There was a shadow hovering over Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as it opened its 52nd season at August Wilson Center this fall. Artistic director Susan Jaffe was not physically present, an odd and rare situation, although she purportedly was still doing her PBT job in New York City as she waited to take over as the artistic director designate of American Ballet Theater.
Jaffe had chosen the contemporary program which would shoot the company off in a new direction. It was a program that would startle and hopefully excite PBT’s audiences. Things hit a snag when Goyo Montero’s work, “Alrededor No Hay Nada,” which was scheduled to close the performance and was pictured on posters, was scratched due to visa problems associated with the repetiteur. (It is scheduled for next year.) In its place, principal dancer Yoshiaki Nakano stepped in to create a world premiere, “Catharsis.”
But Helen Pickett’s “The Exiled” was the official opening ballet for the 2022-23 season. Following on the heels of her delightful “Petals” last year, which warmed the heart like a ray of sunshine, this might have been shock to audiences accustomed to a legacy of mostly attractive, entertaining and safe programming that is part of the PBT brand. So this signaled a 180 degree turn, where a duo (Gabrielle Thurlow and William Moore ) gleefully, and perhaps sardonically, welcomed the audience much in the same fashion as the emcee in “Cabaret.”
One by one, they brought three people into the large plexiglass set, a room furnished in minimalist fashion. They were sinners — a heartbreaker, a murderer, a fraud — and there to come to terms with their fate. These were characters who were at ease with manipulation, so there were no heroes in the traditional sense.
But the performers were able to dig their artistic teeth into the darker side of dance. Pickett’s ballet enabled the PBT dancers to move beyond movement that pleased and simply please themselves by molding material that was seductive and oh-so-wicked.
“The Exiled” didn’t spell everything out for the audience. Where was this? Who did what? What was the motivation? It was up to the viewers to make their own connections.
“Catharsis” became the middle of this choreographic sandwich. Nakano has become the most prolific of the company’s artists and this was undeniably his best work yet.
He has always embraced the physicality and technique of classical ballet by packing too much into his choreography. With “Catharsis,” he began to edit and his dance vision became more introspective, with elements of modern dance.
Like the title, the ballet was inspired by a release from tension as it progressed. It began without music as the dancers, placed in an Ailey-esque wedge, stepped together in unison. Soon the strains of Beethoven’s familiar and iconic “Moonlight Sonata” were heard, along with a heartbeat overlay.
Over the course of four movements the cast conveyed loneliness, but made subsequent connections. The finale easily coasted to a heartwarming conclusion.
Unfortunately the serene, shimmering arpeggios of the “Catharsis” score were echoed Nacho Duato’s “Duende,” replaced by more serene sounds of Debussy, arpeggios from a harp, this time, along with shimmering golden tones of a flute. So “Duende” had a similar musical texture and atmosphere — delicate, nuanced with lacy patterns and wisps of humor. That detracted from the impact found in “Duende.”
Still Duato provided a natural playground, drawing elements from another Debussy work, “Afternoon of a Faun” with some parallel, two-dimensional movements reminiscent of Nijinsky’s famous ballet. And he found whimsical touches to add, producing an organic delight doused in the playful woodland setting.
Each ballet had its own personality, with “Duende” a lovely masterpiece. But there was not enough contrast. Perhaps that would have been resolved had Montero’s work been part of the program.
In all three ballets, the PBT dancers seemed inspired, as if they were internalizing the lessons they had learned from Jaffe: to be confident, more outgoing, daring. Yes, they will have to shoulder the responsibility during this difficult transitional period. I find it much like the situation the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra faced when the powers-that-be took three years to hire Manfred Honeck. During 2005-2008, the PSO had a trio rotating conductors in place. Yet the orchestra carried on, bolstered by the discipline and talent of the musicians themselves.
That is the state of affairs at PBT right now. So far it seems that dancers have accepted this challenge. If they do, the company will strengthen its resolve and benefit from the experience. After all, the PSO wound up playing for the Pope John XIII.
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