[NEohioPAL] Berko review: VERB BALLETS FALL PROGRAM
Roy Berko
royberko at yahoo.com
Tue Oct 5 12:58:24 PDT 2010
Verb Ballets presents an evening of premieres at The Breen Center
Roy Berko
(Member, Dance Critics Association)
--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview
Times
--coocleveland.com-
Verb Ballets' Fall program, which was recently presented at the Breen Center,
was an evening of premiers which were generally well danced and varied in visual
illusions.
CLEVELAND FLATS SUITE, a sixteen-minute piece choreographed by Diane Gray, with
music by Richard Rinehart, was a dual presentation. The dancers moved on stage,
while a multi-media program, with graphics by Jay Horowitz, unreeled on the back
wall. Both elements were effective on their own, but the combination was often
distracting. It was hard to watch the dancers move in front of the visuals and
pay attention to both. One often swallowed up the other.
The graphics flow took the viewer on a tour down the Cuyahoga River, under the
many bridges, with shots of the various buildings, both those in use and those
abandoned.
The dancers, whose moves generally fit the music, were well lighted by Trad
Burns, but the lighting effects often worked in counter to the graphics. The
corps movements were well executed.
REFLECTIONS, conceived by Artist-in-Residence Terence Greene, and danced by
Greene and guest artist Michael Medcalf, portrayed an emotional male duet to a
tender love song. Sensual energy permeated the powerfully danced number. This
was the emotional highlight of the evening. It also showed what happens when
strong male dancers control the stage. Too bad this duo are not regular members
of the Verb company.
It's the month of Halloween and what author of the macabre better fits the
season than Edgar Allan Poe. THE MYTH AND THE MADNESS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE is a
tribute to the tortured life and mind who gave the world such writings as THE
PIT AND THE PENDULUM, Cask Of The Amontillado, HOUSE OF USHER, and THE RAVEN,
The musical selections did not consistently carry the tension and psychological
turmoil needed to truly create the confused horror pulsing through Poe's head.
This was a man surrounded by death and impending doom. His alcoholism, deep
depression and his haunting ghosts were physically present in the dance, but not
emotionally stirred by the music., which was generally anything but haunting.
In spite of this, Brian Murphy, with intense flashing eyes and strong physical
moves, proficiently danced the role of Poe. Stephanie Krise as the Principal
Raven, moved smoothly on point to interject torture into the writer's life. The
hovering ravens were a constant reminder of “Nevermore.”
Capsule judgement: Verb Ballets' fall program was an interesting blend of dance
messages and choreographic styles. It made a appealing evening, highlighted by
REFLECTIONS and the dynamic performances of Terence Greene and Michael Medcalf.
VERB BALLETS next program will be in February at the Breen Center. The program
will present a premiere of a multimedia piece by choreographer Alwin Nikolas and
a world premiere of a new dance from Artist-in-Residence Terence Greene. For
details see www.cptonline.org
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through
2010, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at
http://royberko.info
His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to
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