'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is perfection

Tiler Peck with Chun Wai Chan were divine in Balachine's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on Wednesday night at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. (Photo by Paul Kolnik)

​Choreographer George Balanchine created hundreds of ballets – a handful of which are deemed perfect. Among those that reached perfection was his rendering of Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
 
And 60 years ago, this magical ballet – full of fairies and fireflies -- raised the curtain as the first performance at the newly constructed Saratoga Performing Arts Center. At the center’s anniversary this summer, this exquisite masterpiece has returned. And on opening night Wednesday, the enchanting music and dance once again enthralled.
 
Much could be attributed to the cast – Unity Phelan as Titania, Daniel Ulbricht as Oberon, Taylor Stanley as Puck and Emily Kikta as Hippolyta. But the highlight came in the second act with Tiler Peck and Chun Wai Chan dancing the post-wedding divertissement. Peck was stunning. In the adagio sections of this seemingly promenade through the Theseus’s palace gardens, Peck glowed. She elevated every step with a naturalism that radiated charm and confidence that was so rare it was, indeed, wonderful.
 
Just seeing those two, she en pointe, walking and wheeling their arms was a revelation. Being there for that moment sparked a hunger to see more. But Balanchine ended their pas de deux at the right time. It was sublime.
 
Of course, the story, all told in the first act, keeps one smiling. The Shakespearean tale centers on antics of Puck whom Oberon directs to work out the romantic entanglements of Helena, Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius. Meanwhile, the enchanted jester plays a trick on a thespian, Bottom, turning him into a donkey, and prompts Titania to fall desperately in love with him.
 
Oberon, performed with strength and gusto by the incomparable Ulbricht, straightens it all out in the end. And the lovers, and Hippolyta and Theseus head for a lavish royal wedding.
 
Not only is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” a work of perfection, it’s also ideal for SPAC. Surrounded by tall trees, the amphitheater inspires the sense that we can separate from the concrete world of worries. Furthermore, SPAC was designed with Balanchine’s input – including a demand for lush acoustics.
 
The New York City Ballet Orchestra, under the baton of Andrew Litton, along with Albany Pro Musica singers, soared.
 
In 60 years, however, things have changed. The ballet’s stay, once four weeks, is now four days. And the once accompanying museums and schools the company inspired are now shuttered. Gone are the days of one section full of ballet students screaming.
 
But what hasn’t changed is the spell “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” casts. It is glorious and will be repeated on Thursday and Friday night. I highly recommend dance lovers, go because at the end of the day, it’s up to the audience to keep Balanchine’s dream alive.