VAIL, Colo. — A number of Romantic ballets have central scenes set in the woods. Far from the madding crowd, within the realm of nature, the hero discovers the otherworldly heroine who satisfies his longing as the women of his own milieu do not.
Therefore, as the audience could see at the Vail dance festival’s second International Evening of Dance on Saturday, a real slope that’s covered with a real pine forest makes a transporting backdrop to pas de deux from “La Sylphide” and “Swan Lake.” The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is also a beautiful location for parts of “Apollo” — which, though usually performed without scene painting, is implicitly set on the slopes of Parnassus. All three were danced by members of New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater; Vail’s dance story is also New York’s.
