Accent on the Leg

...On Dance ACCENT ON THE LEG BY ROBERT GRESKOVIC IN A LETTER he wrote about his five-act Don Carlo, composed for the Pans Opera, Giuseppe Verdi admitted the work was rather long But he proudly noted that it was not so long to leave time to show off the ballerina's legs One wonders what the composer would have made of George Balanchme's new Ballo della Regina, Verdi's ballet minus the opera (as opposed to the opera-minus-ballet version of the 1867 Don Carlo that is generally performed) Since Verdi wrote his letter, the decadence and stigma associated with the 19th-century female dancer have yielded to the respected and remarkable performing artist known as the contemporary ballerina And one of the major components of that change has been a theatncalization of the ballerina's legs Ballo is Balanchme's latest exposition of the physical focus he has been so responsible for developing during the better part of our century Previewed this past fall at an opening night gala, and given an official unveiling in early lanuaiy at the New Yoik City Ballet, the 16-minute piece is ijioieographed lor a temale coips de ballet of 12, four female soloists and a lead couple—in this case, Merrill Ashley and Robert Weiss The 17 women are dressed in satiny, leotardlike tops fitted with brief, asymmetrical chiffon skirts These identically cut costumes—designed by Ben Benson—are in a range ot pearlized aqua and lavender tints, and thev not only expose the full length ot the dancers' limbs but also highlight their esthetic qualities When Ashley's legs are exposed in the palest, pinkest version of the outfit, and are accentuated by Balanchme's inventive articulation, we become grateful that what the last century considered superfluous is a straightforward, serious subject in our own time Ballo is not among the choreographer's masterpieces, yet it is a brilliant showcase for a dancer of extraordinary allegro (accent on leg) power Ashley's legs begin their expressive potential in their shape—long, with finely proportioned thighs, calves and feet Struck in fifth position on point, they taper so completely that they seem to fit one into the other, hke an impression in its mold On toe, her feet are so neatly sharp that they appear to peak with the luxurious ease of a saturated sable brush...

...Ashley and Weiss enter and jointly claim their prominent positions When Weiss promenades Ashley in arabesque, her swimming arm motions further state the aqueous themes of the composition As the two leads return, usually separately, during the course of the dance, Ashley's superiority and dominance becomes overwhelming, while the somewhat perfunctory and ordinary presence ol Weiss gets more so...

...The stage is set with the corps de ballet posed in flanking quartets of kneeling and standing figures The crackled splashes of light thrown onto the aquamarine cyclorama by lighting designer Ronald Bates remind us of sunshine refracted on the walls of a waterside grotto As Verdi's airs crash and surge, the dances acknowledge these cues in playful harmony...

...Unfortunately, surrounded by these spntely females, Weiss—at his best a highly tense and tight technician—fails to sustain a vital role He overattacks and underachieves, his equal-time variations do not establish him uniquely and his jumps and turns are of standard design and impact Ashley, who has magnificent power and technique, completely captures Balanchine's Ballo inspiration A past master of allegro phrase puzzles, Ba-lanchine has Ashley spinning out some of his most fiendishly dazzling enchainments Following the ensemble's introduction and a shor?supported adagio (to a violin solo) for Ashley and Weiss, Ballo becomes nearly all solo dances Balanchine sends out, in succession, his four soloists, his danseur and his ballerina The action builds alongside Verdi's material, and when Ashley enters after all four soloists and Weiss have had their moments, her energy and finesse enlarge every step that came before her She smiles through demi-plie soutenu turns on point out of jumped preparations, she opens and delays the full breadth of her bright echappes on point, and she peppers the stage with hopped increments of turns from fifth position on point The ensemble and Weiss are allowed to show their own energy again, but when Ashley returns, she shoots through a devilish diagonal of double pique turns on point, opening into perfect sharp arabesque, you feel you are "seeing things " Skipping lightly back to her starting place, she repeats the diagonal, and tops this with a series of jack-knifing grand assembles You're "seeing things" once more A stately anthem brings these Ba-lanchinian and Verdian whirlpools to a temporary lull Soon, however, a galop finale has the ensemble covering the stage with a complexity of footwork that reminds us of the ripples a sudden gust of wind causes on the surface of calm water Weiss has yet another fairly standard foray of jumps, beats and air turns before Ashley dances a stunning solo You rivet on her feet weaving emboite moves, then on her legs opening out of what looks like floating emboite turns alternating with sauts de basques A visual cue that makes your head stop swimming comes in one of Balanchine's most playful moves Just as Verdi's galop is racing to a finish, shifting into the final Spanish anthem motif, Ashley whips through some supported multiple pirouettes, the last of which she finishes with her leg high in second position As the anthem is introduced, Ashley pulls in her extended leg with one-two-three clear incremental motions that fold her into a kneeling lunge pose The audience has no choice but to chuckle at the sight of this electrifying dancer happily calculating a halt before proceeding to the pomp and circumstance processional With the closing measures of the Hymne Espagnol marking time for her to stride on point in the grand promenade, we notice the calm of her carriage and, as she dips into demi-ptie, you see that the essence of her statehness lies in her exemplary legs Balanchine's Ballo contains some of his most accomplished inventions Nevertheless, it would benefit from a reshaped male role for a different dancer, or, perhaps, the elimination of the part altogether Until such reworking takes place, we can happily attend the present incarnation of Ballo for the inspired dancing of Merrill Ashley...

...Although Balanchine, the master of the non-narrative ballet, could hardly be expected to concern himself with the allegorical elements of the original, his dance is not without visual reference to Verdi's musical cues for water, waves and royalty He has ignored the details without violating the essence...

...This is partly due to their respective abilities, and partly to then ioIcs as designed by Balanchine Merdes music was composed to suvc loin pcail figuies (ballernas),an alternately angry and submissive Queen, and a single fisherman (danseur) Balan-chine does not delineate his cast according to these characterizations, but he does react to the score's four distinct subthemes by giving four secondary dancers (Bonita Borne, She-ryl Ware, Debra Austin, and Stephanie Saland) extended entre variations Their rippling steps, plus those of the entire ensemble, directly frame and relate to the thrilling inventions for Ashley...