Joffrey Ballet of Chicago
There are reasons the debt-ridden company has chosen Chicago as home instead of New York or Los Angeles: Gerald Arpino’s company’s been there, done that, and lost one life and a load of dough in the process. But it’s always bounced back from these and worse situations, and always stronger.
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This year, however, the bounce seems a little less high. More than a third of the troupe is dancing with the company for the first time, and there are rumors of discontent among the rank and file. The polish and precision that characterized the company in previous incarnations were missing on opening night. Partnering was actually clunky at times, especially in the opening piece, Nuestros Valses, a complex dance whose success depends on precision and a smooth flow from one movement to the next. Ensemble work was weak as well, with an arm raised too soon here, a leg lifted too late there.
The magic did appear occasionally on opening night. It was visible in the excerpt from Dean’s Light Field/Structure, a duet superbly performed by veterans Pierre Lockett and Beatriz Rodriguez; but the dance was too short to keep the momentum going. Arpino’s Round of Angels also captured some of the thrill of past performances. His choreography can make humans seem forces of nature: in Light Rain they seem raindrops bouncing off a puddle, and in Round of Angels stars shooting across the sky–Feijoo and Daniel Baudendistel’s tender duet floats somewhere between earth and the heavens.
