Review- The Ballet’s Sublime Mix ‘n’ Match

Michael Pink is on to something.
     In a few recent programs, his Milwaukee Ballet has presented single acts of classical ballets, and partnered them with more contemporary work – usually a modern classic and a new premiere. It’s a great way to put the varieties of dance in context, not so much as a dry history lesson, but as a study in contrasts. The essences of each piece bubble up with vivid clarity, and they assert themselves with confidence and oomph.
    This weekend, the program started with the newest work, a premiere by Louisville Ballet Resident Choreographer Adam Hougland. With its simple, uniform costumes, Hougland’s ambitious K413 evoked Balanchine’s black & white ballets. And there was a similar sense of envelope pushing. Hoagland loves working in pairs, but his partnering isn’t about an emotional connection between people, unless you think of it as a rapid-fire slide show spanning years of ups and downs. In one move, the woman leans seductively into her partner, then falls into a supported, Superman-flight pose with arms extended, then slips softly to the floor and relaxes into the pose of an Odalisque. There’s a story there, perhaps, but the entire gesture flashes by in the space of a few seconds.
    The ballet – set to a Mozart piano concerto – is so chock-full of inventive movement that it seemed tough for the company to stick with it. The ensemble was a bit ragged at times, but it wasn’t surprising given Hougland’s love of unison movement spread over a stageful of dancers.
    I’ve heard Leonard Bernstein’s score for Fancy Free more often than I’ve seen Jerome Robbins’ choreography. So I was surprised that the music was more driving and kinetic than the dance. Fancy Free is really a charming character piece full of great – if a little dated – comedy bits (its hard to chuckle at a group of three men accosting a woman in a deserted city street). On Thursday, the trio of dancers (Patrick Howell, Marc Petrocci and Michael Linsmeier) brought a lot of life to Robbins’ sailors, showing us what kind of men they were with every come-hither hip-shake or swaggering leap.
    But the highlight of the concert was the final number, Act Three of Marius Petipa’s Raymonda, featuring a subdued but remarkable star-turn by Diana Stetsura and great ensemble work from supporting players. After the near-mechanical abstractions of  K413 and the earthy jazz of Fancy Free, Stetsura and partner David Hovhannisyan took us back to the shadows in Plato’s cave – ideal beauty transcending flesh and aspiring to the realm of pure spirit.