Self-presented at the ArcLight Theatre, 152 W. 71 St., NYC, Oct. 11-14.
It was so beautiful that members of the audience were actually gasping and sighing throughout the performance of "Midare," a stunning solo choreographed by Leigh Witchel for New York City Ballet principal dancer Peter Boal. To the spare sounds of the koto (a Japanese stringed instrument played live by Masayo Ishigure), Boal danced as if trying to comprehend the connections between the tones and his body's movement impulses. He danced with an inward focus, which evoked a serenity that was constantly tweaked by the music's increasing complexity. Yet each time Boal popped up into the air with a quirky jump, lusciously rotated his arm and shoulders, or tilted his torso and extended his legs, he found his way back to a strong vertical alignment. We saw a classical sense of order and symmetry engaged in serious discussion with a challenging musical language.
Boal's exquisite performance was the highlight of an evening of Witchel's classical ballet choreographies, presented by his company, Dance as Ever, at the ArcLight Theatre. The program also included a women's trio, "Scherzo Fantastique" (previously reviewed by this critic), and the premieres of "Duet" and "Green."
As danced by the spunky Ryan Kelly and the markedly reserved Abraham Miha, "Duet" took a long time to clarify, choreographically, why these two men were dancing together. There was a lot of polite walking around and posing, the movements executed in unison, yet imbued with distinctly different personalities. It wasn't until about halfway through the work, when the men really began to dance—Miha performed an absorbing, slow solo and Kelly offered lively allegro steps—that the choreography found its inspiration.
The lovely and lyrical quartet, "Green," featured dazzling partnerwork, amusing Balanchine references, and attractive dancing by Miha, Christina Paolucci, Parise Sellitti, and the adorably diminutive Mary Carpenter. Though Witchel's dancers are technically assured when dancing individually, it is when their bodies are intertwined or overlapped that Witchel's choreography conjures emotional interplay and arresting images that begin to suggest a novel choreographic voice.