The Nashville Ballet embarks on its 21st season this weekend. Artistic director Paul Vasterling’s experienced company kicks off the promising 2006-7 lineup with its intriguing Fall Series, which features a tribute to the late Kenneth Schermerhorn; George Balanchine’s Serenade, with music by Tchaikovsky; Salvatore Aiello’s Journey, danced to the organ music of Malcolm Arnold; and Lizzie, Vasterling’s interpretation of the true-crime story of Lizzie Borden, danced to Fall River Legend, noted composer Morton Gould’s late 1940s score.
Scored for brass and percussion, the Schermerhorn piece is based on the late maestro’s own composition, Lydian Fanfares. Schermerhorn had strong roots in the ballet world: in addition to his own work with the American Ballet Theatre in New York, his former wife and one of his daughters were both ballerinas of note. In tribute, eight dancers perform Vasterling’s choreography in a lively five-minute segment designed to celebrate the beloved Nashville conductor’s indefatigable spirit.
“Kenneth and I had talked a few years back about collaborating,” says Vasterling, “but then he got involved with fund raising for Schermerhorn Symphony Center and other various projects, so the stars never aligned to make it happen. This is my tribute to him. I had a choice to do an elegy, but chose instead to do something more life-affirming, something animated and full of counterpoint.”
The next piece on the bill is a re-creation of Balanchine’s first American ballet choreography. Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings provides the rich backdrop where music meets motion in a dance that primarily employs the company’s female dancers. Next comes Aiello’s Journey, an athletic but abstract exercise exploring the many paths men’s lives take.
The crowning achievement of the program, however, is Lizzie. Close to an hour in length, filled with drama and psychic torment, the piece is executed with impressive ensemble fervor and features a tour de force performance by Jennifer McNamara in the title role.
“Few companies dance this piece nowadays,” says Vasterling, noting that the original version was co-conceived and choreographed by the legendary Agnes DeMille, whose pantomimic style reached its popular zenith in Broadway shows such as Oklahoma! and alongside the panoramic scores of Aaron Copland.
“I would never want to presume to walk in DeMille’s shoes,” Vasterling explains. “I choreographed Lizzie without having ever seen the DeMille original.”
Instead, Vasterling steeped himself in research about the infamous 1892 Massachusetts double murder (“Lizzie Borden took an ax...”) and crafted his own haunting scenario examining the brutality of the crime, a dark backstory that hints at incest, Lizzie’s tortured personality and her improbable acquittal and later life as an heiress and social pariah. Vasterling has utilized the ensemble of 18 to realize his vision of the phenomena of “shadow people,” which adds an apropos otherworldly dimension to the ethereal but eerie proceedings.
The amazing McNamara, now 35 and admirably lithe as ever, wields her ax with bravado, her performance finding her at the height of her artistic maturity. Jon Upleger and Christine Buttorff dance the roles of the ill-fated father and stepmother.
With the exception of Journey, which uses recorded music, the Nashville Symphony will provide the accompaniment for this full-bodied program. “The symphony likes playing for the ballet,” Vasterling says. “Our gigs give them a chance to play things they don’t normally get to play. There’s rarely overlap between our repertoire and theirs.” The Polk Theater performances signal the NSO’s first return to TPAC since the recent grand opening of the Schermerhorn Center.
The remainder of the season is a deft blend of audience-pleasing fare, including classic dance and guest artists whose presence serves as a reminder of Nashville’s diverse musical profile.
The ever-popular Nutcracker comes to TPAC’s Jackson Hall Dec. 15-23, featuring the usual surprise local celebrities in cameo roles. Last year, Tennessee Titans tight end Ben Troupe joined the cast. “He was the best Mother Ginger I’ve ever seen,” Vasterling says with a smile.
Feb. 16-18, The Bluebird at the Ballet II will be performed at the Polk, reaffirming the ballet’s link to songwriters and Nashville music. Jonell Mosser and Gary Nicholson are the featured artists, along with jazz pianist Jeff Steinberg, The Blair String Trio and The Princely Players, a nationally known gospel group. This program features choreography by Vasterling, Sarah Slipper, Austin-based newcomer Gina Patterson and Robert Philander. The Slipper piece, Plough the Dark, is driven by the music of noted classical composer and Vandy professor Michael Curick.
The season concludes April 27-29 back in Jackson Hall with the iconic Swan Lake, whose 1895 choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov will be re-created by Vasterling and his dance team, with the incorporation of a few subtle new wrinkles.
“I don’t believe in messing with the essential form of this piece,” Vasterling says. “It’s 100 years old, and it’s very challenging for the dancers. You’re very exposed in classical ballet, and there’s no hiding of faults in technique. Swan Lake is a ballet whereby the dancers can really measure their development.”
For more information on Nashville Ballet, call 297-2966.
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