Visionary Goals

Commentary Visionary Goals JAMES E. NEUFELD The return of Constantin Patsalas' Nataraja in the National Ballet's 1982-83 season established it as a major work in the company's repertoire for a number of important reasons. It shows off the new generation of dancers to advantage; it explores a personal and distinctive line that uses strong classical technique as a point of departure; and in a way that few other works in the repertoire do, it brings its dancers together and draws from them a sustained, cohesive performance. The sense of commitment and artistic purpose behind this ballet communicates itself through the dancers to the audience with force and conviction. Nataraja should by rights become the signature-piece for the company's young dancers. It builds on their particular strengths: lithe, young bodies, strict classical schooling and enthusiasm for experiment and new directions. Gizella Witkowsky, rapidly becoming one of the company's major attractions , typifies the style even as she stands apart from it by the force of her individual personality. She enters into the abstractions of the ballet with a dramatic conviction that gives them life, demonstrating the seriousness and intensity to be expected from someone with her considerable comic gifts. In Witkowsky 's dancing, the detachment and selfappraisal of the comedienne always underline the serious stance. She understands what she is doing so completely that parody or high drama are equally plausible alternatives for her, depending on her mood and the demands of the piece. This commanding, ironic selfawareness can be a dangerous presence if it's not fully controlled, but it works only to advantage in Nataraja, which is strong enough to compel wholehearted participation from Witkowsky and every member of its cast. Nataraja explores