The Washington Ballet transcenDANCE Review
February 23, 2025 | The Kennedy Center – Washington, D.C., USA
The Washington Ballet hit all the right notes with transcenDANCE – a dazzling selection of contemporary ballet and modern dance – which the company presented at the Eisenhower Theater of the Kennedy Center.
Three pieces comprised the program: the driving and electric LucidNOISE by Jennifer Archibald; the stark and spiritual Vespers by Ulysses Dove; and the evocative Seasons by Edwaard Liang.
The indelible highlight of the program was the exceptionally polished and accomplished dancing of The Washington Ballet’s dancers.
The entire company looked fabulous, demonstrating unbound energy, honed skills, and impressive agility at every turn.
The Washington Ballet transcenDANCE Review
The opening dance of the program, LucidNOISE, transports the audience to an underground dance club. Archibald’s highly dynamic and athletic choreography, propelled by the pulsating soundtrack, imaginatively alludes to the vibrant and gritty atmosphere of underground dance club culture.
Dressed in slick and sexy attire (designed by Emily Morgan), the cast of ten dancers (five women and five men) immersed themselves in a propulsive vortex of high voltage movement which integrated the elements of hip-hop, classical ballet, and modern dance to a spectacular effect.
Demonstrating enviable athletic endurance, the cast zoomed about the stage with ease: slicing, flying, and spinning through space as the dancers navigated Archibald’s demanding choreography.
The entire ensemble gave a top-notch performance; yet an effervescent Maki Onuki, the ever-elegant and pliant Ashley Murphy-Wilson, and the versatile Andie Ndlovu particularly stood out.
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The second dance of the program – Dove’s Vesperes – brings a change of venue: from a dark and smoky warehouse the audience is transported to a church.
Dove created this iconic dance for Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in 1986. One year later, Vespers was performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) and became one of AAADT’s classics.
The piece was inspired by Dove’s memories of his grandmother and her place of worship. At once spiritual and thought-provoking, this contemporary dance can be viewed as a testament of women’s plight and their unbreakable bond on the quest to survival as well as a tribute to their resilience and strength.
The six women and a row of wooden chairs comprise the cast of Vespers. Outfitted in simple black dresses, their feet bare, the dancers of The Washington Ballet performed their roles with dramatic passion and purpose.
At times, they looked prim and proper, sitting motionlessly on the edge of their chairs, their postures rigid and stiff. But often, they seemed desperate and agitated, moving around the stage (the chairs served not only as mere props but as an integral part of the dance) with an unmistakable sense of exasperation.
What we witnessed onstage was a brilliant piece of emotional storytelling, the dance imagery evoking a mediation, a prayer, a confession, or a cry of the soul.
The excellent cast – Felecia Baker, Kateryna Derechyna, Catherine Doherty, Ayano Kimura, Samara Rittinger and Stephanie Sorota – rose to the occasion, delivering a poignant and memorable performance, which deeply resonated with the audience.
The program culminated with a rousing rendition of Seasons, choreographed by The Washington Ballet’s artistic director Edwaard Liang.
Set to the Vivaldi’s recomposed-by-Max-Richter The Four Seasons, this four-part ballet takes the audience on a journey through the cycle of seasons, infusing each part with a particular emotional connotation.
In Seasons, taking inspiration from the classical ballet idiom, Liang brings his own unmistakable stamp on the movement vocabulary, creating a cornucopia of visual imagery, replete with fast-moving circular ensembles, beautifully sculptured formations, slow-motion lifts, off-centered holds, and spacious jumps.
Judging by the thunderous applause at the end of the performance, this ballet made a powerful impression on the audience.
Featured Photo of dancers from The Washington Ballet in Edwaard Liang’s Seasons. Photo by Sonia Bartolomeo.
