United States Salem, Ochoa, Doña Perón: Dancers of Ballet Hispánico / Ahmed Alon (conductor). Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, 14.7.2024. (JRo)
Production:
Composer – Peter Salem
Choreographer – Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Artistic collaborator – Nancy Meckler
Set, Lighting, Videos – Christopher Ash
Costumes – Mark Eric
Principal Dancers:
Eva ‘Evita’ Perón – Amanda del Valle
Juan Perón – Antonio Cangiano
Young Evita – Laura Perich
Parents and Child – Omar Rivéra and Isabel Robles with Amanda Ostuni
Musicians: Hector del Curto (band leader/bandoneon), Ahmed Alon (piano), Brian Shankar Adler (percussion), Sami Merdinian (violin), Isabel Kwon (cello)
Ballet is rife with suffering heroines: Odette, Giselle, Nikiya and Juliet come immediately to mind. In contemporary ballet, choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is attracted to the similarly forlorn. For the Dutch National Ballet, she mounted the spectacular Frida, a portrayal of Frida Kahlo who lived with the painful aftermath of a horrific accident; and for Ballet Hispánico, Doña Perón, which traces the life of Evita Perón who died of uterine cancer at the age of 33.
However, there is a stark difference between mounting a ballet of Frida Kahlo’s life versus Evita Perón’s. Kahlo was an artist who turned a life of physical pain into art in a series of exquisitely personal paintings. Though Kahlo’s pain was featured in Ochoa’s ballet, it was seen through the lens of her transformative work.
In Doña Perón, Evita’s pain is repeatedly referenced in the choreography – Evita rounds her back, clutches her stomach and grimaces – but it does little to lend meaning to the work. It feels like a device used to engender sympathy for the character – that somehow in the midst of constant pain, she fought for the rights of the poor.
The opening of the ballet was promising – Evita was featured on a raised platform with a white, parachute-like dress fluttering around her. The ballet closed in the same way – presumably to deify the character who achieved saintly status in Argentina after her death.
However, the episodic nature of this bio-pic ballet’s structure confused rather than clarified the narrative as the story of her life unfolded. First there was Evita’s rejection as a child by her father: seeking love, the child Evita repeatedly jumped into his arms, only to be thrown angrily to the floor time and again. This was followed by her arrival in the big city where she danced in a tango hall with a variety of partners. Her popular radio shows were enacted, and she danced with a microphone in an overly literal recreation of her time as a media personality. Vamping around the stage in a simulation of 1950s-style Hollywood glamour, the movie star Evita was also presented. When she finally meets Juan Perón, pure dance takes over from the tedious narrative, and it was possible to enjoy dance without cliché in their series of pas de deux throughout the evening.
Adding to the confusion was the child Evita who was introduced in the early scene with her father and interacted with the adult Evita throughout the ballet, sometimes comforted by the adult, sometimes hidden or pushed away.
The music by Peter Salem, performed live by a quintet of musicians, was reminiscent of Astor Piazzolla’s nuevo tango, fusing tango, jazz and classical. Salem added electronics with crowd noises and speeches, and the percussive addition of stamping feet as rendered by the corps de ballet portraying the Descamisados. Piazzolla’s instrument was the bandoneon, and Hector del Curto’s playing added immensely to the flavor of the ballet. Unfortunately, the music was overmiked and would have sounded more authentic if the volume had been toned down a bit.
Though less original than in Frida, Ochoa’s choreography for Doña Perón had some of the same qualities that made the former memorable. Ochoa is able to infuse movement with hints of traditional and popular dance without sacrificing the scope of classical ballet. In one instance, a sideways bend and flick of the leg at the knee evoked tango and was followed by a bluebird lift made famous from Sleeping Beauty.
Amanda del Valle was a convincing Evita, projecting strength and fortitude which felt true to the character. Antonio Cangiano as Juan Perón proved to be the perfect partner – their relationship as it unfolded seemed inevitable and their chemistry undeniable. Laura Perich as the child Evita, a victim of circumstance, endured the fraught relationships enacted on stage. Twelve dancers portrayed the Descamisados (the Shirtless) who formed a vivid ensemble of the poor and disenfranchised of Argentina.
A handsome set of floor-to-ceiling gray curtains and sensitive lighting by Christopher Ash enhanced the production. The costumes, from military garb to tango gowns, were designed by Mark Eric.
There were contradictions in the political legacy of the Peróns, which a ballet bent on eulogizing Evita cannot fully contend with. Juan Perón, though he strengthened the unions and recognized the needs of the Descamisados, was nevertheless a dictator who brutally silenced the opposition and reaped financial rewards. It is hard in our politically fraught times to feel fully comfortable overidentifying with the wife of a dictator. Perhaps, after all, this is the final message of Doña Perón.
Jane Rosenberg