The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet has become the toast of the national dance scene, with debuts in September at the Kennedy Center and City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival only adding to its luster.
Denver audiences got their latest chance to experience the oft-touring company Saturday evening, as it made its third appearance at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts under the auspices of the Newman Center Presents series.
Given Aspen Santa Fe’s consistency, it came as little surprise that the program — the same one it plans to present in February during its fourth engagement at the Joyce Theater in New York City — was as big a hit as always.
With 10 superlative dancers bursting with polish and presence, this whiz-bang company can be counted on for performances packed with energy, athleticism and brio. Saturday was no exception.
Aspen Santa Fe’s programs are another strength in some ways, but they can also be seen as its main weakness. The troupe’s two directors make no apologies for seeking out contemporary, high-voltage, sometimes witty repertoire with an emphasis on fun and flash. It’s meant to please audiences and it does.
The problem, as was evident Saturday, is that it can come off as dance lite — a series of desserts with no meat entree. There is no narrative, no romance, no darkness — little that offers much in the way of meaning or depth.
The only exception was William Forsythe’s “Slingerland” (2000), a sleek duet exquisitely performed by Sam Chittendon and Katherine Eberle. Set to tense, deliberately screechy quartet music by Gavin Bryars, it offered a taste of angst but just that — a taste.
It was quickly followed by more typical fare — Itzik Galili’s comic bonbon, “Chameleon” (1998). To get a sense of this work, imagine someone sitting in front a mirror making faces and striking poses, ranging from the coquettish to the ridiculous.
But in this piece, the audience served as the mirror, and it wasn’t just one person. It was five female dancers on chairs, who, with a few funny exceptions, were all in spot-on synchronicity.
The program’s highlight was Helen Pickett’s “Petal” (2008), which inventively explores the intersection of ballet and modern dance.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
