The Nashville Ballet continues to bring beautiful artistry to our living rooms with the virtual premiere of “Seasons.” The production is Artistic Director Paul Vasterling’s reimagining of his 1997 production set to Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” recomposed by Max Richter. We got a sneak peek at the virtual production and were very pleasantly surprised.
After a brief intro, the production starts with the first of the seasons — fall. This visually stunning portion of the performance mimics the best things about fall by portraying the motions of the season and pairing that with oranges and earth-toned colors. As the talented dancers move across the screen, the camera’s effects and subtle editing transitions add another layer to the performance that keeps it interesting.
As the seasons change to winter, the colors and the music’s speed change. For this portion, beautiful blue costumes are added and the music picks up drastically. The icy theme on the screen filled me with a sense of urgency as I watched the dancers and, eventually, a slowed-down beautiful duet. The winter then brought spring — my favorite of the seasons.
Colors immerse the stage in spring and there’s an entire mood shift. While the end of winter felt intimate and moving, spring feels lighthearted and exciting. The onstage mood was reminiscent of how we actually start to feel during the first days of spring. More oranges and yellows are added to the stage and the background dancers, wearing tan, add another layer to the performance as they dance to a completely different beat. To me, this is what kept the virtual ballet from becoming stale.
As the heat of summer comes, the colors stay just as vibrant and beautiful as before but many female dancers are replaced with male dancers. More than we’ve seen together thus far. The music slows and all of the beautiful colors come together for a triumphant ending.
Nashville Ballet’s virtual performance of “Seasons” probably isn’t what they had in mind but they managed to keep the video from being stale with video editing and camera techniques. The background dancers also added an extra layer of contrast to the show while the dancers at the forefront mesmerized with their movements. This is a performance that should not be missed. And there isn’t a bad seat in the house!
The virtual premiere of “Seasons” is tonight (April 2) at 7 PM CST but viewers can buy a ticket to watch anytime through April 4. Get your tickets and find out more here.
