Small but mighty: Syracuse City Ballet closes 2021-2022 season with stunning performance
By Katie Hopsicker
Photos by Royce Burgess, courtesy of Syracuse City Ballet
Purple lights glow as about forty people enter the studio space. After a moment of pitch blackness, the room seems to hold its breath. As dancers fill the floor, the small audience lets out thunderous applause, and it feels as though everyone has a front row seat.
Syracuse City Ballet is in the midst of performing Romantic - Classical & Modern at their studio space downtown. Artistic Director Aldo Katton said that each piece in the show represents different periods within the history of ballet, and described the program as “a celebration of dance, youth, diversity, and love.” Pieces include variations on classics like The Sleeping Beauty, La Esmeralda, and Grand Pas de Quatre, as well as new, contemporary works by Katton himself.
While the performance may be the last in the company’s 2021-2022 season, it very well may be the most special. The use of the studio space made the atmosphere intimate, and the company dancing inches from each seat symbolizes their close relationship with the Syracuse community.
Despite the lack of a stage, lighting and costuming were not diminished, and each dancer oozed with passion for their art form, expressing joy across their mask-less faces.
Notable performances include that of Lucy Hamilton and Claire Solis. Hamilton, beginning the show in The Sleeping Beauty, has undeniable control and completes difficult balance sequences with ease. With her effortlessness, she is a breath of fresh air. On the contrary (and complementary), Solis has a daring presence and is an ambitious mover. Her flawless execution of La Esmeralda was only enhanced through the rest of the show. Solis captivates viewers and has the audience wrapped around her finger - like she’s waiting to tell us a secret with her coy enthusiasm and fluidity.
While it is International Women’s Month, it would be tragic to not mention the strong partnering skills of the company’s men, particularly that of Lukas Figliozzi. In Aldo Katton’s Three Songs (Me Myself & I), Figliozzi brings an integral emotional integrity - his presence saves the piece from any tension and allows the audience release, in tandem with Diane Jones’ stunning composition.
Undeniably, the show stopping piece is the company’s finale, Pandemonium. The striking costuming and musical score allows the choreography to shine. Katton describes the piece as the marrying of classical and modern ballet, but it is so much more. I saw references to Balanchine, Robbins, and Petipa. I saw influences of latin movements, tango, and even musical theater. I felt joyous, intense, energized, and a release.
Pandemonium does not only represent ballet history, but creates an amalgamation that is uniquely human, uniquely Katton, uniquely Syracuse, and uniquely dance. Syracuse City Ballet is a force to be reckoned with and represents the whole of Syracuse’s arts scene. We are small but mighty, so hear us roar.