Kyiv City Ballet Review
September 18, 2022 | Davidson College’s Koch Family Performance Hall – Davidson, NC, US
It is difficult to say that violence and war ever have a silver lining.
The extreme hardship experienced by the artists of the Kyiv City Ballet, however, has led to a previously unconsidered and, in some ways at least, unexpectedly positive outcome. The company, which has been in virtual exile since leaving Kyiv in February for a planned tour to France and has not yet been able to return, has scrambled to keep afloat, alive, working and dancing. Aid agencies and arts groups across Europe and the US sprang into action as well.
The result is a 15-city tour of the US, from September 16-October 26, showing off this intensely vibrant, passionate group of dancers’ skills as technicians, creators, dramatic and comedic actors, and the sheer strength of the human spirit.
I saw the company’s second performance of the tour, a mixed bill (they are presenting Swan Lake and a suite of classical pas de deux at other venues) demonstrating their stylistic versatility and highly emotional performance qualities, while keeping their personal story – and reason for being here at all – in the fore.
The night opened with Vladyslav Dobshynskyi’s Thoughts, (inexplicably, the ballets were in reverse order from what was stated in the printed program), a dark, haunting, tormented examination of the power of our minds to lead us astray.
Performed in socks, neutral-toned loose-fitting pants and tops (excepting the central male and female figures, in form-fitting and light-colored versions of the same), Thoughts is striking for its sinuous choreography – and the luscious way the dancers executed it.
The male figure, the “thinker,” depicts pulling thoughts from his head, chasing them, trying to restrain them, escape them and then, find the one he’d previously dismissed. An ensemble seems to be his antagonist, holding him accountable for his rash mistakes and denying mercy upon his remorse.
The score, by Burkhard Dallwitz, begins and ends with indecipherable whispers – the voices in our heads? – and is alternately disturbing, slightly hopeful, and foreboding. To its detriment, the (quite long) piece falls towards the overly literal, and leaves us relieved at the nebulous conclusion.
Even acknowledging the fact that they’ve perhaps had more rehearsal time than normal, the ensemble’s synchronicity is astonishing - and gripping.
Except for a few short segments – this is not a score that can be easily counted – which speaks to the degree of spatial and emotional awareness between each dancer and their commitment to and reliance upon each other. The near-perfection of the group’s unison, of which there was a lot, only adds to their power. (In what struck me as a statement to us of their deep pride in being part of a whole, and that a community is only as strong as its members, each of the sixteen dancers bowed individually at the end.)
Tribute to Peace was choreographed during the time elapsed since Kyiv City Ballet left Ukraine by the company’s artistic director, Ivan Kozlov, with the intention of refocusing our eyes on
“life without conflict, without anger, and without despair,”
according to the program notes.
Set in front of a backdrop evocative of an old-world street scene, with cobblestones, lampposts, leafy trees and storybook house fronts, Tribute to Peace is a series of vignettes, almost a short story collection whose seemingly unrelated characters are eventually revealed to have common ground.
Each pair (all the vignettes were for couples) tells a story of love in some form or stage. Elaborate costumes telegraphed each person’s character: the aristocratic woman, the carefree young lass, the hobo down on his luck, the over-confident, slightly sophomoric guy. A suave use of props and comedic timing to rival none brings their tales to life more than their dancing.
Edward Elgar’s music adds sentimentality in a welcome way, especially in the rousing, heartwarming conclusion, when all couples unite with obvious joy. Tribute to Peace is really a tribute to freedom: the freedom to laugh, to care about trivialities, to lightness, to possibility, to dance.
Unsurprisingly, these dancers are excellent. That alone would be reason enough to draw audiences, but if we needed anything more, it is our empathy for their plight, the human instinct to help others and feel their distress.
The Davidson College audience showed their robust support and appreciation for Kyiv City Ballet with cheers and standing ovations after each piece, but most heartfelt was the response to the program closer, Men of Kyiv.
The traditional Ukrainian folk dance, choreographed by Pavlo Virsky, shows two small groups of men good-naturedly competing against each other through dance, each dancer using pyrotechnic skills to one-up he who danced before. It’s impossible to not grin, laugh and love these people, throwing their bodies on the line with feats from astounding to hilarious. Their yellow and blue shirts brought them home, as it did us.
Featured Photo for this Kyiv City Ballet review of company dancers. Photo by Duc-Binh Nguyen-Mau, courtesy of Davidson College.
