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An Evening of Khachaturian: The Composer and His Ballets
By Karen Trachtenberg
The exuberance of youth, passion and lust glowed amidst the backdrop of a flirtatiously lit masquerade ball. Accomp-anied by complex melodies and harmonies, patrons seductively intertwined, clothed in glittering gowns and traditional costumes.
It felt nice to get lost in that moment, the opening act of "An Evening of Khachaturian: The Composer and His Ballets." Burbank's Media City Ballet presented a special performance honoring the great Armenian-Russian composer Aram Khachaturian at Glendale's Alex Theater last Saturday night and it was one that the composer himself would have enjoyed.
Danced under the direction of Natasha Middleton and Ruben Tonoyan, this one-time only event was dedicated to the late composer, one of ballet's most heralded. Selections from Gayaneh, Spartacus and Masquerade were entertaining and aesthetically pleasing - and the sold-out house was delighted.
"The Ball," a selection from Masquerade, was nicely staged -- enchanting and romantic. The ensemble dancers crowded the scene a bit, but the prowess of soloist Stephen Nelson, a Bolshoi Alum, ("Prince Zvedzditch") made it excusable. Nelson's jumps and confidence were spectacular-exactly what one would expect from a Bolshoi alum.
Selections from "Spartacus" followed, and an appearance by New York City Ballet alum and guest artist Aubrey Morgan was undoubtedly a highlight. Morgan did not disappoint during "Celebration of their Escape." Marked by clean lines and beautiful port-de-bras, her technically superior movement was a joy to watch. At times it seemed the chemistry between Morgan and partner Arsen Serobian lacked true passion and communication. There was some growth throughout the piece, however, and a glimmer at the end as an exhausted yet blissful Phrygia (Morgan), freed from slavery, melted into her husband Spartacus (Serobian).
Gabrielle Palmatier and Jekyns Pelaez followed, performing "The Seduction" and with four to five complicated lifts in a row, the pair flowed nicely. It's important to acknowledge Pelaez's great strength in flawlessly executing one lift after another in a short amount of time.
The corps de ballet delivered quite a finale with "The Wedding of Gayane and Armen" from Gayane. It was an homage to Khachaturian's most popular ballet with a pas de deux danced by principals Edgar Nikolyan and Amara Baptist.
Traditional staging and Armenian choreography dictated the piece throughout. The joyous wedding scene choreography highlighted the contrast between pink and red dresses beautifully. The women of the corps had their moment, gliding past one another in living color. The Company's youngest members were also beautifully worked in - eight or nine children with candles added a nice dimension, intently following their bride, putting an extra-sweet mark on the piece.
Dancers Nikolyan (Armen) and Baptist (Gayane) also had a good showing overall, with a lovely adagio followed by some beautiful solos. Armen's machismo was exhibited well with a series of spectacular jumps, twists grand jetés performed by Nilolyan. Baptist also had her shining moment with a series seemingly endless fouettés en tournant.
Soon it was time for "Sabre Dance," no doubt Khachaturian's most popular, well-known composition - and the audience ate it up. I think the dancers ate it up too - Sabre Dance is supposed to be exhilarating and it was - intricate, fast footwork and the famous sword props were abound.
Overall it was solid outing for a fledging dance company in only its seventh season. Some of the choreography seemed to put the dancers in tough positions and I would have liked to have seen their abilities highlighted in a slightly different way. I think the dancers were undermined a bit with unnatural angles and props -- for example, "The Seduction" began with Gabrielle Palmatier using a pole (part of a chariot), but the prop made things complicated in such away that my concentration fell away from her movement.
Throughout the evening, it just seemed that dancers were concentrating too hard on choreography without actually dancing. A couple dancers actually lost footing and fell during the performance. Each recovered well, however, and mistakes were quickly forgotten.
The true star, of course, was the music. Khachaturian was heavily influenced by Armenian folk music and culture, which really differentiated him from other Soviet composers of his time. With limited music education, Khachaturian's immense talent landed him a coveted spot at the Moscow Conservatory in the early 20th Century. Khachaturian, noted for his harmonic and melodic compositions, went on to create some of the most well-known ballets and orchestral works of the 20th Century and his "Sabre Dance" is on the list of most popular compositions of our age.