Boston Ballet Stuns in the 2024 Fall Experience Premiere
The company performs four dynamic contemporary choreographies
Boston Ballet
Contemporary Dance Showcase
Fall Experience
Oct. 24, 2024
Citizens Opera House
For their 2024 Fall Experience performance, Boston Ballet combined phenomenal dancing, music, and creativity within four contemporary dance pieces. The show opened with the world premiere of After choreographed by Principal Dancer Lia Cirio, followed by Ein Von Viel by Sabrina Matthews, Plan to B by Jorma Elo, and ended with the breath-taking The Seasons’ Canon by Crystal Pite.
The curtain opened on a modest stage: five couples in pale white and blue mesh costumes and a large spiral seashell-shaped prop on stage left, which the dancers often used to temporarily hide in during the dance instead of going offstage. The music accompaniment consisted solely of Sienna Tabron on piano and Christine Vitale on violin, and the unembellished tune added to the minimalist mood of the piece, with notes connected directly to each movement of the dancers.
Elements of traditional port de bras and partnering from classical ballet were very present compared to the other pieces in the show, and though the choreography felt free and unbounded, each motion was picturesque and appeared carefully placed. The couples were often placed symmetrically, with three in a line performing similar movements while the other two moved around the stage.
Ein von Viel continued and extended the theme of an unadorned stage, with the entire piece consisting solely of two male dancers, joined by Alex Foaksman on the piano. The two alternated between dancing separate motions and joining or following the other like a shadow performing the same movement. With the single piano, it felt like the audience was peering into a ballet class, where the dancers were practicing and teaching each other combinations. With movements such as perfect 90-degree arabesques, straight arms, and aligned fingers, the dance focused on precision and sharpness. It was also untraditional, featuring two male or female dancers, but never one of each like a typical duet.
Plan to B featured additional non-classical dance movements and music. With a warm yellow glowing screen placed diagonally on stage right, the six dancers jumped between solos, duets, and trios in a whirl of energetic passion. Featuring more impressive leaps, turns, and partnering, the selection of the organ and harpsichord further contributed to the eccentricity of the piece.
After an intermission, the highlight of the night began. The backdrop erupted into spiderwebs of light that shifted in color to symbolize the seasons: white for spring, orange for summer, green for fall, and finally gold for winter. Although starkly different in size and style, the sections fit together beautifully. The piece began with a highly coordinated ensemble that moved in unison like the seeds of spring. Summer erupted with strong duet dances stretched from passion and angst, and fall was oddly depressive yet satisfying. The dance climaxed during winter, as the entire ensemble of 54 dancers entered the stage in a sometimes frantic, sometimes organized, desperate final dance. Fake snow drifted down as the dancers synchronized their movements like snowflakes. In addition, the recomposed version of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons by Max Richter perfectly extended the emotional crescendo of the collection.
The lighting was coordinated simply and elegantly throughout the experience to convey mood and emotion. The stage brightened in color and intensity for more energetic sections and deepened into dark blues and purples or sharpened into a sole spotlight at times.
Compared to a full-length traditional ballet such as The Nutcracker or Romeo and Juliet, the contemporary dance tended to place a higher focus on the choreography and formations compared to the costumes and music. The entire Fall Experience became more contemporary-leaning with each piece, beginning with the women wearing pointe shoes and ballet skirts in After, while the ensemble wore flat shoes and flesh-colored leotards or their bare chest in The Seasons’ Canon. The music and lighting accompanied and helped build the vibrant power conveyed through the choreography, but the focus of night remained on the dancers and the capacity of strength, pliability, and beauty they held within their bodies.