Boston Ballet's Energizing Performance

August 31, 2008

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

The Boston Ballet's ``Three Masterpieces'' was staged Saturday evening, an energetic performance that received appreciative applause from the audience.

It is the first time the esteemed troupe has performed here and the ``Three Masterpieces,'' namely ``Concerto Barocco,'' ``Polyphonia'' and ``In the Upper Room,'' had made headlines for their originality even before the show.

The Universal Arts Center in northeastern Seoul was full with couples and families waiting for the performance, while young students from nearby Sunhwa Arts High School were also seated to watch the troupe perform.

``Concerto Barocco,'' choreographed by George Balanchine, opened the show, with Double Violin Concerto in D minor by Bach in the backdrop.

The curtain rose to reveal eight dancers dancing as one, later splitting into two groups made up of four each, and then into pairs. They all performed closely to the music, like delicate musical notes dancing along a sheet of music. Balanchine's work perfectly weaved through Bach's music, with two soloists entering the stage as Bach's two violins started to play.

The work was pure and simple and the dancers offered perfect symmetry at one point, before separately presenting exquisite details in the other. With such collaboration and individual expressions, the work was engaging and also somewhat new for local fans pretty much used to classic ballet complete with ravishing costumes and settings.

Christopher Wheeldon's neo-classical work ``Polyphonia'' started with Gyorgy Ligeti's piano compositions performed by pianist Freda Locker. The work began with four couples positioned in front of dimly lit lights that shadowed them onto a screen. As they started dancing, the screen danced along with their shadows, creating an artistic illusion. A nicely woven finale followed after a series of intense duets, trios and a quartet, concluding the modest but beautifully constructed work.

Celebrated choreographer Twyla Tharp's ``In the Upper Room'' was the perfect choice to round off the three works. With dancers swiftly entering through dark curtains from the back of the stage, the work was energetic and powerful.

Dressed in simple striped costumes with bright red toe shoes, the dancers moved and danced to Phillip Glass's fast-paced number. As Nissinen mentioned during an e-mail interview with The Korea Times before the show, the work was an outstanding ``juxtaposition of dance and athleticism.''

As both Tharp's work and Glass's score reached their climaxes, it was hard to even blink because of the explosive energy of the movements and choreography. With dancers independently moving to the music using ballet, jazz and even basic dance movements, the performance was both delightful and powerful.