[NEohioPAL]Berko review: OHIO BALLET SPRING PROGRAM

[Roy Berko]

OHIO BALLET PRESENTS OVERLY-LONG GENERALLY PLEASING
PROGRAM 

Roy Berko

(Member, American Dance Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Ohio Ballet’s Artistic Director Jeffrey Graham Hughes
obviously has never heard the old adage, “The mind can
absorb what the seat can endure.”  If so, he would
have realized that his recently conceived ‘SPRINGFEST
PROGRAM,’ which was staged both in Akron and
Cleveland, was much too long.  

The program was so lengthy, that following the second
intermission, there was a mass exit of the already
sparse audience.   It was a shame that many left as
Hughes’ nicely conceived “Upon Rays of Light” wrapped
up the program.

The evening started with Victoria Morgan’s staging of
‘PETER AND THE WOLF’ danced to the recorded music of
Sergei Prokofiev.   The piece is intended to teach
children about the sounds of the various musical
instruments.  Morgan transformed the setting onto a
school’s playground and included a basketball hero, a
swim team captain and the school principal.  Though
the idea was clever, the effect was problematic.   The
scenery, mainly consisting of a jungle gym and blow-up
swimming pool, restricted the dancing.  In addition,
the decision to read the narration and then dance it
caused a doubling in length of the piece and made the
dancing redundant.  In addition, the choreography was
not coherent.  The interpretation lacked needed
playfulness.

Sam Watson’s ‘HI JINKS,’ which was inspired by the TV
variety and comedy shows of the 1950’s and 60’s, was
delightful.  Well paced and often danced with abandon,
the dancers nicely exaggerated the moves and were
aided by bizarre costumes and wigs.  The highlight
segment was “Fooling Around” as performed by Larissa
Freud, Katie Keith, Eric Carvill and Seth Parker.

The ‘GRAND PAS CLASSIQUE’ was a presentation of
classic ballet.  Daniel Francois Aubert’s music was
adeptly played by pianist David Fisher, though the
solo piano’s sound failed to fill the auditorium.  The
tall and attractive duet of Eva Trapp and Toby George
were quite adequate, though not of world class
quality.  Trapp’s toe work and circle turns were done
with nice control.  Though he had some trouble with
some of his leaps and landings, George did a fine job
of partnering.  Cynthia Gregory’s elegant costumes
created the proper visual illusion.

The 12 part uninspiring ‘MAZURKAS’ was too much of the
same thing.  Choreographed by Jose Limon the piece
needed cutting.  Highlights included a wonderful duet
by Kristin Knapp and Brian Murphy.  Alicia Pitts’ solo
(Opus 30, no. 2 in B minor) was compelling.  She
displayed excellent body control, ease of movement,
and appropriate facial expression.  Brian Murphy, the
company’s most talented male dancer, presented Opus
59, no 2 in A-flat, which was danced with the right
dramatic tone and sure moves.  Chopin’s music was well
played by pianist David Fisher.

The evening eventually ended with the beautifully
costumed and well-conceived  ‘UPON RAYS OF LIGHT.’ 
Danced to recorded music of Ravi Shankar, the company
was at its best in this piece.  Kristin Knapp’s
opening solo was beautifully interpreted.  The second
segment, danced by the entire company, showed
disciplined body control, fine partnering and a nice
parallel between the often exotic sounds of the music
and movements of the bodies.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  In contrast to the continually
evolving VERB BALLET and  GROUNDWORKS, since the
departure of Heinz Poll, the Ohio Ballet has fallen
into a slumber.  It fails to consistently excite
audiences, the dancers often appear to be uninspired
often showing little personality, and some of the
pieces lack needed polish.  In this era of tight arts
money, how long the ballet’s board will be willing to
accept the sparse audiences and less than high level
of performance is questionable.  It’s too bad, Ohio
Ballet has some excellent and dedicated dancers and an
opportunity to be the big draw due to its strong
financial backing and no large company Akron-Cleveland
competition.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
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