Word: bravuraed
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...bland, urbane, comic, ridiculous and distinctly threatening. The first mask of all is style itself. "I want the minimum of performance in my work," says Steinberg, a virtuoso if ever there was one. "Performance bores me. What interests me is the invention. I like to make a parody of bravura. You have to think of a lot of my work as some sort of parody of talent. Of course, parody is not an attack; you cannot parody anything you can't love. But I wish to create a fiction of skill...
...make us not mind that we don't believe it. The dancing doesn't have to carry it alone--after all, this pull-out-all-the-stops Imperial Russian classic, complete with Tchaikovsky score and choreography by the legendary Marius Petipa, is nothing if not an occasion for bravura theatrical spectacle. The dance comes like expensive chocolates wrapped in gold foil: we're supposed to enjoy the package almost as much as the contents...
...have heard of "pace," as it is indiscriminate throughout, with most scenes (such as "The Sneeze") unbearably slow and mis-timed. When a scene crackles and takes off, it is usually the result of a good performance; Jeff Harper, for example, who performs three startingly different roles with dash, bravura, and intelligence, is largely responsible for bringing off "The Drowned Man," an amusing episode about a sailor who'll drown himself for 60 kopecks. Jacques Semmelman plays a decent, if uninspired, Chekhov (the narrator), but in this contest his straightforward warmth practically saves the show. There are fleeting good moments...
...bravura triumph for Baryshnikov and Kirkland
...most exuberant girl around, Kitri, makes a bravura triumph for Gelsey Kirkland. One tends to think of her playing an unearthly maiden in a romantic ballet. But despite her fragile body, she is a gutsy, bold dancer with almost palpable physical courage. She flings herself into the role of Kitri. Her foot hits the back of her head when she jumps (and she leaps the night away). Her attacks are almost stabbing. Her fan flips constantly - unless she is using it to poke Basil. She so clearly relishes keeping him in line that one wonders if there...