Philadelphia Ballet closes out the season with precision, beauty, and ballet history

Philadelphia Ballet closed its 2024-25 season with a bit of escapism and a touch of history.

Artistic director Angel Corella paired La Sylphide, a Romantic-era ballet from the 1830s, with Études, a 1940s piece often viewed as a “how-to” on classical technique. Both were lovely, although when the program opened Thursday night at the Academy of Music, some audience members only saw La Sylphide — likely due to confusing program notes and both ballets featuring sylphs.

A number of seats were empty by the time Études began.

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La Sylphide (not to be confused with another ballet, Les Sylphides) tells the story of James, a Scottish man who, at his wedding, wonders about another life and follows a mystical creature that only he can see into the woods.

It’s a work Philadelphia Ballet first danced in 1985 but hasn’t staged in years. It is among the story ballets Corella has long said he wanted to bring back to the company.

Created by Danish choreographer August Bournonville, after the Filip Taglioni original, and set to music by Herman Severin Løvenskiold, it compares an earthbound man and a lighter-than-air sylph who will die if he touches her.

It’s a treat to see a Bournonville ballet, with its emphasis on batterie — the quick airborne beats that all dancers but especially men work on. This calls for clean footwork, and Jack Thomas performed it deftly.

Oksana Maslova was an ideal choice as the lighter-than-air sylph. The role was first danced by Marie Taglioni, daughter of the choreographer, who is credited with being the first ballerina to use pointe work to enhance the art form rather than as spectacle. She also raised the full-length romantic tutu to showcase her footwork — a tradition Maslova honored with her beautifully arched feet and delicate, precise steps.

Thays Golz performed as the jilted bride, Effy, who winds up marrying James’ best friend. She, too, is delightful — a good actress who is bright and charming, even without the pointe shoes and wings. Golz’s Effy deserves better, and in the end James gets a glimpse of what might have been.

La Sylphide is considered one of ballet’s classic “white ballets,” so named for the corps’ white costumes. This has often led to dancers of color being excluded from these roles. Corella’s diverse rows of sylphs are as unified and impressive as ever.

The ballet also has a good amount of theatrical magic and children who sometimes lead the lines of corps dancers.

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Études starts at the barre, as any ballet class would, and over time moves to the center and eventually to polished dancing. Choreographed by another Dane, Harald Lander, it is set to music by Knudage Riisager, after Carl Czerny.

At the beginning, the audience only sees a plié, the first exercise any dancer performs, and then the lights are on the dancers’ working legs. From there, we get to see more: rows of dancers in black and white tutus performing synchronized exercises in groups of three and then bigger sections, joined by rows of men.

Finally the stars come out, performance ready. Sydney Dolan is the ballerina and Sterling Baca and Ashton Roxander, the principal men.

This is another ballet that demands precise technique, and the dancers delivered. Dolan, who joined the company as a teenager, danced with confidence. Baca, rebounding from leg cramps in a previous performance, looked strong. Roxander, fresh off a breakout in The Dream last spring, delivered a powerful performance. It was fun to see them all pull off the requirements so beautifully.

Near the end of the piece, Roxander has a powerful solo with big jumps and multiple pirouettes, which he presented with flair and a big smile. He looked every bit like a next-generation Angel Corella.

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