Nearly Neighbors

“Increasing”, “Little Prince”, “Its Not a Cry”, “Switch Phase” Duo, “Last Glass”
BalletX for Damian Woetzel’s Demo
Terrace Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
October 25, 2019

Although the two cities are close on the map, Philadelphia and Washington have dance scenes that pretty much remained strangers. The Pennsylvania Ballet, which is at home in Philadelphia, did visit Washington in the past. Yet the  “other” troupe in Philadelphia – BalletX -  had not been seen in DC until now, when Damian Woetzel made it his business to introduce that “contemporary classical” company to audiences in the capital. There are 10 dancers in BalletX, and there was one guest artist for this visit – Robbie Fairchild, formerly of New York City Ballet. Three of the program’s five dances were choreographed by Matthew Neenan. He was one of the principal reasons for founding a “second” ballet troupe in Philadelphia. Neenan uses the dancer’s total body and often deploys it as a unit, as a whole. His choices of music range from a Franz Schubert quintet to folk melodies to dramatic film scores. Something always seems to be happening in Neenan ballets. 

In the opening work, “Increases”, Neenan deftly handles 10 dancers in his whole body way which amalgamates academic ballet motion with gymnastics and distortions. Schubert is matched sensibly and the result is a group sculpture. Not as successful was the program’s closer, Neenan’s “The Last Glass”, also for a group cast. The score had too many random Beirut songs and with everything moving there was a lack of continuity as well as a sense of busyness. In the duet from Neenan’s “Switch Phase”,  Francesca Forcella danced with the bearded Fairchild, who seemed in fine form. Their impact, however, was muted by a preceding duo, Amy Seiwert’s “Its Not a Cry” for Chloe Perkes and Richard Villaverde. Sections of “The Little Prince”, a story ballet for children and grownups by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, showed that pointe shoes can be used in both a classical and a contemporary way. This ballet’s male duet for a slimy creature and a more human figure was inventive fun. 

Philadelphia is lucky to have two ballet companies!

copyright 2019 by George Jackson