Dancers capture mood, emotion in premieres

REVIEW

For audiences with an appetite for adventuresome dance, BalletMet has delivered in recent seasons.

Company premieres — that is, dances not performed here previously — have abounded, including the current season’s “Lambarena” and “Murmuration.”

Two more ballets new to the company were performed Friday in the Riffe Center’s Davidson Theatre.

As part of the triple bill “Art in Motion,” BalletMet staged Christopher Wheeldon’s “Fool’s Paradise” (which had its debut in 2007 at Sadler’s Wells Theatre) and Artistic Director Edwaard Liang’s “Airavata” (a world premiere).

The program began with “Fool’s Paradise,” a ballet whose maxim might be: Color schemes matter. Although plotless and full of challenging contemporary choreography, the rich golden lighting imbued the piece with emotion, as did the dramatic music by Joby Talbot.

The dancers did their part, too. Several passages showcased BalletMet at its most expressive (a pas de deux with Caitlin Valentine-Ellis and David Ward) and its most robust (a pas de trois with Grace-Anne Powers, Michael Sayre and Miguel Anaya).

The lighting grew colder with the arrival of Lisset Santander and Jarrett Reimers, among the company’s most physically commanding dancers. Santander’s height is no impediment to her flexibility, seen in scissor-like splits.

Amber hues returned for the finale, in which petals drifted from above, suggesting fireflies or shooting stars. The ballet communicates a lot with a little.

A darker atmosphere pervaded “Airavata,” which concluded the program. Set during a future age in which a drought pervades the planet, the ballet began in a dusty haze. Five dancers, resembling vultures or vampires, swarmed the central dancer (Sayre); after he apparently succumbed, however, a mist began to fall. As the water pooled onstage, the dancing became alert, playful and even childlike.

Ironically, the only disappointment of the evening came courtesy of a retread: Gustavo Ramirez Sansano’s “18+1,” first performed by BalletMet in 2014. The ballet is popular with audiences, but this reviewer remains immune to its charms. With jerky, exaggerated movements and dull, militarystyle costuming, the dance’s appeal rests with its mambo music and the energy of its 10 dancers.