Eisenhower Auditorium got back to the classics last Saturday as the pageantry, elegance and spectacle of Swan Lake swept State College audiences away to a realm of noble princes, evil magicians and blue- gray twilights.
Curtains for the matinee performance by Ballet West of Salt Lake City rose seven minutes late, but, from the audience's reaction, the inconvenience was worth the short wait. A stunning set, reminiscent of medieval England in all its glory, greeted the spectators as the entire troupe, clad in period costumes of brown, rust and pink, mimed a birthday party for Prince Siegfried.
Dark, mysterious trees, planted at stage left, formed a canopy of craggy limbs over the stage, while ancient-looking pillars and stonework framed its edges. Beyond a stone railing at the back of the stage, the shadowy blue lake could be distantly seen. Later in the act, stars shone out from the backdrop.
Robert Arbogast, as Prince Siegfried in the matinee performance, began Act One with a good solo, but not a spectacular one. His best work, and arguably the best scene of the ballet, occurred in Act Three, during the pas de deux with Odile. There, he proved himself with some impressive leaps and quadruple pirouettes.
Close seconds to the performance of Siegfried and Odile in Act Three were the strong yet dextrous dancing of Jiang Qi in the opening of Acts One and Three. Also, the court entertainment by the corps de ballet at the opening of Act Three brought to mind, through costume and choreographic style, a lively Irish character dance.
Jane Wood, who played Odile and Odette, showed great versatility, elegance and control during her solo and pas de deux work with Arbogast and Charles Flachs, who played Von Rothbart. As Odette, Wood was somewhat too weepy, but she sparkled as the evil Odile.
Wood's portrayal of Odette did not evoke nearly as strong an image as Odile, because the choreography made it difficult for the audience to get as clear a sense of what Odette was feeling. In Act Two, at the first meeting of Siegfried and Odette, all she did was first shy away from him, and then eventually succumb to his advances.
Conversely, as Odile in Act Three, it was evident from Wood's facial expressions and style of dance that she was strong-spirited, confident and flirtatious. She evoked a much stronger presence than the wraith- like Odette with her imposing black swan costume and sharp, energetic movement around the stage.
Flachs, as Von Rothbart, danced his part effectively. However, his costuming -- emerald, with wing-like appendages -- provided most of the character's success. From his first dramatic entrance, as a shadow among the rocks above the swan corps de ballet, he cut an appropriately menacing -- and appealing -- villain.
Also worthy of mention was Siegfried's tutor, Wolfgang, played in both performances by Steven Mueller. Mueller was an entertaining part of Act One with this amusing little character part. The tutor becomes progressively more drunk as the party wears on, until he is the final figure on stage, passed out from his alcoholic indulgences.
The corps de ballet portrayed excellent swans, but their dancing was, at times, confusing in relation to the plot of the story. The prolonged dancing of the corps at the end of Act Two suffered particularly from this choreographic confusion.
Regardless of wondering what purpose certain chunks of choreography served, the female dancers did some precise unison dancing, especially when the four Cygnets took the stage for a short, and extremely quick, interlude in Act Two.
