By Lauren Runkle, Contributing Writer
The Russian National Ballet Theatre performed at Susquehanna as a part of the Artist Series on March 7.
According to Artist Series Coordinator Marcos Krieger, the series frequently features dance as one of the three performances annually.
“Every other year we try to book a major dance company,” Krieger explained.
Krieger also described how Susquehanna already had a working relationship with the management in charge of the company’s 2019 U.S. tour.
“Once we learned that this company would be available in the East Coast during our school semester, we thought [that] we could not miss the opportunity,” Krieger stated.
“The company is very adept to performing in different venues and adjusting on the spot,” Krieger said. “Our stage space was not as big as the conceptual space for their original choreography, but they adjusted their design immediately, without drama.”
The company performed two one-act performances: “Romeo and Juliet” and “Carmen.” First-year student Julia Loudenback praised the opportunity to see a familiar story told in a new way.
“It was fascinating seeing a play that I am so familiar with [, ‘Romeo and Juliet,’] expressed through a different artistic form of dance,” Loudenback stated.
“It was an amazing show with so many wonderful dancers,” said junior Angelique Poragratti. “The audience could tell that they really got into character.” “All of the dancers showed immense amounts of strength, poise and elegance,” said senior Hannah Witt. “I loved how their rendition of ‘Carmen’ blended together traditional and non traditional ballet movements.
For “Carmen,” Krieger highlighted the dancers’ technical talent.
“The main dancers in ‘Carmen’ were accomplished artists, both technically and expressively,” Krieger said. “Their ability to tell the story and, at the same time, to deliver their psychological positioning towards the actions really impressed me.”
Krieger also pointed out the importance of connecting the artists with the community.
“I thought the event went really well and it was very well received,” Krieger said. “I was especially encouraged to see how many young people were in the audience, fulfilling our mission of community outreach.”
“We have many students who are familiar with dance and ballet, but I dare to say that there was at least a hand full of students for whom this event was the first encounter with that form of artistic expression,” Krieger continued.
In addition to performing on campus, the company also taught a master class to members of Susquehanna University Dance Corps.
“Our [dance corps] president was contacted a couple of weeks before the performance and the master class,” Poragratti said. “It was classical ballet taught by one of the dancers from the company.” Poragratti praised the opportunity to learn from the company in addition to their performance. “I really enjoyed it,” Poragratti said. “I haven’t had an actual ballet class for a couple of years, so it was really great having one again.”
“It was really humbling to be under the instruction of a professional ballerina and take a class from them,” said senior Tara Montis. “I had taken classes from professional dancers before but to be able to do it at college was amazing.”
“Since it was classical ballet, everything was about technique,” Poragratti explained. “Our teacher was wonderful. We did a lot of barre work and some work in the center.”
Although ballet is not Poragratti’s main genre of dance, she advised others to take advantage of the opportunity to learn.
“No matter the level of dancer you are, it’s always beneficial to take a master class,”Poragratti said. “There’s a lot of techniques that we did that I haven’t used in awhile.”
“There’s always room for improvement, even among professionals,” Poragratti continued.
