SPAC audience savor the seasons with BalletX

BalletX swims through the summer in "The Four Seasons Reimagined" on Thursday at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. (Photo by Vikki Sloviter)

​Nature, in all of its terrifying, exhilarating, and divine magnificence, blazed across the stage on Thursday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
 
No, this was not one of the amphitheater’s storms that occasionally strikes on steamy summer nights. This was BalletX in an ode to our world of flowers, trees, ice and bees.
 
This exceptionally ambitious company from Philadelphia performed its “The Four Seasons Reimagined.” The new work is based on Vivaldi’s iconic score that electronic composer Dan Deacon shuffled and re-blossomed. And at the first SPAC show of the season, Deacon performed at the base of the stage with his computer and an accompanying octet of woodwinds, horns and strings.
 
Elevating the nuances of his music on stage was a dozen glorious dancers from the Philadelphia ensemble who embodied the seasons – starting with summer and ending in spring. Though a departure from Vivaldi’s original order – from spring to winter – Deacon and BalletX made it make sense, ending on an uplifting note that regardless of what is going on, we can all be reborn.
 
In another departure from other ballet renderings of Vivaldi’s music, each season was choreographed by a different dancemaker: Morgann Runacre-Temple (Summer), Penny Saunders (Fall), Jamar Roberts (Winter), and Trey McIntyre (Spring). And in each, to Deacon’s emotive soundscape, the dancers became the natural wonders of the season. Consequently, it brought to mind the episodic glories and harshness of the living in the Northeast where we are blessed with all four environments.
 
With each season, the intensity of the work grew. Temple’s “Summer” was slow in temperament with dancers greeting each other with enthusiasm fueled by an unseen brilliant sun. Their gestures signaled warm weather and rituals like outdoor gatherings, swimming, and harvests.
 
Saunders’ “Fall” rolled in like a strong wind – with dancers now wearing autumnal colors –tossing about like leaves tumbling from trees. Here, the music warns of wild days ahead but also heats with its tones, portraying the dancers as strong oaks. They bend but never break.
 
Roberts’ “Winter” was among my favorites as its movement was a metaphor for ice and snow. A group of women tiptoe en pointe as if trying to avoid slush and ice. Then the men enter, shooting straight into the air like icicles – strong and glowing. As “Winter” proceeds, it dancers stiffen and then melt away.
 
Finally, McIntyre’s “Spring” is bright and jolly. The dancers first appear in a tight bundle with their hands wavering above their heads. Then they are in full bloom, extending their fingers to the sun and the insects and reaching down to draw water and nutrients from the soil. In the end, they redeploy int this grouping and reach for sky.
 
It is a beautiful work that also showed off BalletX’s grit. This small ensemble danced each section with speed, zest and perfection. It was astounding and a grateful SPAC audience exploded in applause.