ADVERTISEMENT
Daily Expert News
No Result
View All Result
Saturday, January 28, 2023
  • Home
  • World
  • Economy
  • Business
  • Markets
  • Arts & Culture
  • Education & Career
  • India
  • Politics
  • Top Stories
Daily Expert News
  • Home
  • World
  • Economy
  • Business
  • Markets
  • Arts & Culture
  • Education & Career
  • India
  • Politics
  • Top Stories
No Result
View All Result
Daily Expert News
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
  • Economy
  • Business
  • Markets
  • Arts & Culture
  • Education & Career
  • India
  • Politics
  • Top Stories
Home Arts & Culture Arts

Review: The Balletic Rise and Fall by Eva Perón

by Nick Erickson
April 3, 2022
in Arts
131 3
0
Review: The Balletic Rise and Fall by Eva Perón
153
SHARES
1.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT


Ballet Hispánico, founded in 1970, has been celebrating its 50th anniversary for two years now. On Friday, the company presented the closing program at the inaugural City Center Dance Festival in this extensive party, which started stiffly with canceled performances in April 2020. Anniversary events often feel like empty fanfare, but this turned out to be a milestone, a breakthrough: the company’s first full-length production, and a striking one.

Choreographed by the prolific Belgian-Colombian dance maker Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, the 75-minute “Doña Perón” is a vivid portrait of 10 episodes of the life of Eva Perón – Evita – the mythical and polarizing Argentine actress who rose from poverty to populist first lady, all before age 33, when she died of cervical cancer.

In an interview about the work, Lopez Ochoa said: “We really wanted to create a portrait of a woman without being judgmental,” an approach she echoed Friday in a post-show conversation with Ballet Hispánico’s artistic director, Eduardo Vilaro. Still, it’s hard to break free from “Doña Perón” who doesn’t admire his main character, partly because of the storytelling choices – emphasizing the personal over the political – and partly because of the brilliant lead in the opening night’s cast, the captivating Dandara Veiga.

One of the production’s strengths is the thoughtful integration of movement – Lopez Ochoa’s stilted, athletic style of contemporary ballet, beautifully danced by the entire cast – with clever design elements. This harmony is distinguished from the first, sacred image: Veiga alone in the center of the stage, raised on a pedestal in a voluminous white dress, as if halfway through the ascension to heaven. (Mark Eric designed the costumes that drive the plot, many of which come and go through seamless changes on stage; the spare, functional set, and projections are by Christopher Ash.)

Veiga is soon joined by a chorus of dancers representing Evita’s working-class supporters, the descamisados ​​(or the shirtless), who wave white cloths in the air. Their grounded, unison phrases made up for the silence of her authoritative demeanor: arms raised at right angles, framing her face, a recurring gesture that sometimes shudders in a frantic movement, repeated throughout the group. Sounds of a recorded speech and cheers run through Peter Salem’s dramatic original score (played live) for bandoneon, piano, percussion, cello and violin.

Lopez Ochoa, who worked with director Nancy Meckler, identifies early on that something is wrong: Veiga convulses and sways off balance; her followers catch her. In the second episode, we meet the child Evita (the brave Nina Basu) and witness her rejection by her father, who had a second, wealthier family. Young Evita returns to ballet, sometimes banned by her older self and sometimes embraced.

The action progresses through Evita’s move to town, showing her flirtations with men—a display of deft, tango-inflected partnering—and her continued rise to fame and power. (Although very different from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, this narration of Evita’s story seems to take a few cues from the storyline.) Chris Bloom, as Juan Perón, is a skilled technician, but overshadowed by Veiga’s gradually increasing light. Their chemistry, as husbands and political partners, never quite clicks.

Theatrically, “Doña Perón” suffers from a few overwrought and undercooked moments. The specter of the disease sets in melodramatically: every now and then Veiga falters and clutches her abdomen, while projections of what appear to be roots or nerves flash across the background, suggesting the body’s internal deterioration. When her character dies and Bloom tries to resuscitate her, the interaction is almost cartoonish.

But other passages are as poignant as these are flat. Towards the end, Veiga (on stage for almost the entire work) is alone, shunned by the waltzing upper classes. Silently (the music has cut out), she tosses her high heels and diamond necklace back to the wings and starts stomping with compelling rawness and yelling, “Che! Che!” The ensemble joins her, multiplying her rhythms with their own a cappella sounds and body percussion. In this amalgamation, you see not just a compelling story, but a company that has reached new horizons.

Ballet Spanish

Through Sunday at City Center, Manhattan; nycitycenter.org.

ADVERTISEMENT
Tags: BalleticDailyExpertNewsEvafallPerónReviewrise

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

Video: 'Nanny' | Anatomy of a scene
Arts

Video: ‘Nanny’ | Anatomy of a scene

January 12, 2023
Art we saw this winter
Arts

Art we saw this winter

January 4, 2023
"The Subtle Art of Not Giving #@%!" Review: a blunt philosophy
Arts

“The Subtle Art of Not Giving #@%!” Review: a blunt philosophy

January 4, 2023
Will these be the 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees?
Arts

Will these be the 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees?

January 4, 2023
Meet the newer, Bolder Michelle Williams
Arts

Meet the newer, Bolder Michelle Williams

January 4, 2023
For 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio', a star built from small gears and 3D printing
Arts

For ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’, a star built from small gears and 3D printing

January 3, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
This optical illusion has a revelation about your brain and eyes

This optical illusion has a revelation about your brain and eyes

June 6, 2022
NDTV Coronavirus

Viral video: Chinese woman pinned down, Covid test carried out by force

May 5, 2022
NDTV News

TGIF Mood: Video of Bear Cub Dancing in the Forest Melts 2.5 Million Hearts

June 3, 2022
Hundreds In Sarees At UK

Hundreds of sarees at Britain’s Royal Ascot Horse Race to help Indian weavers

June 16, 2022
The shock of chopping up a Chanel bag

The shock of chopping up a Chanel bag

1
NDTV News

Watch: Researchers Discover the World’s Largest Factory in Australia

1
Skyrocketing global fuel prices threaten livelihoods and social stability

Skyrocketing global fuel prices threaten livelihoods and social stability

1
No Guns, No Dragons: Her Video Games Capture Private Moments

No Guns, No Dragons: Her Video Games Capture Private Moments

1
Looking for web development jobs? Here is a list of internships you can apply for

Looking for web development jobs? Here is a list of internships you can apply for

January 28, 2023
Video toont Tyre Nichols die zijn moeder roept, geslagen door agenten die nu zijn dood hebben aangeklaagd | CNN

These are the moments leading up to Tire Nichols’ death | DailyExpertNews

January 28, 2023
Aryna Sabalenka defeats Elena Rybakina to win thrilling Australian Open women's final | CNN

Aryna Sabalenka defeats Elena Rybakina to win thrilling Australian Open women’s final | DailyExpertNews

January 28, 2023
Aryna Sabalenka wins Australian Open for first Grand Slam crown | Tennis news

Aryna Sabalenka wins Australian Open for first Grand Slam crown | Tennis news

January 28, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT

Recent News

Looking for web development jobs? Here is a list of internships you can apply for

Looking for web development jobs? Here is a list of internships you can apply for

January 28, 2023
Video toont Tyre Nichols die zijn moeder roept, geslagen door agenten die nu zijn dood hebben aangeklaagd | CNN

These are the moments leading up to Tire Nichols’ death | DailyExpertNews

January 28, 2023

Categories

  • Africa
  • Americas
  • art-design
  • Arts
  • Arts & Culture
  • Asia Pacific
  • Astrology News
  • books
  • Books News
  • Business
  • Cricket
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Dance
  • Dining and Wine
  • Economy
  • Education & Career
  • Entertainment
  • Europe
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Football
  • Gadget
  • Gaming
  • Golf
  • Health
  • Hot News
  • India
  • Indians Abroad
  • Lifestyle
  • Markets
  • Middle East
  • Most Shared
  • Motorsport
  • Movie
  • Music
  • New York
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • press release
  • Real Estate
  • Review
  • Science & Space
  • Sports
  • Sunday Book Review
  • Tax News
  • Technology
  • Television
  • Tennis
  • Theater
  • Top Movie Reviews
  • Top Stories
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Web Series
  • World

Site Navigation

  • Home
  • Advertisement
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Other Links

We bring you the Breaking News,Latest Stories,World News, Business News, Political News, Technology News, Science News, Entertainment News, Sports News, Opinion News and much more from all over the world

©Copyright DailyExpertNews 2022

No Result
View All Result
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • World
  • Economy
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Markets
  • India
  • Education & Career
  • Arts
  • Advertisement
  • Tax News
  • Markets

©Copyright DailyExpertNews 2022

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?