The Suzanne Farrell Ballet Farewell

Image found here

I thought last year was Suzanne Farrell's farewell, but I guess not... Anyway, I have seen her company perform at the Kennedy Center before (in 2015 and 2016), and this time I took my roommate with me. This was a special night for the company, since Farrell was awarded the Pola Nirenska Award, which honors those who have made outstanding and lifetime achievements in dance. So that was neat!

Like the other times I have seen this company before, the show was made up of several smaller performances instead of one big show. Here's what we saw:

Chaconne

I will admit that I slept through most of this part... I think it's because this seemed like a standard ballet piece. The classical music was soothing, the movements were graceful; there was nothing extraordinary about it, but it was pleasant. The program insists that there is no story for this dance, that the audience should "appreciate movement for its own sake." I can respect that, but I think the lack of plot made it hard for me to focus, hence the nap.

Here's the dance performed by a different group:

Tzigane

Image found here

I was most excited to see this piece, because the program notes said that the first time Farrell performed this piece she only had a week to rehearse it, and the team made up most (if not all) of the choreography in that short time. But the picture above made the piece look better than it was. I did not like the creepy violin music (although there were triumphant horns in the middle somewhere), and Natalia Magnicaballi's movements were staccato and angular (plus, she was dressed like a tawdry gypsy). I was disappointed since the improvised nature of the original sounded really cool.

Meditation

This piece reminded me a lot of Christopher Wheeldon's "After the Rain," which I saw in 2016 and earlier this year. But, I do like Wheeldon's piece better. "Meditation" is inspired by "impossible love;" while the choreography portrayed "passion, love, and loss" very well, the dancers did not. At no point did I believe in the connection between Elisabeth Holowchuk and Kirk Henning. There were some impressive moves, especially the intricate arm movements, but if you don't believe the love story these two people are supposed to tell, then the moves mean nothing.

Here's a video I found to give you an idea:

Gounod Symphony
 

When I saw the dancers on stage, I immediately thought, "I've seen those costumes before! They're reusing the same ones!" But it's actually because I had seen the company perform this same piece in 2016. I especially like the complicated patterns, with the 32 (!) dancers moving in and out between each other.

Sad to see this company go, but Farrell, the muse of Balanchine himself, has had an incredible career!