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[THE WEEKENDER] Gala audiences left starstruck

Giuseppe Picone, who performed the pas de deux from Le Sylphide and Apollo. PHOTO COURTESY OF A. AGOSTINI/IBSG

The 2008 International Ballet Star Gala was an eye-opener on so many levels: the dancers, the choreography — both old and new — and the interpretations.

While the reputations of some of the dancers preceded them — Leonid Sarafanov and Olesia Novikova of the Marinsky Theater (the Kirov), Tan Yuan Yuan, the Chinese star of the San Francisco Ballet and Briton Robert Tewsley — others cemented their growing reputations, including Maria Yakovleva, a principal at the Vienna State Opera and Tilt Hemlimets, a principal with San Francisco.

In an evening filled with remarkable performances, however, the stand-out was the 21-year-old Daniil Simkin, who has just been hired as a soloist by the American Ballet Theater. He opened the show with La Spectre de la Rose, leaping through an open window and into the hearts of the audience. He was everything a specter should be: lighter than air, incredibly fluid and his arms were just beautiful.

But the real revelation came in the second half of the program with his solo in the light-hearted romp, Les Bourgeois. Simkin had a huge grin on his face, as if to say, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” His technical expertise belies his years and his insouciance brought back memories of Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Yakovleva was another stand-out thanks to the contrasts the program provided. Her Juliet was all quivering shyness and first love excitement; her Manon was a self-assured woman who knew just what to do. Tewsley, who is every inch the epitome of a classical prince, partnered her wonderfully in both pieces.

Tan slowed the beginning of her Giselle down to the point you couldn’t believe she could hold each moment and yet she did; it made your heart ache to watch. Sarafanov, on the other hand, moved so fast in Le Corsaire that you marveled he could land so cleanly.

In the end, the audience was left screaming (literally) for more, it sounded more like the end of a rock concert than a ballet. Putting on such a show is a gargantuan task, but one can only hope that Wang and her backers are willing to do it again and again.

The Taipei International Jazz Festival began Saturday, with around 500 people gathering at the small outdoor amphitheater outside the Beitou Hot Springs Museum (北投溫泉博物館).

The Ching-Tsung Quartet (歌手吳青與聰義爵士四重奏) warmed the crowd up with jazz vocal standards and several bossa nova tunes. Female vocalist Wu Ching (吳青) showed the audience that jazz singers don’t have to croon — her rhythmic and versatile scat singing was the centerpiece of several lengthy but engaging solos. The quartet’s 45 minute set went by quickly. When the group announced its last song, many in the audience said in unison “so soon?”

The warm summer evening inspired pianist Gary Tan’s (陳凌鶴) Tunafish Jazz Quartet (鮪魚爵士四重奏). Tan introduced the group’s set by saying “it’s time to make things even hotter,” and the band launched into a high-energy set of modern jazz standards. Highlights included an abstract version of Some Day My Prince Will Come from the Walt Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and a soulful rendition of John Coltrane’s Bessie’s Blues.

A rising star to watch out for in Taiwan’s jazz scene is Tunafish Quartet’s drummer, 22-year-old Doris Lin (林文昱), who put on a particularly impressive performance demonstrating both power and subtlety.

The organizers clearly put a lot of thought into the program, which made for a pleasant outdoor concert. The evening’s MC, guitarist Gin Lin (林華勁), kept a good pace, engaged the audience well and reminded novices of concert etiquette (ie, clapping after solos) without being overbearing or heavy-handed. The Beitou Hot Springs Museum outdoor amphitheater, which seats around 400 people comfortably, is an idyllic and intimate.

The Taipei International Jazz Festival takes place every Saturday until July 26, with next week’s concert at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei. For more information see Taipei Times Page 13 on June 20, or visit www.taipeijazz.com.
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