 |
| Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Karel Cruz photo @Angela Sterling |
When the lights come up on
Benjamin Millepied’s Appassionata, five
dancers in brightly colored costumes take their positions at center stage.
Then they wait.
In a rush, dancer number six flies
out from the wings to join them; pianist Allan Dameron dives into the Beethoven
sonata that lends the ballet its name and the action begins.
On opening night of Pacific
Northwest Ballet’s Love and Ballet, the
final program of this artistic season, dancer six was Karel Cruz, in one of his
final performances with PNB. As I watched him arrive onstage, I had to laugh. This is NOT a guy who's late. He's reliable, dependable and beloved by the entire company. Then, I released a
breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. This was going to be one of the last
times I would savor Karel Cruz onstage.
Choreographer Millepied created Appassionata for three couples who spend
two thirds of the ballet in fast-paced, lyrical flirtations. They literally
bound with energy as they consort with their color-coded partners. Then it's time to trade in the original partner for somebody more interesting. (Principals Noelani
Pantastico and Jerome Tisserand wind up with one another, and what luck for the
audience. I haven’t seen these two as partners before, but their chemistry is
masterful and magical.)
 |
| PNB Principal Dancers Elizabeth Murphy and Karel Cruz in Appassionata photo @Angela Sterling |
In the middle of this ballet, the
tempo slows, and we are treated to a quiet and tender pas de deux for a couple
in white: Cruz, and principal Elizabeth Murphy. As I watched them together, I was struck once again by Cruz’s confident presence. Murphy—and every
other ballerina that has ever danced with Cruz during his 18 year tenure with PNB—always trusts
that he will be there for her, lifting her high, catching her in a thrilling
fish dive, even kissing her, in this case. Cruz elevates every partnership, it’s
as simple as that.
 |
| Love the fish dive! Karel Cruz with Lesley Rausch in a photo by Angela Sterling |
Each of PNB’s male principals
has unique and wonderful qualities onstage; Tisserand can leap to great heights, then descend to the stage with the grace of a feather wafting on a gentle
breeze. Jonathan Porretta (out with an injury, alas) is a firecracker,
born to entertain, with more than his fair share of charisma. Lucien
Postelwaite is a gifted dancer and dramatist, Seth Orza a symbol of strength; I
could go on and on.
By contrast, Cruz’s artistry is
quieter, more subtle, despite his 6’4” frame and a wingspan that seems to rival
a Boeing 707. He shines in the classical roles, which he learned as a boy in
his native Cuba. But I’ve heard tell that when he danced Christopher Wheeldon’s
velvety, sensuous After the Rain pas de deux with Lesley Rausch this past weekend, the audience went wild. (You have a
chance to see them in it Saturday 6/9 at 7:30. Go, go go.)
 |
| Rausch and Cruz in Wheeldon's sublime After the Rain pas de deux photo @ Lindsay Thomas for PNB |
As I looked through photos,
I was reminded of how wonderful it was to watch Cruz and former principal
dancer Carla Korbes together. Both of them have an innate musicality
and a silken quality to their movements. Together, they were often
sublime.
 |
| Cruz with Carla Korbes in Swan Lake. See what I mean about sublime? Look at their faces! photo @Angela Sterling |
While Cruz makes every partner
shine, it’s pure joy to watch him dance with his wife, Lindsi Dec. I saw them
perform the leads in Alexei Ratmansky’s Don
Quixote a couple of years ago, a real
treat. The love they showed for the dance and for each other radiated from
them.
 |
| Cruz and Dec in Don Quixote. Fun, eh? photo @Lindsay Thomas |
 |
| A little more eye candy for you, Dec and Cruz in Crystal Pite's Emergence photo @Angela Sterling |
PNB’s Love and Ballet continues Thursday-Sunday matinee at McCaw Hall. The
program also includes Wheeldon’s Tide
Harmonic and Justin Peck’s effervescent Year
of the Rabbit. Karel Cruz will dance his final Seattle performance Sunday
evening, in PNB’s Encore program, a collection of highlights from the season,
and from Cruz’s career. That should leave all of his
fans weeping in our seats.
No comments:
Post a Comment