Don Quixote

Don Quixote

Dell Hall at the Long Center, May 9

The title notwithstanding, Cervantes' man of La Mancha does not star in the 19th century ballet that legendary choreographer Marius Petipa shaped from his 17th century novel. The aged nobleman who imagines himself a knight of old is, alas, too wintry a figure for a dance so focused on spring. This ballet is all about the youthful fire in the blood: the ardor of matadors, the passion of gypsies, the not-to-be-denied romance of young lovers. Its heart lies with Kitri and Basilio, the young couple whose amorous affair is threatened by Gamache, a wealthy fop who's angling for Kitri's hand and has the all-important blessing of her innkeeper father. Their tale takes center stage throughout most of this work, and whenever Don Quixote does appear, he is soon relegated to bystander status as younger, more vital characters express their fervent feelings in ever more animated and spectacular dances.

As such, you can see why Ballet Austin would want to close out the current season with Don Quixote. Not only does its springlike air befit the time of year, but its bounty of spectacle makes for a splashy company debut at the Long Center and an impressive showcase for a corps of talented young dancers. And on opening night of the production's three-performance run, youthful vigor and good humor pretty much carried the day. Michelle Thompson made a flirtatious, frisky Kitri, with flashing eyes and a teasing smile and so much kinetic energy bottled up inside that when she moved from one foot to the other, she popped off the ground. She was more than a match for Frank Shott's Basilio, whose open smile softened the character's rascally edges and made him the kind of bad boy a mother would approve of. They were a playful pair who faced little in the way of peril from Kitri's dad – David Gensheimer, tilting toward oafishness – or Gamache, who was preposterous in pink (pink cape, pink sash, pink flowers on his shoes, pink feather in his cap) and played to the dandyish hilt by Mike McKinley. Though this dissipated whatever dramatic tension the ballet may have had and left an already light piece even lighter, and though the ballet's burlesque of romantic tradition occasionally suffered from gags that were overly corny or just overplayed, it was done in an atmosphere so sunny and festive that discontent tended to melt away – the way it so often does on a beautiful day in spring. The production sailed on that feeling of spring, celebratory and energetic and full of vitality, and, as often happens with spring, it made you newly appreciative of the young and what they can accomplish.

Still, there's something to be said for age and experience. In Don Quixote, the dancers who often proved the most compelling were the ones who have been with the company for more than a decade. They would finish off a move with a flourish – a flick of the wrist, a twist of the ankle, a snap of the head – that just made the movement pop and made you feel you were watching fully developed characters instead of dancers executing steps. The duets between Anthony Casati's Espada and Allisyn Paino's Mercedes sparked with such flourishes, and Gina Patterson's turn as the Queen of the Dryads flashed with them as well. They were displays of, to use a word not much in fashion nowadays, showmanship, which is something that can take a performance beyond virtuosity and make it truly come alive. As it's the kind of virtue revered and represented by Don Quixote – cherished in the past and not as appreciated now – it seemed fitting to note here. And seeing it practiced so skillfully by artists who have given so much of themselves to Ballet Austin made me feel all the more keenly what the company will lose with the retirement of Casati, Patterson, Eric Midgley, and Jim Stein. They are as the knight is, noble and wise in the ways of yore. And they will be missed.