Great dance companies share a certain majesty. Founded in 1948 by a now 97-year-old woman with an iron will and unwavering standards in excellence, the National Ballet of Cuba (the Ballet Nacional de Cuba) showered Friday night’s audience at the Auditorium Theater with a performance that epitomized what magnificence means in the world of dance.
Performing one of its signature pieces, Don Quixote, story and movement unfurled quietly and beautifully to music from the Chicago Philharmonic orchestra. But in very short order there were sparks of light and energy shining out from the dancers’ feet that hinted at what was to come.
Infamous for the amount of work and personal investment each dancer must commit to the company and notorious for the severity of the corps training, the fruit of that sacrifice would soon explode all over the Auditorium stage.
The company is an unabashedly traditional classical ballet company emulating a style of dance that flourished and became renowned in the 19th century. But they have adapted Don Quixote, this ancient lion of a dance, to their Caribbean culture; one that is awash in spirit and emotional fire. It’s that tantalizing combination that they carry with them around the world; danced by a vibrantly young corps de ballet.
The immaculate lines of the dancers’ bodies capture the eye first. Then it notices the extreme ease dancers employ in the execution of technically difficult poses and positions. This is where classicism shines brightest and Friday evening’s principals, Patricio Reve, Viengsay Valdes and Ariel Martinez each teetered on astounding in the purity and flawlessness of their movements. Each was grace personified and each was as powerful as they were graceful.
Divided into three parts, with an intermission between the first and the second segments, Reve and Martinez owned the production’s first act where the imagery and pantomime began the story of star crossed lovers. Reve, as the suitor too poor to pay a monetary tribute to his sweetheart’s family, has a casual charisma that grows as the storyline progresses. The conversations in dance that he and Ms. Valdes shared on stage were ones of extreme competence and unchained confidence. His one arm lifts were breathtaking for their speed and unassailability.
The spectacle of a swarm of matadors flooding the stage in bright yellow traje de luces (suits of lights) with their brilliant red sashes, matching red capes in tow, brought and instant jolt of energy and palpable machismo into the mix. Both served to enhance by the dramatic appeal of Mr. Martinez’s bullfighter solo’s where he seemed completely liberated from the confining limitations of bones. It was also here where the male corps flawlessly demonstrated one of the company’s seminal strengths; unison group timing.
Not only was technical perfection paramount; it was just as important that it appear completely unfettered and free. Given the success of the company to accomplish both, Friday night’s audience had the pleasure of witnessing feats of physical prowess that only elite athletes are capable of executing.
Every dancer knows the price their craft exacts from the body. Hard won careers can end abruptly when the body is asked to do push itself one iota beyond its outermost capabilities. The National Ballet of Cuba’s show was made all the more thrilling because much of what you saw was exactly that, dancers performing at the outer limits of their art.
Scant resources are a hallmark of Cuban society and the country’s ballet company is not exempt from doing more with less. Housed in one of Havana’s beautiful revival buildings, i the studio has no air conditioning to counter the island’s tropical heat and humidity. Often even the stage set the company travels with can appear dated and worn. Not so on this tour. A sheer gauze curtain edged in an embroidered scroll design turned Don Quixote’s dream sequence into an ethereal vision. And the massive cloth draped wheel hanging like a chandelier in the third act would be quite at home in Windsor Palace or Versailles.
It was also the third act that contained the remarkable dance for two, always one of the most anticipated moments in classical dance. At its best, it is paired perfection where dancers show off the heights of their skills and, in the end, compete for the audience’s approval. As wonderful as Mr. Reve was in this final sequence, the choreography was designed to glorify the capabilities of the prima ballerina.
Ballet Nacional de Cuba had been performing the final pas de deux from Don Quixote well before they took on dancing the full program. An essential piece of the repertoire, it has now been sculpted into a dance that showcases the remarkable. Viengsay Valdes delivered what would have been considered the impossible Friday night; a series of episodes when she balanced on pointe on one foot for what seemed like minutes at a time. To create that illusion of ease with a position that is so incomprehensibly difficult is as remarkable to see as it is to do and proved a spectacular finale to a sensational performance.
Ballet dancers often change roles in a production simply to help them stay fresh. That isn’t always the case for a company’s star dancers. The Ballet Nacional de Cuba’s bench is so deep, each night features different lead dancers. As difficult as it is to believe the quality of dance could go any higher than it did Friday night, it would be wonderful to see how the performances would compare one against the another. At the very least, we hope they don’t wait another 15 years to return to Chicago.
The National Ballet of Cuba
May 18 – 20, 2018
Auditorium Theatre
50 East Congress Pkwy.
Chicago, IL 60605
312-341-2300
www.auditoriumtheatre.org