Word: gelfand
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...sensuous, technically challenging Arabian "coffee" movement performed by Kyra Strasberg, Todd Eric Allen and David Porter, mesmerized the audience and incorporated elements of modern dance into classical ballet. Finally, the rapid speed of the Sugar Plum Fairy's pirouettes and her leaps in plie on point all allowed Jennifer Gelfand to look delicate and effortless while demonstrating her internationally recognized mastery of technique. While strong on her own Gelfand proved to have even more range in her movement in a pas de deux with her talented partner Paul Thrussell (dancing as the Cavalier). A small and subtle suspension of time...
...hilarity to romance and of mockery to ballet's conservatism. While offering comic relief, the cross-gender casting also fits into the old English tradition of en travestie, linking theater to dance. Finally, stylistically, the stage presence of two giant stepsisters dwarf the waif-like Cinderella, played by Jennifer Gelfand, enhancing the sense of her powerlessness. Between the cross-gender roles and cross-dressing, the many onstage garment changes, and the court jester character reminiscent of Shakespeare's "fools" and "players," Harvard's own Professor Marjorie Garber would live and die for this performance...
...anticlimactic. She enters as a mysteriously draped witch-like figure, yet when she throws off her cape, her tiny insect-like wings and simplistic dance movements, which at best included numerous bourres pointe across the stage, brought Tinker Bell to mind rather than a sublime maternal figure. Similarly, Gelfand's performance as Cinderella lacks the strength called upon by the role, relegating her stage presence to the ranks of The Nutecracker's Clara rather than the fairy tale's triumphant princess...
...number of other individual performances stand out in this overwhelming entourage of fishers, matadors, nobility, courtesans and pixies. Jennifer Gelfand (who, incidentally, plays Kitri in several performances) shines as both Kitri's spirited friend and as the impish twinkling Amour in the dream sequence. Vadim Strukov plays the ridiculous Gamache with just enough clownishness to add some comic relief to the otherwise melodramatic plot. And Adriana Suarez bewitches Barcelona townspeople and audience members alike with her Flamenco elegance as the sultry Street Dancer...