[NEohioPAL]Berko review: Ohio Ballet and previews

[Roy Berko]

Ohio Ballet’s ‘Fallfest’ and previews of things to
come

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association & Dance
Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--


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


OHIO BALLET PERFORMS ‘FALLFEST’

>From the time the Cleveland-San Jose ballet fled town,
local dance fans have been waiting for a company to
come forth and take its place as the leading company
on the north coast.  The logical successor was Ohio
Ballet, which already had a comfortable financial base
and a well-formed company.  

Unfortunately, while other companies, such as Verb
Ballets and Groundworks have continued to build strong
followings, as evidenced by the less than 1/3 capacity
audience at the Ohio Theatre for the Saturday night
production at the recent ‘FALLFEST,’ Ohio Ballet has
not filled the void.  Verb Ballets’ recent Cleveland
Public Theatre run was nearly sold out.  Last season
the company’s Play House Square performance was sold
out.  They have decided that their Play House Square
performance this season will be two nights rather than
one (February 24 & 25).   Groundworks also has
developed a strong following, leading to sold out
houses.

‘FALLFEST’ was an acceptable, if not outstanding
evening of dance.  The program featured two world
premieres, ‘TURN OF THE SCREW’ and ‘FAITH.’

Domy Reiter-Soffer’s choreography of ‘TURN OF THE
SCREW,’ Henry James’ haunting tale of suppressed
emotions, was danced to the music of the ”2nd
Symphony” and “Variation on the Theme of Hartman’  by
John McCabe.   Reiter-Soffer also designed the
costumes and decor.  

The piece was well choreographed to fit the music and
competently danced, but the redundancy of movements
led to some tediousness.  In spite of this, the use of
masks, Edwardian costumes, varied mood lighting and an
appropriate backdrop aided to create a generally
positive effect.

Eva Trapp as the governess, and Oren Porterfield and
Jeremy Lemme as the young girl and her brother, were
excellent.  Grant Dettling, the former manservant and
Andrea Blankstein, as the former governess were also
impressive.  

The piece concluded to polite applause.

‘FAITH’ was a nicely choreographed, if unevenly danced
piece by Jeffrey Graham Hughes.  Performed to the
music of Jean Sibelius’ “5th Symphony in E flat major”
the use of mirroring movements, varied carries, strong
partnering, flowing motions and movements that fit the
music led to a pleasant, if not memorable experience. 
The major problem was a lack of polish in the large
corps segments.  Often the dancers were out of sync
with arm movements not parallel, leg placements not
universally duplicated, and one or more dancers moving
before or after the others.

In the second movement, Brian Murphy, who continues to
be the company’s strongest male dancer, partnered
wonderfully with Oren Porterfield.  Jeremy Lemme was
excellent in his solo work.  Too bad he doesn’t
perform as proficiently as a member of the corps.  

‘FAITH’ was pleasant if not a compelling segment of
dance.  


UPCOMING EVENTS

‘Bebe Miller Dance Company,’ November 5, Ohio Theatre,
co-presented with Tri-C Center For Arts and Culture
and Dance Cleveland--440-914-0744,

‘I Am My Own Wife,’ Cleveland Play House, November
4-27--216-795-7000.

‘Little Shop of Horrors,” Palace Theatre, November
8-20.  ‘Little Shop of Horrors” is part of the
Broadway Series at Playhouse Square Center. 
Subscriptions are available ranging from $109 to $419
by calling 216-830-7221 or online at
www.playhousesquare.com.

‘T.I.D.Y., ’ world premiere of Eric Cable’s play, Beck
Center, opens November 18--216 521-2540.

‘Swing!,’ Carousel Diner Theatre, November 16-January
8--800-362-4100.

2006 Stratford Festival of Canada offerings: 
‘Coriolanus,’ ‘Oliver!,’ ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’
‘Twelfth Night,’ ‘The Glass Menagerie,’ ‘London
Assurance,’ ‘South Pacific,’ ‘Don Juan,’ ‘Henry IV,
Part 1,’ ‘The Dutchess of Malfi.”

2006 Shaw Festival of Canada offerings:  ‘Arms and the
Man,’ ‘Too True to Be Good,’ ‘High Society,’ ‘The
Crucible,’ ‘The Magic Fire,’ ‘Rosmersholm, ‘The
Heiress,’ ‘The Invisible man,’ ‘Design for Living,’
‘The Magic Fire,’ ‘Love Among the Russians.’



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.


		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click.
http://farechase.yahoo.com