Gala Rates Bravos from the Press

New Jersey Ballet held its annual Gala on April 6 this year. Robert Johnson, dance critic for the Newark Star-Ledger attended and wrote an excellent review. Here are excerpts:

“New Jersey Ballet marked its 47th anniversary with a glamorous evening of classic and contemporary ballet on Thursday at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

“The company's galas at Prudential Hall are among the highlights of the performing arts center's dance season. This year's event, dedicated to former acting Gov. Richard Codey and his wife, Mary Jo, gave viewers a taste of the classical pas de deux that are New Jersey Ballet's stock- in-trade -- excerpts from the evening-length ballets ‘Esmeralda,’ ‘The Flames of Paris’ and ‘Swan Lake.’ The performance also featured two one-act ballets: choreographer Ali Pourfarrokh's ‘Facets’ and ‘Ariel,’ a New Jersey Ballet commission.

“This program underscored both the dancers' technical strength -- it takes a rigorously trained athlete to perform the classics -- plus the expressivity and exceptional style imparted by the company's ballet masters.

“‘Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux,’ from ‘Esmeralda,’ opened the gala on a brilliant note. As the huntress, Diana, Mari Sugawa combined an arrow-sharp profile with feminine softness, seeming to melt backward into the arms of her solid partner, David Tamaki. The pair smoothly executed several varied promenades, in which they turned together around a central axis. Sugawa's solo balances were excellent, both when she leaped into plunging arabesques penchés and when Tamaki took Diana's bow from her hands, leaving her poised on the tip of one foot.

"‘The Flames of Paris’ pas de deux was another show-stopper, filled with complicated aerial twists, hops on pointe and the celebrated pirouettes fouettés with a changing spot, in which the ballerina turns to face in four directions while spinning on her own axis. Yet Gabriella Noa-Pier son maintained a relaxed upper body and a flirtatious attitude. Her partner was high-flying Albert Davydov.

”While ‘Flames of Paris’ boasts of its difficulty, ‘Facets,’ a dance of neo-Romantic atmosphere set to a Mahler score, creates the illusion of effortlessness. Three couples seem to drift through the piece, buoyed on dream-like clouds of affection. Pourfarrokh's inventive partnering is especially challenging.

“As the women circle around their men and come to rest across their arms, or lean against them in different ways, the men support them without using their hands. At one point, the men partner one another, and timing is essential to make the exchange of so much weight and muscle look clean. In ‘Facets,’ Era Korotaeva-Jouravleva appeared particularly lovely with her expressive arms and torso, and young Katie Pivarnik made a wonderfully fresh and musical debut. Sergio Amarante is a fine, strong partner.

“Highlights of the equally exciting second act included Saule Rachmedova and Vladimir Roje in the ‘Black Swan Pas de Deux,’ where the ballerina made an elusive temptress, showing off her extension in high développés to the side in a substitute variation by Yuri Grigorovich. Roje was an appealing Prince, secure and unforced in his solo.

“In the quicksilver yet gorgeously patterned ‘Ariel,’ special mention must go to Christina Theryoung, who stepped in at the final hour to replace an injured colleague and danced with beautifully extended phrases. Thrilling in their physicality, Michelle de Fremery and Konstantin Dournev starred in the central duet they helped create four years ago.”

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