This highly atmospheric, though plotless, homage to Scotland takes inspiration from the pageantry of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the heather-scented charms of the Romantic-era Bournonville classic "La Sylphide" as well as the music of Felix Mendelssohn's "Scotch Symphony" conducted with exuberant gusto by Martin West. Full of lively dancing, flashing kilts and jaunty tams, the ballet makes a happy vehicle for the freshness and energy of the corps, which was led in the first movement by Courtney Elizabeth with especial vivacity and sprightly attack.
The ballet is anchored, though, by the central pas de deux for a sylph-like ballerina and her lover, a duet that Yuan Yuan Tan and Davit Karapetyan imbued with a sweet longing on opening night. Balanchine fills this second movement with mysterious interludes - Tan flirts gently with Karapetyan, however romantic moments are enigmatically interrupted by the corps of men, who surround her protectively, blocking him from reaching her.
SF Ballet review: Balanchine's 'Scotch Symphony'
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