Boston Ballet programming certainly had the audience on the edge of their seats with Edge of Vision, a triple bill that showcased the rousing strength and movement of the company. The ballets included Helen Pickett’s “Eventide,” resident choreographer Jorma Elo’s “Bach Cello Suites” world premiere, and Lila York’s “Celts.”All created a fast-paced whirlwind of an evening that left the crowd breathless.
Commissioned by Boston Ballet, Helen Pickett’s “Eventide” first graced the Wang Theater in 2008. Now, it returns as a new first movement in the Boston Opera House, a stirring display of choreographic geometry and sinew. The music—originally comprised of minimalists Jan Garbarek, Philip Glass, and Michael Nyman—swaps out Nyman for the pulsing sitar of the late Ravi Shankar. The result is a sensual bedlam of polyrhythms and gauzy atmosphere, compounded by the unobtrusive yet evocative design efforts of Benjamin Phillips and John Cuff: impressions of a blood red obelisk; flowing drapery; opalescent backdrops. Principals and soloists channeled Pickett’s vision of synchronous movement and glimpses of disparate chaos.
