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| Cohen, in Lancero Op. 1 © Kat Stiennon 2016 |
by Susan Kepecs
If anyone thought Madison Ballet cancelled
its spring season early in February because this city is just too small to
support a company of professional ballet dancers on season contract, “Encore” –
an independent choreographers’ showcase put together by the dancers of the shuttered company in two and a half
weeks, in the aftermath of the cancellation announcement – proved them dead
wrong. “Encore’”s three shows (March
4-5) packed Overture’s Promenade Hall, generously donated by the Overture
Center for this benefit performance. Yes,
it’s pretty late to be posting a review of a show that happened more than two
weeks ago – I’ve been laid up with the devil’s own cold and a case of
antibiotic-induced brain fog. But the local
importance of this performance merits a review nonetheless. I attended the final, evening show on March 5,
which was sold out – many people were turned away. Those lucky enough to get in were wildly
enthusiastic, whistling and cheering even more than the audience with which I
saw the touring production of Motown the
Musical at Overture Hall on March 1.
That happy "Encore" audience owes a debt of
gratitude to second-year Madison Ballet dancer Elizabeth Cohen, the lead
organizer of this self-funded, collaborative effort. And also to the rest of the dancers, who, in
the face of job loss, pulled together one more time to present professional
ballet in Madison. They couldn’t let go
without one more show – the bond that forms when you dance with people every
day for a year, or several, is tough to break – and it’s that unity that makes
a group of disparate dancers look like a company. Madison Ballet may soon rise, like the Phoenix,
from its own ashes, but we will never see this whole, particular group of
dancers together again. That, plus the
fact that “Encore” was also a retirement performance for Rachelle Butler and
Jason Gomez, made for a particularly poignant evening.
Thirteen short works were on the
program. To make a blanket statement, the
quality was uneven. That’s exactly what you’d
expect from a showcase like “Encore,” presenting works by young dancers, many
of whom have never choreographed before.
But concerts of this sort offer a look at who the dancers in any given
company really are – what interests them, and how they prefer to move. Stepping into the choreographer’s role pushes
them to grow artistically. And seeing
works made by young dancers inevitably points toward the future of ballet.
Three of the pieces weren’t
originals. The short temporal space in
which “Encore” was put together, coupled with the desire most ballerinas have
to dance the great traditional roles, led to the choice of a pair of grand pas
de deux in the public domain. Shannon Quirk
and Joe LaChance, who partnered her all year, danced the lush, formal wedding
pas from Sleeping Beauty, following
the Petipa choreography. LaChance is not
Quirk’s equal – his partnering, and his variation, were shaky. But Quirk, though she looked tired, held her
own in the demanding, balance-fraught pas – and her elegance and precise
footwork in the old-fashioned Princess Aurora variation drew cheers from the
audience.
Cohen and Cyrus Bridwell recreated
the Don Quijote Act III grand pas de
deux (also after Petipa). This is a
well-matched pair, and their pas was neatly done. Bridwell put some impressive loft into his
bravura variation, but Cohen, formerly of Ballet Latino San Antonio, was
unmistakably the star – utterly in her element, eyes sparkling, zipping through
the saucy Kitri variation, fan flicking, one come-hither hand set defiantly on her
hip.
Also in the Spanish vein, guest
artist Jessica Lin offered a proud, flirtatious, flamenco-esque
solo-with-chair, “Carmen Habanera” (to the eponymous piece from Bizet’s opera);
it was choreographed by Edward Ellison, with whom she studied in New York.
Nine of the remaining ten dances
were by Madison Ballet company members. A
couple of them were disappointing. Phillip
Ollenburg’s contemporary solo for Quirk was nicely evocative of a creature
crawling from and returning to a habitat created with a string of LED lights reminiscent
of sea phosphorous. But strings of
lights are becoming cliché these days, and the dance itself looked hastily put
together, failing to take full advantage of Ollenburg’s own prodigious creativity
or Quirk’s considerable chops off pointe.
Kristen Hammer used a
country-western song with really trashy lyrics about spousal abuse for her
piece “Trailor for Rent” (trailor?), and asked Annika Reikersdorfer, Abigail
Henninger and Kelanie Murphy to interpret them literally. The concept was sophomoric, but the contemporary
ballet steps were nicely turned, and the dancers did a fine job with what they were
given.
Several works were traditionally
balletic. Abigail Henninger’s “One,” a
pretty ensemble piece (Rachelle Butler, Hammer, Quirk, Reikersdorfer, LaChance)
led by Gomez, who’s never looked better, was built of upward-reaching movements
set on an adagio / allegro structure, and possessed with a transcendant sense
of calm.
Kelanie Murphy also offered an
ensemble ballet, “Looking Up,” which she set on Butler, Nancy Cole, Quirk, Reikersdorfer,
LaChance, and Jackson Warring. Nothing
about “Looking Up” made it stand out, but it was a satisfyingly active piece of
choreography, simple but light and feathery, without pointework but making full
use of classical vocabulary.
We saw a completely different side
of Murphy in her sparkling two-minute jitterbug tap duet with Warring to Elvis
Presley’s “Blue Suede Shoes.” It’s not
the stuff of formal ballet repertory, but a pair of performers reveling in the
delight of doing something they absolutely love is, without doubt, the purest
form of dance there is.
Warring, and Cohen, are two new choreographers
to keep an eye on. Cohen created a very
short solo for herself, “Lancero Op. 1,” to a piano piece by local composer
Glenn Sparks, who played it live. In
plain white leotard and tights, with a wide white shawl, Cohen, a superb ballet
technician who hasn’t yet had many opportunities with Madison Ballet to show
what she can do, flowed like liquid – a lithe spirit dancing free, on
pointe.
Warring’s very solid “Optimism” featured
Cohen, Bridwell and LaChance in a dynamic love triangle. “Optimism”’s narrative base, its contemporary,
off-pointe style, its crazy, athletic lifts, its quickly shifting action, and
the electronic score by cellist Zoe Keating reflected the influence of frequent
Madison Ballet guest choreographer General McArthur Hambrick. But its depth and substance also revealed
Warring’s budding artistry in the choreographic realm.
Ballet veterans Gomez and Butler contributed noteworthy works that left me hoping both will continue to
choreograph for Madison Ballet and other companies now that they’re retired
from the stage.
Gomez choreographed a lovely, very
Latin pas de deux, “Lejos y Cerca,” for Henninger and himself (in street
clothes) to a nuevo flamenco piece by the eclectic Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y
Gabriela. “Lejos y Cerca” was a dancey,
happy, triumph of a pas, full of high overhead lifts and dips; Gomez and Henninger
smiled throughout.
Rachelle Butler’s deliciously wild “Jerry’s
Songs,” deeply rooted in Balanchine technique, was set to ‘60s soul. The
concept’s not entirely original, since Madison Ballet artistic director W.
Earle Smith did a fluffy neoclassical repertory piece, “Groovy,” to a set of
‘60s tunes a couple of years back. But
Butler’s dance was much more from-the-heart; she chose songs her father loves,
and the work was dedicated to him. “Jerry’s Songs”’ simple boy-meets girl,
relationship goes bad, girls have fun theme was done tongue-in-cheek. In the first part, Henninger and Warring – a
comic pair to begin with, since she’s tall and leggy, and he’s short (the
mismatch is only visual) – stalked each other; Henninger repeatedly climbed up
Warring’s back, snarling at him. In the
second section Cohen, Cole, Hammer, Murphy and Reikersdorfer pranced and spun with
glee, heads bopping – and in the end Henninger got a new man, LaChance, who
carried her offstage.
Although she out-did him in the
‘60s department, Butler has always been Smith’s protégé, and Smith is a master
choreographer. For her farewell, Smith gave
her permission to dance, partnered by Gomez, his luxurious, pure neoclassical
Caccini pas de deux, to the Italian composer’s “Ave Maria.” The pas was
choreographed on and for Butler in 2008; she reprised it in 2014.
There’s great chemistry between
Butler and Gomez, which began when they were paired in Smith’s jazzy
“Expressions” for Madison Ballet’s 2015 Repertory II. That bond, strengthened by their mutual
retirement, lent the dance a piercing sadness, heightened because Madison
Ballet principal accompanist Marina Hegge, who knows these dancers well, played
the piece live onstage. Butler has
always danced this pas beautifully, but has she ever had a partner as steady
and handsome as Gomez? Has her phrasing
ever been so exquisite? Gomez dipped and
swirled her, then swept her into a lift; she extended a leg, foot impossibly
pointed; its retarded journey to the floor went on forever. I felt my throat catch. I was sitting next to former Madison Ballet
dancer Jessica Mackinson; there were tears in her eyes.
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| Encore cast © SKepecs 2016 |
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