ONEGIN: A Ballet In Three Acts
Jun 27, 2026
DRAMA DESK AWARDEES TO SEE
Jul 3, 2026
Jacqulyn Buglisi’s emotionally provocative premiere, A Hummingbird and A Hummingbird and A Turtle – The Wing
and the Shell began as legendary dancer Christine Dakin joined composer/pianist/percussionists Stahv Danker and Erán Fink downstage.
Read by Dakin, the narration by Buglisi was punctuated by sequences of fluttering movement by Isabella Pagano, portraying the hummingbird. The lighting and projections were iridescent feathers, or a muted, geometric turtle shell.
When the turtle, Jai Perez, was spotlighted, time slowed down. The soloists each embodied their animal. Orbiting and discovering one another, Buglisi’s partnering work allowed Pagano to fly, supported by Perez. The company weaved throughout, articulating Dakin’s words, and filling out the score.
While they eventually returned to their solo existences, they kept the memory of the other in their movement qualities, while the graphic transformed: a turtle’s shell painted in the oil slick of a hummingbird’s colors.
Limerence personified, Sospiri, performed by Ane Arrieta and Zachary Jeppsen-Toy, stopped time. The two began on their backs, Jeppsen-Toy’s hand, once resting on Arrieta’s chest,
repelled, moving away in what seemed like the only time during the piece.
They danced like magnets held just within reach; when connected, they entered a state of symbiosis, moving as
one. They rolled and extended limbs to the edge of their collective kinesphere, seldom losing the tactile sensation of the other. This climaxed with the music, until they rested where they began: supine, his hand floating gently to her ribcage.
On opening night, ballroom duo Kristine Bendul & Abdiel, shared Ron De Jesús’s Consortium, a NY Premiere with lifts and groovy funk that pulled audible excitement from the audience.
Lorenzo Pagano’s Dream/Existence left no rhythm untouched, his muscular articulation and suspension pointing directly to the notes. A viscous solo, Buglisi’s Being Mortal, performed by
Jai Perez, was refreshing; his bright spirit contrasting his earlier embodiment of the slow and longing turtle.
Bare to the Wall Suite (1996) had an entire act to itself. Dancers encompassed the stage in almost-unison phrasing ruffled with individuality. Atop Jeppsen-Toy’s shoulders, Jessica Sgambelluri emerged, her descent mesmerizing. The featured duet echoed Sospiri, yearning contractions speckling a brisk and partner-centric piece.
In pairs and together, the company honored the nature of BDT, through spirals of their bodies, reaches towards one another, and effusive expressions, they carried emotionality with poised technique.
EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Emma Edy Morris
