Most ballet events do not travel from Spain to Ireland in one evening. But From Distant Shores, the newest production of the Boston Ballet featuring two debut pieces, mixes a taste of traditional ballet along with traditional Spanish and Irish dance and music. In addition to the unique choreography, the choreographers and dancers themselves come from all over the world, adding an intriguing international flair to the entire performance.
From Distant Shores features three separate dances. "Ginastera" and "Jardi Tancat" are Boston debuts; "Celts" debuted in Boston in 1996. Each dance is a separate and unique entity that captures very different emotions and cultural aspects.
The first dance of the production, "Ginastera," features the choreography of Rudi Van Dantzig from a piece he originally created in 1976. The number is the most traditional of the evening, as dancers dress in typical ballet attire and perform more traditional ballet moves. The dancing itself, however, leaves something to be desired.
"Ginastera" claims to have many underlying themes, but they are not clearly conveyed in the dancing. At time, it is whimsical, but this is not strong enough to make up for the lack of coherence among the dancers. They are often disjointed and fail to dance as a unit. The choreography is enjoyable in its own right for those who enjoy classical ballet, but the deeper meaning of the dance is difficult to find. The audience noted this fault, as its applause hardly rivalled the enthusiasm for the other dances.
The next two dances take the audience on an exciting trip to the little known Spanish island of Majorca, and subsequently to Celtic Ireland.
Be prepared for an emotional journey as "Jardi Tancat" takes the stage and takes the audience off to the peasant fields of Spain. The dance's title means "enclosed garden" in the Catalan language. This piece is a powerful, welcoming change from the style of the previous dance. It shows the struggle of the peasants who work the land of Majorca.
The dance has an exciting array of images that are quite different from traditional styles- dancers perform with flexed feet, hunched backs, and run across the stage with their heads in their hands, evoking their pain and suffering.
Only six dancers perform in this piece, which is choreographed by Spanish native Nacho Duato. The small number of dancers allows for a more intimate and simple performance. Traditional Majorcan folk songs accompany the dancers, making a powerful contribution to the dancing. The songs emphasize the connection to the earth and the singer's voice conveys strong emotions. While the words are in a foreign language, the music is extremely powerful and a great complement to the emotions expressed in the dance.
"Jardi Tancat" also uses unique staging with twisted sticks on the stage to represent the earth. In this piece, dancers stay on the stage the whole time, lending to a sense of coherence among the performers that was lacking in "Ginastera." The costumes successfully add the finishing touch, using peasant clothes to round out the piece's theme.
Following the intense emotion of "Jardi Tancat," the program ends on a happy, energetic note with "Celts." This performance immediately redirects everyone's emotions to the cheerful, bouncy style of Irish dancing, quickly animating the audience.
The piece is composed of a series of dances, choreographed by Lila York, that aim to capture the soul of the Irish people. It mixes classical ballet and traditional jigs, all containing speedy footwork set to a wonderful mix of Irish music. The music is a welcome array of traditional tunes, modern pieces by The Chieftains, along with original scores composed by various artists.
Of all the main dances, "Celts" was clearly the crowd favorite. The performers in "Celts" are amazing - they fly across the stage, leap into the air, and form lines of unified dancing that are wonderfully engaging. They have truly mastered their footwork and manage to work together as a coherent network of dancers. Watching the audience, it is difficult to find someone in the crowd who is not bobbing up and down to the music, fighting the temptation to get out of their seat and do a jig.
The dance features a large group of dancers and several soloist performers steal the show. They demonstrate amazing ability and power in their dancing. Despite the high level of demand in this dance, they do not seem to tire and only gain energy from the crowd.
Not all the dances in "Celts" are fast - one slower dance had a different tone from the others, but was equally intriguing. Placed in the middle of the performance, it allowed the audience to rest before the pace picked up once again for the final dances. The dance does not attempt to convey any larger themes, but it does capture the culture of the Irish and creates a wonderfully packaged performance. The scenery, the costumes, the music and the dancing are each successful components of this piece.
As a complete program, From Distant Shores, is intriguing and well worth seeing. The overall product leaves the viewer with many strong, unforgettable images. Most likely, you'll be bouncing out of the theater with the Irish music in your head.
From Distant Shores continues this weekend only at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts. Take advantage of a special promotion, Bring a Friend on Friday, which allows you to get two tickets for the price of one if you mention this promotion. This promotion will also be available for other productions throughout the season. Student discounts are available as well. Call (617) 482-9393.
