\n
While every bit as clear and controlled as the emphatic chorus of dancers around her, Xin also offered a kind of energetic counterpoint, a ghostliness, as she staggered and convulsed toward her fate, her long, black hair unpinned by the cast\u2019s other women in a moment of eerie intimacy. When left alone, mercifully uninterrupted for a short spell, Xin let the hard edges of the Graham vocabulary blur and dissolve, not hiding her exhaustion in this marathon of a role \u2014 and surmounting it again and again. Entrapped at various times by rope, fabric and the grasp of men holding her aloft, she seemed to cling to life as ruthlessly as the forces taking it from her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRodeo,\u201d which was presented on Wednesday alongside \u201cWe the People\u201d (on a program that closed with \u201cMaple Leaf Rag\u201d), depicts communal rituals of a more upbeat variety. Originally performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, \u201cRodeo\u201d tells the story of a cowgirl who just wants to fit in with the guys, its choreography woven with square dancing, tap dancing and a whole lot of gestural lassoing. Laurel Dalley Smith brilliantly embodied this plucky protagonist, her physical comedy supported by impeccable technique, whether she was miming a trot on horseback or flopping to the floor in a sullen bout of heartache.<\/p>\n
Much has been done to dust off the old ballet. Most notably, the revival features a new arrangement of Aaron Copland\u2019s score, by Gabe Witcher, for a six-piece bluegrass band that played live with an almost voluptuous richness. New costumes in saturated colors, by Oana Botez, light up the stage. Yet the story itself remains frozen in time, and seen through a modern lens, it\u2019s a little bit sad. Brushed aside by the cowboys, mocked by more ladylike ladies and left out of group dances, the denim-clad cowgirl seeks acceptance, which she finds only after replacing her pants with a floral skirt. That <\/em>gets the guys\u2019 attention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n