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<p class="MsoNormal"><b style><span style="font-family:Palatino">Ohio Dance Theatre brings love to The Breen
Center; preview of future dance concerts</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino">(Member,
Dance Critics Association)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">When the Cleveland San
Jose Ballet left town, it left a void.<span style>
</span>There appeared to be no regularly performing company that presented
ballet.<span style> </span>Yes, touring companies
came in.<span style> </span>Raymond Rodriguez and
Karen Gabay’s Point of Departure popped up on occasion and gave hope for a
return of a company that would showcase ballet.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">What was overlooked was
Artistic Director Denise Gula and her Ohio Dance Theatre, housed in
Oberlin.<span style> </span>Regularly appearing at
Lorain County Community College, where Gula was the school’s first dance
instructor, and making some west side of Cuyahoga county performances, the
company brings a unique presence to local stages when it performs.<span style> </span>Many of its numbers are ballet.<span style> </span>Yes, pointe shoes, classic lifts and
story telling ballet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">In their latest
appearance in the Cleveland area, appearing at the Breen Center, the company
performed to a nearly full-house on a snowy February 10 evening.<span style> </span>The balanced program touched on various
types of love….love of country, dreamy love, passionate love, obsessive love.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">A new work, THE DREAM,
choreographed by Lisa Lock, found the red, black and white costumed dancers moving
to <i style>Ekectrocutango</i> and <i style>Elecrotango</i>.<span style> </span>Staged with contemporary ballet movements, a dreamer and her
dream characters created a fine parallel to the Latin moods and rhythms.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">CARMEN, danced to the
sensual music of Georges Bizet, was a fast paced, melodramatic vision created
by Gula.<span style> </span>It featured rapid
moves, nice lifts and carries, and a variance from the usual CARMEN done with
capes and bullfighting.<span style> </span>The costuming
worked well, except one can only wonder why Morgan Stinnet (Jose) was dressed
in black chino pants, which was out of character and seemed to cut off his free
flowing movements throughout the evening.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">An excerpt from DRACULA,
with music by John Pryce-Jones/Alfred Schnittke,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">found the dancers
performing in a gated-cemetery complete with gravestones and mysterious
lighting.<span style> </span>It was somber, dramatic
and well fit the foreboding music.<span style>
</span>Kyle Primous was a visually imposing Dracula and Juliana Freude was a tempting
tidbit for the bloodthirsty being. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">BEYOND COURAGE was a
tribute to World War II veterans, some of whom gave their lives while others
suffered emotional scars, for love of country.<span style> </span>Set to video footage from composer Stephen Melillo’s THAT WE
MIGHT LIVE, THEN,<span style> </span>NOW.<span style> </span>FOREVER., a documentary in music, the
performance piece showed the battles of Bataan and Corregidor.<span style> </span>The battle which lasted 3 years, 8
months and 25 days, resulted in 31,095 people losing their lives.<span style> </span>Visual images and vocal transcriptions
were seen and heard as the dancers moved.<span style>
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">A little overly long,
BEYOND COURAGE was filled with melodrama and flag waving.<span style> </span>The first part was powerful, but after
an oral letter quoting segment, the effect wore off as more and more emphasis
was placed on visuals and less on dancing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">The program was nicely
balanced by two impressive interludes of music performed by the Credo String
Quintet, a product of the Oberlin Conservatory’s Chamber Music Program.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"><span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style><span style="font-family:Palatino">Capsule judgement:</span></i><span style="font-family:Palatino"><span style>
</span>Ohio Dance Theatre’s DRACULA AND OTHER LOVE STORIES was a nice balanced
program of music, ballet and contemporary dance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style><span style="font-family:Palatino">Upcoming Dance Performances</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">BE MOVED</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">March 24---7:30 pm</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Chagrin Falls Performing
arts Center</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">400 E. Washington Street</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Program:<span style> </span>HINDSIGHT—homage to rock legend
Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders by Lynne Taylor-Corbett & NEW WORK by
guest choreographer Ronen Koresh</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Tickets:<span style> </span>440-247-9700 or visit
<a href="http://www.chagrinarts.org">www.chagrinarts.org</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Verb Ballets</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Breen Center</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Friday, February 17, 8 pm</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Program:<span style> </span>THE LILY by Chung-Fu Chang, THE SHAKERS
by Doris Humphrey, and a tango by Troy McCarty, OTRA LUNA.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Tickets:<span style> </span><a href="http://verbballets.org">verbballets.org</a> or 216-397-3757</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> NIGHT AT THE
RACES</span><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino">A fund-raiser for
Dancing Wheels</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino">February 18, 2012</span><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Doors Open at 6:30p.m.; First Race at 7:15p.m.</span><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino">The Dancing Wheels Studios</span><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino">3615 Euclid Avenue, 2nd Floor</span><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino">Cleveland, Ohio 44115</span><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#002934"> </span><span style="font-family:Palatino">$15/person; Table of 10/$125</span><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#002934"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:Palatino">(includes pizza and non-alcoholic drinks;
B.Y.O.B. and snacks)</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Console";color:#0071ff">Roy
Berko's commentaries and reviews appear on
<a href="http://coolcleveland.com">coolcleveland.com</a>,<a href="http://neohiopal.com">neohiopal.com</a>,<a href="http://artsamerica.com">artsamerica.com</a>,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Console";color:#0071ff"><a href="http://broadwaynews.com">broadwaynews.com</a>,
and The Times Newspapers. His blog is: <a href="http://www.royberko.info">www.royberko.info</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br><i><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></i><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></p>