“Under The Trees’ Voices” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

 Highly Recommended *****  Even if you don’t see their wriggling and pulsating forms at first, listen closely and you might hear them. Living creatures, some combination of plant and animal, have just emerged from the earth. Their camouflage consists of leopard spots and silhouettes of leaves and branches. Once we know how to look past their façade, we can see their unmistakable vitality beneath the trees and can watch an energetic dance that enchants us with its dynamism and grace. How wonderful it is to discover these marvelous tiny beings who survive close to the ground, close to the trees’ roots, and who live their lives passionately. We become aware of them in all their glory throughout the year, beginning with their awakening during spring, followed by their cheery vibrance during summer, their growing contemplation of the autumn leaves, and their regrouping underground throughout the winter season.

Debuting on the last day of April, “Under the Trees’ Voices” is a recorded video of the Joffrey Ballet’s latest performance, available for free to remote viewers through their website. Stunningly choreographed by Nicolas Blanc, this powerful dance is something that you won’t want to miss! Inspired in large part by the lifting of people’s moods as pandemic restrictions eased, Blanc infused these feelings into a production that prefigures the reawakening of society and culture. Ballet movements are backed by enthralling music: namely, Ezio Bosso’s “Symphony No. 2: Under the Trees’ Voices”, splendidly performed by arrangement with Sony Music. Minimalist set design by Jack Mehler features the occasional large leaf hanging above the dancers to indicates just how small these creatures are supposed to be. Dancers include Derrick Agnoletti, Amanda Assucena, Edson Barbosa, Valeria Chaykina, Derek Drilon, Anna Gerberich, Stefan Goncalvez, Dylan Gutierrez, Victoria Jaiani, Brooke Linford, Jeraldine Mendoza, Xavier Núñez, Christine Rocas, Temur Suluashvilli, and Alberto Velazquez—all of whom wear the same flowing costumes, gorgeously designed by Nicolas Blanc and Eleanor Cotey, which feature animal skin leotards overlaid with diaphanous silk-like material plus coordinating masks.

The only thing I took issue with is the choice of lighting. I didn’t care for portraying spring in blue; summer in purple; and fall in blue then indigo. I would have preferred more conventional colors to represent the seasons. To spell it out, I would have liked spring to begin in icy blue and then morph into shades of green, summer to be in bright reds and oranges, and autumn as gold and earth tones with a hint of icy blue once the season recedes. Having said that, I enjoyed the creativity of winter being portrayed at first by darkness followed by brown and olive-green drab; this color palette in the last scene is well done and indicates the vitality in the soil below ground, at a time when life on the surface is frigid and unforgiving.

I loved the direction by Tim Whalen during this 30-minute video production by Big Foot Media. Camera design and placement are excellent. This is a tribute to director of photography Michael Kettenbeil, who also serves as a camera operator, together with John Shaw, Brendan Leahy, and Chris Zuker. Editing by Nicolás Rojas is nicely spirited, in keeping with the movement on stage.

As the pandemic in the United States slowly lifts and as the economy gradually comes back to life, this show may be seen as an optimistic presage of our future. The winter of our hibernation does not spell the end of the species but, rather, can realign our consciousness of what it means to be human and a part of nature. Therefore when we emerge from our hiding places during the spring of our existence, we will have hopefully become more resistant to the gusty winds that can cause us permanent damage.

“Under the Trees’ Voices” is available for streaming for free now via YouTube on the Joffrey Ballet’s website. This performance will live on the Joffrey website through the weekend of May 15th and will then move to the Joffrey’s YouTube page indefinitely.

For more information and to register for this free event, please go to https://joffrey.org/.

“Under the Trees’ Voices” is part of the Joffrey Studio Series, which is serving the community online in an era of social distancing.