Just sit back and enjoy the windmill ride of 'Don Quixote' in ballet shoes | Review

"Don Quixote" is one of the oddities of the established ballet repertory. For one thing, it’s very old. It premiered in 1869, well before standards like “Swan Lake” (1877), “The Sleeping Beauty” (1890) and “Nutcracker” (1892).

Over the decades, it has been revised, re-imagined and sometimes completely reconceived – so much so that we’re not really certain what the original ballet looked like. The version that Cincinnati Ballet opened last week was created 35 years ago by Anna-Marie Holmes, former artistic director of Boston Ballet.

One of the things that is particularly wonderful about Holmes’ telling of “Don Q,” as it is affectionately known in the dance world, is that there is a lot of dancing in it. I mean, a LOT of dancing. Not every ballet is like that. More often than not, principal dancers and soloists have a fair amount to do. But the corps de ballet – the majority of the company – often deal with precious little choreography of substance.

“Don Quixote” is a glorious hodgepodge of a ballet. Again, there is an abundance of dancing, but when it comes to telling a story, it is all over the place. Perhaps we should expect that, though, since the tale revolves around an aged knight who is suffering all manner of delusions. Don Quixote is a down-at-the-heels guy who wears a shaving basin as a helmet and imagines windmills to be evil giants. So we shouldn’t be surprised when the ballet’s second act takes us into a dreamland filled with cupids and fairies and dryads as Don Q sets off in search of the imaginary love of his life, Dulcinea.

By the time the ballet winds to a finale, we have encountered matadors and toreadors, a band of friendly gypsies, a marionette show, a foppish nobleman and a pair of young lovers – Kitri (Melissa Gelfin De-Poli) and Basilio (Rafael Quenedit) – who are at the dramatic heart of the tale.

Yes, it can all get a little confusing. But “Don Quixote” is a ballet filled with fiery passion and more than a little slapstick humor. Don’t look for logic. This is entertainment painted with a broad brush. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. And Ludwig Minkus’ score, as well – performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, led by associate music director Samuel Lee.

At times, “Don Q” is a very touching tale. At last week’s opening performance, most of that came from the performance of Luca De-Poli in the title role. Sometimes, Don Quixote is played for laughs, a dotty old man with a tenuous hold on reality. But De-Poli avoids the silly stuff. He understands that, for all the comic possibilities, what makes the Don such an imposing and sympathetic character is that, despite his shabbiness, there is magisterial quality about him. Small wonder that crowds part when he enters the stage.

And the comedy? There is plenty, but it comes mostly from a trio of characters; Don Q’s sidekick Sancho Panza (Kannen Glanz), a foppish nobleman (Marcus Romeo) and Kitri’s beleaguered father Lorenzo (Joshua Stayton).

But again, the soul of this show is the interaction between Kitri and Basilio, a relationship as flirtatious and impassioned as it is downright incendiary. Gelfin De-Poli and Quenedit, both principal dancers, are at the top of their games. Both of them are technically exacting dancers, but they never let that technique get in the way of dramatically mesmerizing performances. When they trade variations during their pas de deux, they are challenging one another as much as they are declaring their mutual love.

Since this is the jam-packed world of “Don Quixote,” though, there are several other opportunities for dancers to wow the audience, especially Maizyalet Velázquez and Alejandro Olivera as Mercedes and Espada, as well as Minori Sakita, Maine Chernjavsky, Thomas Dilley and Sirui Liu as the Queen of the Dryads.

The opening night cast will be featured in the Feb. 23 performance. But the weekend’s other three performances will offer different casts, with Katherine Ochoa and Chandler Procter as Kitri and Basilio on Saturday night, with Maine Chernjavsky and Alejandro Olivera stepping into the roles on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

“Don Quixote” will never have the elegance or purity of “Swan Lake.” But in the 155 years since it premiered in Moscow, the ballet we see today is the product of hundreds of different creative influences. One after another, choreographers have picked up the best and most memorable pieces of other productions. And they have left behind sections that didn’t work. That’s why, unlike so many other 19th-century ballets, “Don Q” still feels like a living, evolving organism. And we are all the better for that.

'Don Quixote'

When: Through Feb. 25.

Where: Springer Auditorium, Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine.

Tickets: $29-$119.

Information: 513-621-5282; www.cballet.org.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Did you know 'Don Quixote' is a ballet older than even 'Swan Lake'?