White Bird’s “4x4: The Ballet Project”—which ran Thursday and Friday—offered a unique opportunity to see how our home team, Oregon Ballet Theatre, stood against three other West Coast ballet companies from San Francisco, Seattle, and Eugene. Each company performed one piece, and each piece was a Portland premier, in fact, aside from OBT, none of the companies has performed in Portland in the past ten years.

Opening the evening was Eugene Ballet’s “Still Falls the Rain,” a modern ballet in which the ten dancers, clad in metallic yoga-like costumes, performed stylized, ritualistic movements against a futuristic, new age-y backdrop. Telling a story of love in a climate of religious intolerance (the opening bowing postures seem to point Middle-Eastward) I first thought the performance was only mildly interesting until the two stars, Jennifer Martin and Leoannis Pupo-Phyllis broke away from the group. Their pas de deux is sizzling hot, and not anything I expected to see. These two have a palpable chemistry together, as much “dirty dancing” as ballet. Together, they create a powerful emotional force in the juxtaposition between human and religious passion.
After the Eugene Ballet was Oregon Ballet Theatre’s “Rush.” Frankly, I was unmoved. The costumes were hideous, and the music often had little to do with the action onstage. At one point, dramatic minor chords hammer down as not a villain, but two girls merrily prance on stage. The dancing was okay, classical and a bit boring. There was one moment, where a dancer leaps off a man’s chest that was surprising and impressive, but the predictable manner in which this move was repeated made it almost tired.

“Concerto Grosso,” San Francisco Ballet’s contribution, was the real pleaser of the night. I’ll admit that, having never seen the San Francisco ballet, when the curtain rose I was quick to dismiss. Against a dramatic orange sky, the silhouettes of the five male performers was, at first impression, overly dramatic, and when the stage lights revealed that the San Francisco Ballet had sent us an all male cast in rainbow tights to dance, my first thought was, “Are you kidding me?” I was very wrong. These guys kick ass.
The five performers each had their own color, and their own mood in which they danced, but the two clear stars were Pascal Molat and Hansuke Yamamoto. Pascal’s effortless leaps were astounding. The man gets air. Air as in, they should make an “Air Molat” Pointe shoe (preferably with a little pump thing on the front). You could hear the audience gasp as Pascal joyously executed his leaps and twirls. Also earning gasps was Hansuke with his dizzying aerial turns that toyed with balance and gravity. I have never been so impressed with classical dance, and when they took their bows, competition or not, it was clear that a gauntlet had been thrown down.

It was in the wake of this physical showmanship that Pacific Northwest Ballet presented “Shindig.” A compilation of short comedic pieces, “Shindig” focused less on showing off physical prowess, and more on light hearted Rom-Com scripting that played well against the classical score. Had it not arrived after San Francisco Ballet’s piece, I probably would have thought much better of the performance, but after seeing such skill I wanted more than silly costumes and tongue-in-cheek. One exception to the show was Carrie Imler’s final solo piece, which showcased a bold and radiant dancer who isn’t afraid to have fun with her form, and a tasteful, clever use of lighting and music.
“4x4” was the first time all four companies appeared together on the same stage, and it served as a valuable comparison of where the four companies are at right now, stylistically and talent-wise. It would be wonderful to get this opportunity again in the future (hint hint), without having to travel…