American Ballet Theatre bid its outgoing Artistic Director Herman Cornejo farewell this weekend with a performance of Romeokatereborn by Sir Kenneth MacMillan reimagined around Shakespearean lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Cassandra Trenary made her debut performance with ABT this evening – she did not disappoint audiences!
This production does not belong to Bourne’s aesthetic: it takes place in Lez Brotherston’s Verona Institute (a kind of asylum-com-borstal designed to house troubled youth, designed by Lez). Set against this world of smooth surfaces and barred doors is where white-clad cast members inhabit; though they attempt to escape its confines through movement; adding small variations into mechanical marches like adding head jerks or arm twitches while stretching into forbidden embraces or dodging warders’ searchlights – all this makes the performance unique!
As they do so, they reveal both an exhilarating and submissive expression of their love. The balcony scene is something truly captivating: Romeo nuzzles his head into Juliet’s neck; their bodies fluidly follow each other around the stage while tumbling lightly over each other’s backs before finally uniting in an eternal kiss that never breaks apart their love. They truly are equal partners.