Many would hardly consider a highly acclaimed ballet company to be a leader in dance innovation. The popular mind tends to lock ballet into an art form of the past. Joffrey Ballet’s Studies In Blue, a trio of wonderfully conceived works now in performance at the Lyric, shatters such outdated notions. Inviting three exceptionally gifted choreographers to present dances for its corps of exemplary dancers, Joffrey has once again placed itself at the “forefront of dance evolution”.
Driven by completely different inspirations, each choreographer contributed a highly unique ballet that carried its own distinctive impact. Andrew McNicol became enamored with the elusive nature of the word “yonder” as used in Siri Hustvedt’s book A Plea for Eros. Similarly intrigued by how the word “blue” can be used to encompass things as disparate as colors found in nature and aspects of our emotions, he combined his ruminations on both words into a ballet, Yonder Blue. Conceived as an abstract ballet, it’s intended to provide an avenue for us to tap into our inner reaches, letting us explore terrains of the mind we may seldom visit.
High goals for a ballet, but they’re more than achieved in this magnificent rendering. Music, choreography and dance would come together to form their own idyllic trinity. That level of flawless balance would characterize the other ballets as well. Both ethereal and rapturous, cellist and composer Peter Gregson’s music often recalls the ethereal or the divine. His score powering Yonder Blue is no exception. McNicol simply translates it into incredibly beautiful movement. Joffrey’s dancers give it incredible life.
All of the ingredients that make ballet a remarkable dance form flowed in abundance throughout this ballet and each of the others. In Yonder Blue, every note of Gregson’s exquisite music was matched to a step, a lift, a gesture that gave it meaning and visual beauty. Whether dancing as the full ensemble, or quartets, or pairs; precision appeared effortless despite the extreme physicality needed to accomplish it. That rigidity that once detached ballet from the grit of everyday life was gone. Instead, you could feel the dance was attempting to make a connection. Concepts like trust and the importance of human bonds would surface as dancers leapt, spun and were effortlessly caught by other dancers as if they were all suspended in the weightlessness of air. Transforming strength and athleticism into works of beauty is only possible through formidable talent and skill. Joffrey’s company of dancers epitomizes countless ballet ideals and to see them perform is to marvel at what they can achieve. In opening night’s Yonder Blue performance, two pairs of dancers held key roles in the ballet. Victoria Jainai and Alberto Velazquez would alternate the central position with Amanda Assucena and Jose Pablo Castro Cuevas. All were exceptional, one was magnificent. Intensified by the magnetism of her performance, Jainai’s extensions exaggerated both the splendor and the grace of the ballet.
A dance commentary on the scourge of the opioid epidemic, Stina Quagebeur’s Hungry Ghosts looks at the crisis from a perspective of love. Anais Bueno and Hyuma Kiyosawa dance lead in a ballet portraying a young couple trying to survive the epidemic’s horror. She’s in its throes, he tries and tries to help her find a way out. Indefatigable effort despite recurring failure, glimpses of hope, moments of progress and the devastation of relapse all are told with poignant clarity in dance. Often either too opaque or too transparent, social themes don’t often resonate well in dance. The opposite is true here. Hungry Ghosts remains powerful and relatable from the moment it opens. Danced chiefly in a contemporary format, the choreography and the symbolism in its staging are key to making the ballet so forceful and penetrating. Movingly depicting people caught in a ruthless cycle, Bueno and Kiyosawa’s acting is as compelling as the expressiveness of their dance. Jeremy Birchall’s music faithfully parallels the ballet’s emotional odyssey; adding to its depth and intensity. It’s appearance in Studies in Blue counts as Hungry Ghosts‘ world premiere and perfectly proves that dance can be used to not only raise awareness; but also spark compassion.
Like all of the ballets in this production, the color blue predominates both in the costumes and the sets’ coloring. The shades read as cool, muted and serenely elegant. Yonder Blue’s backdrop would quietly change from one hue of blue to another, or become a half wall of smoke emulating passing clouds. In Hungry Ghost, a sheer curtain acts as a veil dividing the world of reality and that of induced escape. The common thread between them all is the feeling of cloistered intimacy.
Hummingbird, choreographed by Liam Scarlett and set to the music of Phillip Glass, may be the most complex and traditional ballet of the evening. Intricate and often fast paced, the way it would alternate mood and transition in speed made it dazzling and exciting. Developed to showcase dancer skill, the entire ensemble remained virtuosic throughout. Possessing the poise of angels and the verve of sprites, its paired sequences in particular verged on spellbinding. An imposing blue streaked overhang added grand visual drama. Debuting a decade ago with the San Francisco Ballet, Hummingbird still exudes the immediacy of the present and carries a temperament in tune with 21st century psyches. With its freshness and sense of knowing empathy, it served as a triumphant finale to a night of wonder.
Studies In Blue
Joffrey Ballet
Through February 25, 2024
Venue: Civic Opera House
20 N. Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
