On Stage: Ballet, Interrupted

There are rain dances performed in a ceremonial rite to protect a harvest and then there is dancing in the rain, which Gene Kelly did quite successfully. But the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre was hoping for the opposite at Hartwood Acres on Thursday night.
Alas, it was not to be.
A small crowd of loyal, here-to-the-final-bow onlookers braved threatening skies and forecasts of severe thunderstorms to turn out for the company’s annual outdoor performance. But for only the second time in PBT’s ongoing series at Hartwood Acres, Mother Nature decided to take her own bow — twice.
With artistic director Terrence Orr keeping an eye on the skies, the program began ten minutes early, quickly ushering in “Theme and Variations,” George Balanchine’s homage to Russian classical ballet. This work is a terrific example of cross-breeding. It was created by New York City Ballet’s Balanchine for American Ballet Theatre, where the 1947 original cast was led by Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch, both noted for their technique. When it premiered at NYCB in 1960, Balanchine selected Violette Verdy, noted for her pristine footwork, and the premiere danseur of his time, Edward Villella. Since then, the ballet has periodically been revived in these two alternate universes at ABT and NYCB, perhaps the only ballet outside of the classics to be treated so.
Orr selected Erin Halloran, noted for her own pristine footwork, and Christopher Budzynski, who has an elegantly athletic style similar to Villella’s. The pair also lead the production a couple of years ago in the company performance at Wolf Trap. They were more relaxed and authoritative at Hartwood, beginning with opening theme where they presented the tendu, a staple of the ballet, in various configurations.
It was not long before they launched into a dizzying array of technical challenges. Halloran offered an

effortless series of turns that changed directions, while Budzynski countered with wide open, pliant beats and seven double pirouettes. He later dived into a particularly difficult solo with double ronde jambes en l’air and double aerial turns followed by a pirouette — bravo!
The solos were interspersed with one of Balanchine’s favorite elements, a “daisy chain” where the women hold hands and twist in and among themselves. That set up an extended adagio, seemingly simple, but full of complex poses to show off the ballerina.
There had been a swift  rain shower prior to the adagio and Orr emerged afterwards, microphone in hand, to inform the audience that, even though the stage was covered,  the dancers’ shoes got wet in the open areas backstage. With a serious concern about slipping, “Theme and Variations” would not proceed with the final polonaise, certainly one of the more stirring moments in ballet.
However, the PBT dancers took the opportunity during intermission to not only change costumes, but to change shoes and begin Dwight Rhoden’s “Step Touch,” set to a nifty doo-wop accompaniment by Charlie Thomas’ Drifters and Pure Gold.

It was interesting to note that Alexandra Kochis and Alexandre Silva took over the prominent roles once danced by now-departed PBT principals Maribel Modrono and Christopher Rendall-Jackson opposite Halloran and Budzynski. But this glimpse at new possibilities was all too short. Once again, there was a passing shower, just enough to wet the new shoes and, by this time, the stage seemed to be affected by the muggy conditions.
After several selections, including Pure Gold’s “Gee Whiz,” and “I Gotta Get Myself a Woman,” Orr once again called a halt to the proceedings, unable to kick it up a notch with Drifters’ selections like “Under the Boardwalk” and “Save the Last Dance for Me.”
But that last dance couldn’t be saved. As Orr put it after the truncated performance, “It was wonderful to see the excitement in the audience. They perservered through rain and lightning, but we just couldn’t get to the finish.”
Well, there’s always “Sleeping Beauty”…
Photos by Martha Rial.