Review: Sylvia at American Ballet Theatre

Michele Wiles and Roberto Bolle in Sylvia. Photo: MIRA.

Sylvia at American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera House, July 1, 2009

Sylvia: Michelle Wiles, Aminta: Roberto Bolle, Eros: Daniil Simkin,

Orion: Cory Stearns, Diana: Kristi Boone
Conductor: David LaMarche

Gods and goddesses are at play in American Ballet Theatre's lavishly appointed production of Frederick Ashton's Sylvia, and to judge from the reception given the ballet by the audience at its Metropolitan Opera House run last week, this lovely work with its charming score by Leo Delibes is still much beloved, even after falling out of the active repertoire for decades until the Royal Ballet's 2004 revival.

Although I grew up on the company, I've only been able to see ABT intermittently over the past several years, and so I've lost track of the newest dancers, and can no longer reliably tell you on which corps members you should train an experienced eye. I can, however, report that glamour remains despite Nina Ananiashvili's recent farewell to the company, and there are some promising dancers whose performances stand out, even to the occasional viewer.

Among the handsome transplants to the company is the Italian star danseur Roberto Bolle, who danced the role of the shepherd Aminta who falls in love with the titular huntress, played on Wednesday evening by Michelle Wiles. Bolle has had the opportunity to dance the role at the Royal Ballet (he partners Darcey Bussell on the DVD that's available commercially) and has obviously benefited from the coaching at the institution where Ashton created Sylvia.

He makes a gallant partner for Wiles. Both are tall dancers, and though I had the sense that the Ashton choreography forced both of them to sacrifice the length of their lines in favor of getting all the steps in, Bolle presented Wiles to her best advantage in their pas de deux.

Michele Wiles and Roberto Bolle in Sylvia. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

Wiles is a technically superior dancer, which must be-- and here I'm only guessing-- why she was assigned one of the most taxing of Ashton's roles. The choreographer jam-packs the evening with solos for the ballerina (Margot Fonteyn in the original production) and doesn't stint on the technique--a fusillade of hops on pointe, peripatetic jumps that coyly switch directions on a dime, light little gargouillades that seem to skim across the stage. And yet, although Wiles manages to execute, one can't help noticing that it's a struggle.

At this point, I hasten to add that the above criticism is not necessarily what I would describe as a technical deficiency. However, it does, in my mind, open an insight into why Ashton often looks fussy, and even dated. Pointe work--and more specifically the use of the feet in pointe shoes-- has, I think, changed vastly in the nearly 57 years since the ballet premiered.

Nowadays, particularly as the technology of the pointe shoe has changed, dancers are more apt to spring in the Russian fashion or even jump onto pointe. Shoes--like the Gaynor Mindens that are so popular for their ability to hold the dancer securely on pointe--are nonetheless difficult to hold in the right position when it comes to performing hops en pointe. And because the current fashion is to pop onto pointe and use the shank as a prop, rather than relying solely on the muscles of the feet to hold the position on pointe, the ability to rise slowly through the foot, or smoothly and articulately roll down to flat are out of style. The result is that Ashton's steps, which demand complex changes of weight and quick jumps, mixed with fluid eleves onto pointe, tend to look jerky, sometimes unsteady and even perplexingly capricious.

Wiles barrels through the role, and in a certain sense her attack and damn-the-torpedoes approach fits the idea of the fiercely independent huntress Sylvia. When she flies across the stage into Bolle's arms, it's as much a testament to Sylvia's spirit of derring-do as her besotted love for Aminta. Delicacy is not her strength however --her legs have a gorgeous length to them, but those bourrees looked a bit too sluggish--and ultimately Wiles' Sylvia is less beguiling than brassy.

In general, the men seemed to fare better at managing the Ashton style. Cory Stearns took to the role of the evil hunter Orion with a zest that launched powerful turns. As Eros, Daniil Simkin very nearly stole the show, easily navigating the quick beats and footwork that makes Ashton so interesting, and broadly interpreting his mime. One could easily comprehend his winning over the icy Kristi Boone as the austere goddess Diana.

As the ballet spins toward its happy finale with a flood of gods and demi-gods, Veronika Part lent a serenity to Terpsichore, partnered by Alexander Hammoudi as Apollo, and Maria Riccetto and Isaac Stappas hit just the right graceful lilt as Persephone and Pluto. Leann Underwood and Jared Matthews took on the roles of Ceres and Jaseion, but it was Misty Copeland and Craig Salstein who stole the scene in the last act with their saucy and adorable commitment to the otherwise mystifying characters of the two goats.

ABT's season at the Metropolitan Opera House continues through July 11, 2009 with Romeo & Juliet.