New Jersey Ballet's Season Opener Wins Applause From The Star-Ledger

When New Jersey Ballet began its fall season on October 16th in the Wilkins Theatre at Kean University, it "opened with a chiller… the spectacular revival of 'Death and the Maiden', said Robert Johnson, dance critic for the Newark Star-Ledger.

" Exceptionally choreographed by Robert North and danced with powerful, emotive restraint by principals Era Korotaeva-Jouravleva, Andrei Jouravlev and Michelle deFremery, it shared the stage with dances of sparkling sensuality, lyricism and technical bravura, showcasing New Jersey Ballet's many gifted performers.

" Alternating between gentle and frantic rhythms, 'Death and the Maiden' has a remarkable, physical plasticity that makes its impact visceral and affects the way the dancers perform other ballets on the program, drawing from them a thrilling expressivity. New Jersey Ballet's resident choreographer, George Tomal, has reworked his 'Carmen' pas de deux for two company virtuosos, Saule Rachmedova and Tuvshin Bold, who bring a special excitement to this elegantly stylized drama of a gypsy girl and the soldier whom she seduces. Experienced partners, Rachmedova and Bold are seamless in their adagio and give themselves passionately to their roles.

" Brightly colored whorls of movement fill the stage in 'A Dance for You', by Vincente Nebrada, an ensemble piece that nevertheless offers numerous opportunities for soloists to distinguish themselves. Among the notables were Katie Pivarnik, looking capricious and free, but thoroughly secure; Violeta Angelova, delicately suspended in balances on pointe, and Gabriella Noa, indefatigable in a series of relevés and serenely centered in her turns."

< Back