US Newspaper Reviews
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La Fille Mal Gardee with Ballet Tech Ohio
In Cincinnati, Ohio June 2001
CityBeat (Cincinnati, Ohio) Article

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By Kathy Valin
CityBeat (Cincinnati)
June 14, 2001

Cincinnati's Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff Center is a great venue for dance. It's spacious enough to make events significant, but not so large as to reduce them to spectacles. And at Thursday's dress rehearsal of the comic La Fille Mal Gardee (presented by ballet tech ohio performing arts association), the characters in this sole surviving work of Jean Dauberval (premiered in 1789 in France) were charmingly human-sized, exhibiting timeless foibles without being mean-spirited. The cast of aspiring young dancers was joined onstage by professional dancers Alexei Kremnev, Andrey Kasatsky and Greg Schoenwolf. Under the direction of Claudia Rudolf Barrett, the production was staged by Kremnev and his wife, Anna Reznik. (They are both principals with Cincinnati Ballet.)

Kremnev danced as the widow Marcelina, whose fondest wish is for her daughter Lise to marry Nikes, son of a wealthy landowner. But Lise has her own plan, involving a handsome farmer, Colin (Kasatsky). Comedy requires a lot of mime (Kremnev's bewigged Marcelina is hilarious, in a broad, over-the-top comic turn) and sets up the story in predictable ways. A funny moment in Act II has a put-upon Marcelina ordering Lise to her bedroom to keep her away from Colin. Fine, except it just so happens that Colin is hiding in that exact spot!

Lise (played by Leigh Lijoi on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon; Annelise Spaeth takes over Saturday evening) is a wonderful role for a student dancer. Lijoi has no problem looking fresh and young, and she's been coached to let her characterization merge with the steps, so that she inhabits Lise, who must willfully outwit her mother while remaining likeable. She has a fine, open stage presence and smooth technical flow and control. Her epaulement, like that of the entire cast, is exemplary, and she's able to use facial expression in a natural way.

Kasatsky's tousle-headed Colin combines love from the bottom of his heart with impishness. It's easy to see why Lise falls for him. A dance for the two using a long ribbon with which they form a "love knot" is certainly a relic from long ago, and so is the wooden clog dance done by the harvesters. During the requisite celebration, the two lovers' grand pas de deux is just fine, with great leaps from Kasatsky. Lijoi is good when partnered and shows a little more fire on her own in the variations.

Standouts are numerous, including Lise and Colin's friends; Hannah Spiegel is tiny, but she eats up the stage. Megan Muldoon makes a great, dreamy, clueless Nikes, her arms reaching every which way. Gypsies in red add a touch of ethnic fire, and most younger members of the cast keep their patterns well and know how to project to the audience.

What's the difference between a recital and a real ballet? In a genuine perforrmance, the pre-professionals don't appear in mind-numbing ranks by age in a formula. Rather they are more of the fabric of the plot, inhabiting naturally occurring roles in an overarching narrative. The very satisfying La Fille Mal Gardee doesn't pretend to be fully professional and has no need to do so.