Alex Ratmansky Premiers "Odessa" with NYC Ballet-Ukranian Folklore with Contemporary Flair

Choreographer Alex Ratmansky was born in St Petersburg '1968.  He trained with the Bolshoi Ballet & was a principal dancer with the Ukranian Nat'l Ballet.  His new ballet "Odessa' had its NYC premier this week at the Koch theater with the NYC Ballet.  Ratmansky's creative talent as a choreographer continuous to flourish.  He possesses a strong folk dancing vocabulary and an emotional exuberance in his works.  "Odessa" embodies the lives of the Ukranian people.  The dancers dazzle us with high  kicking steps from the male dancers & enchanting female footwork.  The dancers emoted both a strong bravado & romantic lyricism.  The music is by Leonid Desyatnikov (b Ukraine 1955) "Sketches to Sunset."  Ratmansky choreography has a visceral magnetic connection between the dancers & the music.  The electrifying pull with the pas des deux is further enhanced by the silkiness of the ballet corp downstage.  Ratmansky has an alluring architectural aesthetic that propels the dancers to lofty heights.  There was a sense of mid-air, suspended movements.  The ensemble performed a deceptively simple rotating port de bras with tondus & reverence that was elegant & powerful.  The costumes by Keso Dekker added a rustic contemporary flair.  Ratmansky is an imposing & accessible choreographer whose work I gravitate towards with ease.  I am looking forward to his new full length ballet "Whipped Cream" which will be premiering with ABT this May.