Steps and Missteps

For a few moments, Kevin McKenzie’s new “Swan Lake” ventures into deep, dangerous and fascinating waters. The American Ballet Theatre artistic director shows the evil sorcerer Rothbart dominating the court in Act III through his sexual magnetism, evoking the irrational power of erotic attraction by luring away the four princesses from their cavaliers.

McKenzie prepares for this moment by staging the introduction to the ballet, which Tuesday opened a six-day run at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. We see Rothbart first as a ram-horned creature who transforms himself into a handsome courtier to attract, abduct and change the heroine Odette into a swan. (Rothbart the creature and Rothbart the courtier are danced by two different dancers.) How much her own desire makes her complicit in the change may be a moot point. Innocence, as we will also see in the case of the ballet’s hero Prince Siegfried, is pretty helpless in this world of passion.

McKenzie’s other decisions in re-imagining “Swan Lake” are about timing and steps, not story line. He streamlines the production, which was first seen in Washington, D.C., in March 2000, mainly by breaking for only one intermission (instead of the usual three), and he creates his own choreography for most of Act I and IV. (The rest of the dancing is traditional: “after” Petipa and Ivanov.)

To shift quickly between the first two acts, he jettisons the music that usually ends Act I and runs a mime sequence between Siegfried and his friend Benno to the swan music that opens Act II. Yes, mime is back in McKenzie’s version--most contemporary “Swan Lakes” delete this element of the original.

For the most part, it’s welcome for clarifying the action. The loss of the original music, however, is grievous; it is the only statement of the swan theme ending in a major key and promising happiness.

But there are bigger problems with McKenzie’s version. In dance terms, it leaves a lot to be desired. His choreography tends to be both busy and thin. In Act I, he scrupulously avoids strict classical symmetries, with the result that the focus keeps shifting, overlapping and confusing the eye. In the Dance of the Small Swans, which eases the seamless shift from Act III to IV, the swans really do nothing much except bend, pose, preen and noodle about. Even Rothbart’s mesmerizing solo, to the Russian Dance, which McKenzie has added to the usual scheme, is more an issue of dancer personality than of powerfully assembled steps.

McKenzie’s treatment of the prince, however, is the most problematic of his choices. Siegfried has been made into a playboy who enjoys the attention he can get from just about any woman he wants. So his solo in Act I, apparently meant to express his isolation, doesn’t ring true.

At least it didn’t with the refined and elegant Jose Manuel Carreno in the part. Carreno partnered sensitively and showed star power in his solo variation. But he projected little dramatic characterization, especially any transformation in personality as a result of loving Odette.

Julie Kent was a fine and fluid Odette, boneless in arms and backbend, but she looked more secure and at ease as Rothbart’s deceptive daughter, Odile. At some point in Act III, she apparently injured her left foot (there was what appeared to blood evident on the top of the arch, although a company spokesman would not confirm an injury). During the Black Swan pas de deux, when Odile usually does a marathon of the quick whipping turns called fouettes, Kent stopped after just 18 and then made smaller circling turns as she exited. When she returned for the rest of that act and the short final act, she danced without problem.

Overall, the company looked terrific. The dancers showed speed and elevation, across the board. Even the national dances in the Act III divertissement were up off the floor. Herman Cornejo, who was both Benno, the Prince’s friend, and the soloist in the Act I pas de trois, soared as an incipient Bluebird. Erica Cornejo and Xiomara Reyes equally sparkled.

Marcelo Gomes was the powerful and magnetic dancing Rothbart. Brian Reeder was his menacing acting counterpart.

Zack Brown’s sets and costumes are lush and gorgeous--Fragonard pastels in Act I and Byzantine jeweled hues in Act III.

Duane Schuler did the lighting, which oddly dimmed down at the end of Act I while the Dance of the Cups was reaching its brilliant conclusion.

Andrew Mogrelia led the Pacific Symphony in a spirited performance, marred only by tentative trumpet playing in the Neopolitan Dance.

American Ballet Theatre’s “Swan Lake” continues, with cast changes throughout, today through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. $25 to $75. (714) 740-7878.