barely lit circles, dressed beautifully by designer Ralph Rucci, appearing like whirling dervishes waiting to move. A figure came on stage to take off their jackets, revealing bare torsos for the men. The figures remained still, bathed in pale light. The dervish movement did not come until the end when three couples twirled, the man holding the woman aloft while he span. The curtain comes down as they are still dancing, giving the feeling that this movement is perpetual, endless.

Beautiful lifts were abundant in this dance. A few remain with me: the man stands with his arms stretched behind him, his fingers almost touching his lower back; the women then laces her leg through this loop that the man has created, and he begins to lift her. Startling. Another was a lift when the male moves onto one leg and continues to hold his partner aloft, further suggesting that they are unified. They have become one dancing unit.

The men in ABT are amazing. Jose Manuel Correno was exciting in Stanton Welch's "Clear"--a dance that really features men's dancing: Paloma Herrera was passed around like a joint and has no place in the dance. In "C. to C." Marcelo Gomes was riveting: he had a solo that began when he was so contorted that he looked like clay before it was formed into a shape. And Herman Cornejo, who has an oddly shaped upper body, is also an amazing dancer. In the final piece last night, "Free Here on Out" David Hallberg was also great--he is a throwback to an earlier era, kind of reminding me of the Peter Martins that I saw in videos from the 70s. He is not massive like Gomes, nor filled with latin fire like Correno, but Hallberg is precise and graceful.