Kennedy Center Proteges Program
A brainchild of Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser, the Protégés program appeared in Washington, DC, January 26-29, presenting students of distinguished ballet academies from around the world. The concept was simple yet grandiose, and one came away feeling ballet’s future was secure.
The Royal Ballet School of England opened with Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, created for The Royal Ballet’s 25th anniversary. Designed to display the company’s ballerinas, this ballet requires delicate femininity augmented by strong technique. The poised restraint of the English style kept its solos from excessive coyness. The greatest burden was placed on Adeline Kaiser in the role created by Margot Fonteyn, and she carried it off with credit. Also noteworthy was her partner, gallant Yasuo Atsuji.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem School performed with clean authority in the opening of Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco. Its stripped-down modernism offered a handsome display of the American style that Balanchine was largely responsible for creating. On the second program, DTHS displayed sections from Billy Wilson’s Ginastera. This choreography was well danced, but not on a level with the other repertoire.
Scaramouche offered an endearing tribute to the Paris Opera Ballet School’s unique place in dance history, employing farcical, commedia dell’arte pantomime, dialogue with the audience, and delightful small children, without forgetting the high standards of classical technique. Very small girls appeared in hilarious mouse costumes as the celebrated Opera “rats.” Slightly older girls danced a Romantic sequence, touching in the fragility of simple movements performed with stately serenity. Outstanding in the very fine group was tiny Lucca Fabiani, an impish yet elegant Prince with professional aplomb.
The POBS group’s second piece, Péchés de Jeunesse was a lyrical ballet for older, more experienced dancers, strong yet calmly assured. Claire Gandolfi was especially enchanting.
The New National Theater from Tokyo presented the similarly lyrical Sinfonietta, to music of Gounod. This gifted and uniform ensemble, with their lovely, simple arms, elegant carriage and fine technique, were displayed to great advantage in flowing yet challenging choreography.
Two recent graduates of the Vaganova Academy of St. Petersburg performed the “Grand Pas de Deux” from The Nutcracker. The grand style of these more experienced performers seemed jarringly out of place in an evening devoted to youth and freshness. They looked hard, almost steely, and the muscular cavalier wore glitter in his hair.
Freshness was restored, however, in a performance by students from the Royal Danish Ballet. The beguiling entrance to August Bournonville’s Flower Festival at Genzano Pas de Deux was followed by divertissements from his Napoli. Bournonville’s celebrated allegro—crisp and precise, yet bouncingly extroverted—beautifully displayed the French style mentioned in accompanying program notes. Although it was not notable in either of the Paris Opera presentations, here it appeared to filigreed perfection, accompanied by the girls’ gentle flirtatiousness and the modest brio of the Danish male style. It made a perfect finish to a delightful evening.
Judith Judson is a long-time DC-area ballet teacher who writes about dance.
