Watch this special ABT performance at home

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

by Patty Marsters

pattym@lwsb.com

In late March, 18 American Ballet Theatre (ABT) dancers took up residence across from the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, as they perfected their routines for a special performance of “Uniting in Movement.”

The New York-based troupe paid homage to ABT’s history while also looking to the future of ballet. The four featured works, performed on the Segerstrom Hall stage in front of a live audience, were recorded and are now being offered for home viewing.

Included in the program is the familiar Act II pas de deux from “Swan Lake,” a.k.a. “White Swan,” featuring a take on Lev Ivanov’s original choreography by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. Devon Teuscher and Cory Stearns perform.

“Grand Pas Classique” offers another timeless pas de deux, which was famously choreographed by Victor Gsovsky to musicfromDanielAuber’stwo-act opera “Le Dieu et La Bayadere.” Catherine Hurlin and Sung Woo Han are the featured dancers.

Among the contemporary works is “La Follia Variations,” set to the music of 18th-century Italian composer Francesco Geminiani, as performed here by the East Coast Chamber Orchestra. New York City Ballet principal ballerina LaurenLovettechoreographedthe work. “The progression of steps is one of my favorites among the classical ballet style,” she says in the program guide.

“These dancers give me hope for the future of dance, and this piece of choreography is a celebration of that hope.” Dancers Emily Hayes, Jonathan Klein, Abbey Marrison, João Mengussi, Kiely Groenewegen, Tyler Maloney, Chloe Misseldine and Jose Sebastian give life to Lovette’s vision.

Betsy McBride, Jacob Clerico, Anabel Katsnelson, Melvin Lawovi, Hannah Marshall, Duncan McIlwaine, Scout Forsythe and Joseph Markey take the stage for “Indestructible Light,” which Darrell Grand Moultrie choreographed to Duke Ellington’s “Battle Royal,” Count Basie’s “Little Pony,” Neal Hefti’s “Tricky’s Licks” and Billy Strayhorn’s “The Star-Crossed Lovers.”

“‘Indestructible Light’ is inspired by where we are now in our lives and how important it is to stay connected to hope, love and joy,” Moultrie, a recipient of the Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Award, noted in the program guide. “I’m always excited about finding ways to use great music and the dancers’ bodies to bring inspiration to people. No matter what’s happening around us, we must always remember there’s a light within that can never be shut off.”

The program can be accessed via www.scfta.org for$25perhousehold until Wednesday, May 26.