William Forsythe’s Playlist (EP). Angela Sterling photograph
Marking the high point—till now—of the five-year partnership with choreographer William Forsythe, the Boston Ballet staged an entire program of the choreographer’s works Friday evening at the Boston Opera House.
“Full on Forsythe” featured a world premiere, “Playlist (EP)”; a returning favorite, “Pars/Parts”; and “Blake Works I.” All three dances have a series of shorter episodes, realized with Forsythe’s organic, sinewy and approachable choreography.
The troupe benefits from Forsythe’s dancer-friendly style. “Pars/Parts” was staged here just a year ago, but nobody would complain about it returning so soon. Almost two dozen short segments, set to a noise-sculpture soundtrack by longtime Forsythe colleague Thom Willems, “Pars/Parts” is danced inside a large white cube. As the piece progresses, the dancers work solo, in pairs, in trios, and in larger groupings.
Willems’s music alternates between slow, ballad-sounding noise and upbeat, chunky grooves. It sounds better when it’s chunky. Some of the slow music is so repetitive, so innocuous that it leads to pure ballet—the dancers ignoring the sound, creating movement that makes sense to the body, not the beat.
Of the twenty episodes, any featuring Lawrence Rines—in particular his hot solo, and his duet with Reina Sawai—or Lia Cirio—her duet with Desean Taber, and fronting the ensemble finale—were arresting. Costuming added dimension: the women wore leotards with different colors front and back, changing the visuals each time they turned.
“Blake Works I” employed six songs from James Blake’s “The Colour in Anything.” Forsythe used the powder-blue ensemble to create dance-floor scenes—crowded parties. It looked like unschooled late-night fun, without any artistic intention, until you noticed dancers in unison gestures, sprinkled across the crowded stage.
Each piece then broke down to smaller pairings. “Two Men Down” was best developed, the men dancing solo showcases.
Vernacular touches—like walking casually into position, or exiting the stage—were mixed in with lots of humor, especially in the touches. Misdirecting partners, high-fiving, posing and pushing each other, all the dancing was fluid and seamless, like waving ribbons in the wind.
“Playlist (EP)” gets cut from the same cloth. The random music—popular songs Forsythe happened to be listening to—ranged from Natalie Cole to Peven Everett.
The men danced as a sports team (a never fully realized idea): striped-leg pants, jerseys with their names on the back. Women wore appealing fuchsia skirts and tops. “Location,” a sexy slow beat by Khalid, with Chyrstyn Fentroy and Roddy Doble partnering, was a mesmerizing duet, and the highlight of the set.
Forsythe’s gestural language has integrity and visual appeal. It looks like it belongs in the dancers’s bodies. Fluid, recognizable but not caricature, with lots of arms and hands, Forsythe does not demand virtuosic gymnastics from his dancers. They stay on the floor—very few lifts, with jumps done simply as accents, not as show-stopping displays. The stages are often appealingly asymmetrical, with a haphazard, crowd-like appearance.
Lighting was a problem in this program. All three works cast a harsh, fluorescent blanket of whiteness over the stage—very few spotlights—that was unflattering to the dancers and tedious to look at for an entire evening. It gave all the faces tragic shadows, even when no tragedy was unfolding onstage.
“Full on Forsythe” confidently celebrates the choreographer’s style. He gives his dancers movement that appeals to the audience, seems organic and happy in their bodies, and lets them explore their craft with flair and substance.
A five-year partnership may not be enough for Forsythe and the Boston Ballet: they may be just getting started.
The Boston Ballet’s “Full on Forsythe” runs through March 17 at the Boston Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston. Tickets start at $37. Visit bostonballet.org or call 617-695-6955.