Acting Soars in Universal’s Subsequent ‘Bayaderes’

Dancers who can pull off the hyper-drama of 19th century ballet as well as successfully inhabit its demanding classical forms are at a premium. In the second and third casts of principals for Universal Ballet’s “La Bayadere” engagement at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, acting was a great strength, while fluidity and technical transitions seemed more elusive. That made confrontations effective and love scenes touching but the promise of transcendence through masterful dancing occasionally unfulfilled.

On Saturday night, Jae-Won Hwang was a graceful and noble Solor who struggled with lifts. His love for Nikiya, on the other hand, was solid, and his virtuosity intermittently evident in bursts of buoyancy and in his third act circle of double turns. As Gamzatti, the woman out to steal his affection, Ioana Vasilescu stretched into imperially authoritative poses, but she was too mercurial with uneven facial expressions. Eun-Sun Jun was a weeping-willow Nikiya, and despite a costume that emphasized alarming thinness, very moving in the first two acts. A certain brittle attack marred her life as a Shade in the third act.

Dancing Solor on Sunday afternoon, Hyuk-Ku Kwon mixed heartfelt emotions with a soaring leap, sharp dynamics and an involving sense of momentum. He combined the daring of a warrior with the assurance of a prince. Irina Komarenko, as Gamzatti, started out strong in mime scenes, her small frame alive with hauteur and desire, but she seemed to strain for bravado moves later on, sacrificing overall mood.

Making an accomplished debut in the role of Nikiya Sunday, Seh-Yun Kim offered a sweet, prayerful devotion in the first act, well-calibrated emotional struggling in the second and soulfully pure classicism at the end. With such a strong focus, her balances became an attempt to master feelings and her extensions an expression of longing. This detailed blending of character and technique made Kim perhaps the most consistent of these performances, all of which had masterful moments.