BOLSHOI BALLET DON QUIXOTE, DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION, LOS ANGELES, JUNE 2000 |
| From: LOS ANGELES TIMES, June 23, 2000 Dance Review by Lewis Segal "QUIXOTE": ANANIASHVILI OFFERS WARM,DETAILED CHARACTERIZATION
...But for some balletomanes, the only thing that mattered Wednesday was the chance to see Nina Ananiashvili dance Kitri in the first of three casts - and who could blame them? ...She could look at a flower and, without moving, tell you she loves the man holding it - even if she doesn’t want to tell him. She could drift offstage in an ensemble as if lost in a dream and make you understand exactly why the title character chooses her to be his Dulcinea. And she could whip through supersonic fouettes, with risky changes of arm positions, and still look elegant and composed, even a little surprised at the ensuing ovation. ...Andrei Uvarov brought great charm, partnering power and noble line to the role of Basil, along with the miraculous floating quality he displayed in 1996. Strongly cast women enlivened many secondary roles: Yuliana Malkhasyants as a feisty Mercedes, Nina Kaptsova as a fleet Cupid and Maria Volodina as a mercurial castanet dancer. Maria Alexandrova doubled effectively as an Act 1 street dancer and the Act 3 soloist with the lightest jump imaginable... The bullfighter Espada disappears midway through this version - a pity, since the last half could have used the style and force generated by Vladimir Moiseyev (grandson of the founder of the Moiseyev Dance Company)...
|