BALLET REVIEW : Melnikov as Ali in Kirov ‘Corsaire’

The role of the slave Ali in the Kirov Ballet production of “Le Corsaire” can be a scene-stealer. But the character was eclipsed by the titular hero and the heroine when a new Ali took over Thursday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Kiril Melnikov, 23, who succeeded Farukh Ruzimatov in the role, simply ignored the contradiction of a production that insists upon calling Ali a friend of the protagonist rather than his slave. Although Melnikov went through prescribed motions of submissive kneeling, he exhibited no trace of servility.

Unlike Ruzimatov, Melnikov did not compensate for any presumed lowly status with brooding aloofness, heroic faithfulness or instinctive alertness to danger. At best, he looked like a kid brother, a follower, a coolish friend, a would-be aristocratic Robin to a decidedly noble Batman.

Technically, he danced with rugged strength and a lack of finesse, though he partnered with reasonable security. Sturdy and muscular, he achieved decent elevation, maintained fairly clean shapes in the air and scarcely wandered in his final series of turns.

He also proved blocky and sluggish, however, the tensile line and energy of his extensions clotted in the torso. He completed a circuit of barrel turns with evident effort, landed heavily and, overall, suffered from hitches in momentum and rhythm.

For all that, he was no sulking, sultry, shrinking violet. Unlike his predecessor, Melnikov took his bows alongside the familiar Conrad (Evgeny Neff) and Medora (Tatiana Terekhova) at the end of the grand pas de trois. The crowd roared.