One of the things I love most about humanity is that there are so many paths in tune with spiritual matters. I am not talking about religion. I am thinking of how spiritual beliefs and carnality are hand in glove in Matters of the Heart by the Joffrey Ballet. Dancers glorify the human body's power, beauty, and flexibility. Great dancers like the Joffrey ensemble turn the human body into a magical experience that lives in the memory and ignites the imagination. There are two seemingly different performances in Matters of the Heart. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa choreographed the first part titled Broken Wings, based on the life and art of Frida Kahlo. Chanel DaSilva choreographed Wabash and You, a love story set here in Chicago.
Many people consider Frida Kahlo's work spiritual and transcendent. Kahlo suffered from illness. injury and pain for most of her life, and she put her innermost self on the canvas for the world to experience. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa combines the symbolism and psychological elements of Kahlo's art to create Broken Wings. Anais Bueno played Kahlo on opening night, with Dylan Gutierrez as Diego Rivera. José Pablo Castro Cuevas plays Kahlo's first love, Alejandro Gómez Arias, who shared her passion for politics. Yumi Kanazawa plays Kahlo's sister Cristina, who had an affair with Diego Rivera while he was married to Frida. Their dancing was impeccable, as is expected from Joffrey.
Scenic and costume designer Dieuweke van Reij's set for Broken Wings is minimalist, allowing the dancers to be the central focus. Van Reij's costumes are a highlight in the program. Skeletons are clad in black bodysuits with the bones screened on in bright white for a glow-in-the-dark effect. Bueno's costume for most of the dance is a set of straps wound over a body suit with a short skirt to emulate the body brace that confined her after a horrific trolley accident. The biggest transformation is Dylan Gutierrez wearing a fake belly as Diego Rivera. I had to look at the program to see if that was him.
A Brutalist-style box serves as a platform where Kahlo literally wrestles with death. It also opens to reveal a scene of the bed painted on the wall. The bed is the setting for Kahlo's fevered imagination, which she put on canvas. El Venado Herido/The Wounded Deer, played by Lucia Connelly, visits often. Kahlo painted herself as a deer with arrows piercing her body. El Venado is a symbolic dance from Yaqui and Aztec traditions, frequently portrayed in Latin American dances and in the Loteria game.
Lopez Ochoa wanted Kahlo's art to come to life off the canvas, and she created an ensemble of nine male dancers in gorgeous, brightly colored costumes portraying some of Kahlo's self-portraits. Another deer, a flower, and a Dia de los Muertos calaca, illustrating Kahlo's constant pain and life on the precipice of death. The visuals greatly complement the dancing and vice versa. Broken Wings is a beautiful, graceful work with great staging.
Broken Wings is set to music by Peter Salem and played by the Chicago Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Scott Speck. Soprano Denise Vélez performs "La Llorona," which translates as "The Crying Woman," between the performances. She was accompanied by two guitarists, Hector Fernandez and Thomas Kimball. La Llorona is also the name of a woman in Mexican folklore, a vengeful spirit who causes misfortune to disobedient children. It is a haunting song from Vélez, who is an alumna of the Ryan Opera Center program for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The musical interlude was the perfect underlining of Broken Wings.
Part two of Matters of the Heart was set in Chicago. Chanel DaSilva choreographed Wabash and You for its world premiere at the Harris Theater. It is always a thrill to be the first to see new work, and Wabash and You has a different vibe than is usual at the Joffrey Ballet. Funk and soul group The Main Squeeze was on stage interacting with the dance ensemble. The scenic design is by Alexander V. Nichols, and the lighting design is by Jim French. I liked the minimalist setup and the projection of stairs to the El station. Amanda Assucena and Xavier Núñez are the featured dancers in this contemporary love story..
The dance was very modern, featuring some breakdance moves and balletic form for the more romantic, slower dances. The emotions and acting of the man and woman were excellent. Assucena sets the stage on fire with her erotically charged performance in Atonement. Núñez is fantastic as the love-struck man who seems tentative and confident all at once. I can recall the feeling and excitement of first love or love at first sight. I also remember the feeling when it didn't work out. Assucena handled it better than I did back in the day.
DaSilva's style is a fresh approach that I have not seen at Joffrey. It is a more modern dance with elements of ballet. I liked it a lot, but I do not see Joffrey flipping performances to modern or jazz dance. The music was perfect, with singer Cory Frye's masterful falsetto crooning great lyrics to set the story in motion. A couple of times, he slips into a bit of Lenny Williams begging and emoting, which I found aggravating, and I was glad he didn't do it on every song. If you want to hear what I am describing, check out "'Cause I Love You" streaming everywhere. Otherwise, the band was terrific as a street band on Wabash.
I found the staging a bit overwhelming, with everyone jamming modern dance moves. There were too many things going on. A Man and a Woman at a bistro table, stage right, while the ensemble is doing acrobatics, stage left. The execution of the dance moves is on point and definitely something most of us cannot do, but it could use a bit of a tone-down. It was fun to see the Joffrey Ballet show off its funk and soul chops, and it is necessary to do new things to keep the repertoire fresh. It was fun, and I highly recommend Wabash and You; put it on your dance card.
I highly recommend Matters of the Heart to put some zip into the autumnal doldrums. The Joffrey energy is inimitable, and I always leave on a creative high. One caveat: they use the dreaded fog machine, and I loathe it. I would have brought a mask had I known. Not everyone is as sensitive, but I can smell the fog, and it lingers, burning my eyes. I don't think it was necessary. The dancers and music brought the mood, and rarely is Wabash foggy. I can see it being thought of as romantic and mysterious, but the lighting was moody and sexy enough.
Matters of the Heart runs through Sunday, November 9, with two performances on Saturday, November 8. The performance runs two hours, including an intermission. The Harris Theater is located at 205 East Randolph, right next to Millennium Park. For more information and tickets, please go to www.joffrey.org or www.harristheaterchicago.org
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