Isabella Boylston and Daniel Camargo in Swan Lake. Photo: Rosalie O’Connor.
Monday, July 1: I hadn't seen Boylston's Odette/Odile in a couple of years, and it was such a pleasure to see how it has deepened, and how the role's technical challenges seem to have melted away, creating a wonderfully sinuous, womanly, soft—even sultry—interpretation, full of gloriously molten shapes. I loved the moment when, at the very end of the "black swan" pas de deux, Boylston’s Odette caressed Siegfried's face with the palm of her hand, almost tenderly, before arching back into her victorious final pose. How could he not submit to her charms? For once, the fouettés really looked like an expression of joy and vitality, not a physical feat. Camargo had a bit of an off night, but his partnering is always extraordinary, so light in touch, so assured, giving so much freedom to the ballerina and at the same time handling the transitions with great finesse. I have many issues with this production of "Swan Lake," but because of Boylston's performance, and the breathing and poetic quality of the corps, and wonderful performances by Jake Roxander and Takumi Miyake (Neapolitan dance), Sierra Armstrong (Big Swans), Carlos Gonzalez (Benno), Fangqi Li and Sunmi Park (Pas de Trois), and others, for once, the production's flaws dissolved behind a general sense of beauty and pleasure. The company is dancing really well, and that, is something to enjoy.