New York Times
By ANNA KISSELGOFF
In art, unlike in sports, the goal has nothing to do with winning and losing. Yet anyone watching the Olympics on television knows that the artistic component in competitions involving skating, synchronized swimming and gymnastics has become increasingly important.
It would not be hard to mistake rhythmic gymnastics, a balleticized genre practiced by women's teams, for a form of dance. This notion is obviously the springboard for "Twin Kingdoms," a curious show from Bulgaria that combined Balkan folk dances and elements of rhythmic gymnastics in its United States premiere at City Center.
Although rhythmic gymnastics looks artistic in the sports stadium, here its athletic elements were not theatricalized to their fullest. Perhaps that is why Neshka Robeva, a ballet-trained dancer turned gymnast who coached Bulgaria's rhythmic gymnastics team, felt compelled to balance the women's gymnastic display with mainly male folk dancing in her choreography.
"Twin Kingdoms" promises more than it delivers, but during its three-day run (Friday through Sunday) there was a serious stab at popular entertainment with a difference.
Seen Saturday night, the production offered a souped-up veneer over its narrative pretext, a twist on the myth of Orpheus's search for Eurydice in the underworld. In the end the heroine preferred the sexy king of the underworld to the boy next door.
The two kingdoms of the title are those of the netherworld and the real world. The first is depicted by fantasy episodes with dancers in Day-Glo costumes; the second is represented by the contemporary disco numbers that open and close the show.
The accompanying tape ranges from Bulgarian wedding music to Offenbach's can-can.
Along the way the hero Momchil (Dessislav Mihaylov) duels with the Dragon (Ivaylo Ivanov), the underworld king and abductor of the heroine Yana (Zarina Hristova).
Jessica Howard, who has been the United States rhythmic gymnastics national champion, serves as the hero's guide.
The men are brilliant in the Bulgarian chain dances, pushing their pretzel-twisted legs down into exceptionally fast foot-crossing steps. The bare-legged women occasionally join in witty versions of the folk dances but mainly show off the distinctive elements of rhythmic gymnastics: twirling with juggling clubs, performing ribbon dances and rolling red balls along their bodies.
The expected images of women plopping down into splits or striking contortionist poses are modified into those of expressive grace. In the best passages, the women whirl garlands overhead in wedding dances. They manipulate veils, with one billowing up into a striking jellyfish shape.
Timing and precision are admirable here, as are Mr. Mihaylov's bravura and versatility.
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