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A Spiritual Transcendence - 2006-11-10 |
2006-11-10 - 3:39 p.m. Spiritual Transcendence As an avid theater-goer, I have seen my share of plays and musicals. Whenever I find myself empathizing with the characters involved, I am sent on an emotional roller-coaster of joy, wrath, sorrow, anguish, or whatever else the characters might be feeling. For me, theater is all about emotional experience. If I am able to tune into the emotions that are present on stage, then I am able to feel that I have made a connection; these are the times when my heart bursts with joy or my eyes brim with tears of sorrow. And how wonderful it would be if that connection could be felt with every writer, every composer, every performer and every actor. In my case, unfortunately, these emotional connections come few and far between. The last time I had a truly emotional experience at the theater was four summers ago when I saw Passion (starring now Tony Award-winner Michael Cerveris) in Washington D.C. at the Sondheim Celebration. I was so moved by how truly romantic the piece was, that even after the curtain had come down, the tears kept streaming down my face. Since then, I have poured hundreds, even thousands of dollars into theater tickets, hoping to experience that ultimate emotional connection againso far, to no avail. This past Sunday, however, I experienced something differentsomething newnot at the theater, but at the ballet. His names is Ángel (pronounced Ahn-hel) Corella, and what I experienced was not an emotional outburst but a spiritual transcendence. A principal dancer at ABT (American Ballet Theatre), Mr. Corella is one of their finest male dancerssome have even gone as far as to say that he is one of their finest male dancers ever. Not only is he capable of bringing the house down with his super-fast pirouettes that approach the speed of a figure skating spin and his lofty jumps that make you wonder, if perhaps, he might possess gravity-defying powers, but his infectious smile is enough to light up any sullen heart. And these are just the icing on the cake. Mr. Corella's most precious qualitieswhich, unfortunately, can be overlooked sometimesare his fluidity of movement, his musicality and his ability to stay in the moment. Not one of his moves will look out of sync, out of place, or calculated. One piece of work that showcases these precious talents is the ballet Clear. In this piece that was choreographed by Stanton Welch to Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor (reconstructed from the Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1060) and Violin Concerto in G minor (reconstructed from the Harpsichord Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056), Mr. Corella's every move is so breathtakingly fluid and beautifully accounted for that it quickly becomes apparent how in tune he is with every inch of his bodyfrom his head, his neck, his shoulders, all the way down to his toes and fingers. Not only is he in tune with his body, he is in tune with the music, coming together with the euphonious tones of the orchestra to create an unpretentious beauty, all the while making the choreography look effortless. So beautiful is it to witness this artist in motionalways in the moment, always pure and never letting his ego come into playthat it becomes a spiritual experience. Such was the performance I witnessed this passed Sunday as I sat in the Front Gallery (third floor up) at City Center in New York for a performance of ABT's fall seasonmy eyes brimming with tears, not of sorrow, anguish or joy, but of the pure beauty of the moment. Never have I experienced such a spiritual moment with any other dancer or performer on stage. Perhaps Ángel had called the angels to work their magic on him, or perhaps, the angels had taken him in on their own, feeling in him a kindred spirit. By the time Mr. Corella had emerged for his curtain call, however, he had both feet firmly supplanted to the stage; the angels had come and gone, and he had returned once again to be with us mere mortals. Thank you, Mr. Corella, for a sublime experienceand thank you for being you.
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