REVIEWS
The Washington Times
“Almost four decades since the breakup of the Fab Four, he has produced a thrilling evocation of their music and its moods, bringing the full resources of ballet to his crossover work. He reflects the spectrum of emotions imbedded in the songs — melancholy, rambunctious, funny, drug-tinged — and finds ways to express them through original movement that blends street smarts and classical radiance…By turns haunting and dazzling.”
The Washington Post
“He didn’t just have the cast gyrate to the beat and wow us with kicks. At times he ignored the insistent bass lines. There was wit and playfulness in the work, but also a welcome simplicity. And while there wasn’t actually a narrative thread, there was the hint of an emotional journey. The work opens with the wistful, questioning “Mother Nature’s Son,” in which Hartley broke away from the ensemble and danced a searching solo in which he seemed to be trying to organize the body parts that were crumbling beneath him. This image was repeated at the end, danced to “A Day in the Life,” where the angst had spread to the rest of the group. Throughout, one had the sense of life lived slightly askew. Michele Jimenez, one of the company’s standout technicians, danced a curious walking-around solo to the tender love song “Julia.” Interestingly, McIntyre chose not to flaunt her 6 o’clock extensions and weather-vane turns but rather to show her as a bit broken, like a bird with a clipped wing. She was flat-footed, and moved mechanically. It was as if the sentiments expressed in the song had drained some of the life out of her.
Where McIntyre’s work had a sense of completeness, with all the parts not necessarily similar but corresponding and dovetailing into one another.”