There are many ways to play this scene, and, given Smirnova’s uncanny attributes, she smartly and effectively chose the deranged zombie path. When Loys/Albrecht’s betrayal was exposed, she cocked her head to the side, momentarily lifted her gaze and looked back over her shoulder at the audience, widening her eyes into a vacant stare as if possessed. Smirnova’s unearthly traits worked perfectly in the ghostly wili realm in Act II. She was luminous as she demonstrated her generous, smooth extensions with downcast, haunted eyes. She passionately fought for her lover’s life even as she arranged her hands with exquisite delicacy.  

“Giselle” is one of the best full-length ballets, in my opinion, even though it is often at odds with itself. For starters: why set a dance around a girl whose weak heart doesn’t allow her to dance? All Giselles must reconcile the character’s narrative frailty with the technical strength required for the role—which is tricky. I also find that Adolphe Adam’s score doesn’t quite match the intensity of the libretto in key moments, particularly in Act II. The wilis, predatory man-slayers all, waft around to a puzzling amount of reedy jingles and easy-listening clarinet. And when Myrta raises Giselle from her grave to join their ranks in eternal vengeance, Adam curiously employed bright, canary flute trills. I often wish that Tchaikovsky had had a go at scoring this tale.       

The co-lead, Albrecht, also faces a dramatic challenge: he must find a way to make his character’s life seem worth saving despite his duplicity. Daniel Camargo was convincingly noble in form and line opposite Smirnova, taking a middle-of-the-road interpretation of the role—neither too ardent nor too arrogant. But it was Smirnova’s night. She was too creaturely to be an ideal Giselle, and this was not a perfect performance (she fought her hair to come down for the mad scene, there were some clunky roll-downs from arabesque in Act I, and I clocked that late piqué arabesque exit in Act II). But her extraordinary physique was compelling in every scene. I was mesmerized by the way she played her strong, curvilinear bottom half against her jaggedly expressive top half. And I loved that I could read her authorship in every single gesture, step, and look. She used her imagination and rigorous craftmanship to create a Giselle that was completely her own. This was a ballerina.