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Rating: 
Summary: Great one-acter!
Review: I bought this DVD without realizing that it wasn't Balanchine's two-act "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (for that you need to purchase the DVD of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's wonderful performance). The confusion is logical, though. Both Ashton's "The Dream" and Balanchine's masterpiece were written in the early 60's (Ashton's in 1964, two years after the first performance of Balanchine's work) and both utilize a variety of instrumental and choral music composed by Mendelssohn. It would be hard to believe that Ashton never saw Balanchine's ballet (if he didn't, he certainly listened carefully to the reports of his ballet-world spies).Both ballets are witty and respectful of their Shakespearian source. And both compress their storytelling to a single act (Balanchine tells the story in Act I and dedicates Act II to divertissements.) The confusion and rivalry of the two pairs of lovers (Helena and Demetrius; Hermia and Lysander) is amusingly extenuated in Balanchine's ballet; as is the story of Bottom's overnight conversion into an ass. But the pyrotechnics of the male leads (Oberon and Puck) takes center stage in Ashton's work. Steifel and Cornejo dance these parts brilliantly. And Titania (danced by Alessandra Ferri) is regal without being cold or spiteful (not quite the proto-feminist of Balanchine's ballet). Ashton's ballet has a sustained element of delight and never needs to resort to the tricks employed by Balanchine to dazzle the younger people in his audience (fog machines, cute ballet school students playing butterflies and fairies, and a cable to lift Puck skyward at the end of the ballet). Dance is king in "The Dream." Both ballets are great, and for me, Ashton's "The Dream" was a great discovery! Sadly, there are no extras on this DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Performance Ruined
Review: I Imagine this was an excellent performance of Ashton's "The Dream". I say "imagined" because this DVD is an object lesson in how not to film a ballet. The camera work is frenetic, zooming in and out every few seconds, cutting from one part of the stage to the other without rhyme or reason, destroying all sense of flow and denying the viewer any possibility of appreciating the dancing or the choreography. Half of the shots are only of the dancers' upper bodies. Doesn't the director know that dance involves the feet and the body's line? By the end of the disc I felt dizzied by the cutting and peeved at having wasted my money. Save yours!
Rating:
Summary: Ethan Stiefel is absolutely brilliant.
Review: The ABT's performance of Frederick Ashton's "The Dream" is magical and Ethan Stiefel's portrayal of Oberon is absolutely brilliant. It is Stiefel's outstanding performance, both dancing and acting, that is truly indispensable and holds the entire production together. From his masterful arabesques and pirouettes to his wonderful characterization, Stiefel shows why he is a great dancer. Wonderful performances were also given by Herman Cornejo as Puck, Stella Abrera as Hermia and Ethan Brown as Demetrius. From the principals to the corp, everyone gives energetic and stylish performances. This DVD is not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Ethan Stiefel is absolutely brilliant.
Review: The ABT's performance of Frederick Ashton's "The Dream" is magical and Ethan Stiefel's portrayal of Oberon is absolutely brilliant. It is Stiefel's outstanding performance, both dancing and acting, that is truly indispensable and holds the entire production together. From his masterful arabesques and pirouettes to his wonderful characterization, Stiefel shows why he is a great dancer. Wonderful performances were also given by Herman Cornejo as Puck, Stella Abrera as Hermia and Ethan Brown as Demetrius. From the principals to the corp, everyone gives energetic and stylish performances. This DVD is not to be missed.
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