CVYB brings new story ballet to life
3/5/2009 - West Side Leader
Cleveland choreographer creates ‘At My BEST’ for preprofessional company
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| The Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet will perform at the Akron Civic Theatre March 14-15. |
| Photo courtesy of The Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet |
The combination of a clearly wrought story ballet and a modern piece should keep audiences fully entertained.
Evert’s six-part jazzy concoction “At My BEST” explores the components of dance in the initials of the title — Body, Energy, Space and Time — in conjunction with the four faculties for being fully present in any situation — body, breath, attention and feeling. From the sounds of it, one might think the work esoteric, but it isn’t. The piece is a vivacious dance encounter with the music of Bobby McFerrin; in fact, part one sets a vivacious and fun-loving tone with his calypso driven “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” From watching CVYB’s dancers in a rehearsal, one can see they take to heart the song’s major theme.
The first five sections of Evert’s choreography are centered on specific individuals. Keila Hamed-Ramos lip-syncs the lyrics of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” while segueing from one group of dancers to another. In this part, as in the others — especially “Circlesong 3” and “Hush Little Baby,” which ends the work — Evert keeps the audience’s eye moving as he develops a series of innovative and inventive dance ideas.
In part three, “Musette,” for instance, Evert focuses on the distinct talents of the two young men in the company. In a kind of playful back-and-forth cycle, Brian Gillick displays his strength and athleticism through somersaults and tumbles, while Dustin True demonstrates quick and lively agility through precise and complicated footwork — all performed before sets of supportive young women on the sidelines. In part five, set to McFerrin’s take on “Ave Maria,” the lead, Carly Pouttu, is still and balletic as flowing phrases of the musical piece are developed; later she dances the more pulsing undercurrent while background characters, who are dressed in white garments that resemble stretchy body bags, morph from one position to another.
“At My BEST” is a pleasure to watch. As entertainment, it’s light, lively and fun. In dance terms, however, it’s complicated and precise. Evert may be at his best in this work.
CVYB also will revive its short story ballet “The Empty Pot,” which choreographer Francis Patrelle created for it in 2000. The storyline is actually pretty straightforward. An ancient Asian emperor has no heir. In his search for the kind of successor he wants, he vows that whoever can grow the most beautiful flower from seeds he hands out, in a year’s time will become emperor upon his death.
When the seeds produce nothing, all the contenders, except for the hero Ping and his heroine, Nieh, buy other seeds in order to come up with wonderful looking plants. The emperor, of course, is looking for an honest and truthful person, and so Ping is proclaimed the victor before all.
The narrative is carried along by music and dance that we generally associate with Chinese opera. Composer William Wade captures the Oriental flavor that informs this tale through instrumentation of bamboo wood chimes, gongs, hand drums and assorted other percussive devices.
Patrelle’s choreography gives nod to far eastern imagery as well. At times he turns kowtowing into meaningful dance moves, while at others he evokes an ancient custom of greeting through an image of the line of dancers trailing their ruler. There’s even an Oriental-inspired ribbon dance.
The author-illustrator Demi will be available at all performances to sign copies of her book “The Empty Pot.”
CVYB will present “At My BEST” and “The Empty Pot” March 14 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and March 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the Akron Civic Theatre. Tickets range from $12 to $25, with group and Scout discounts available, and can be purchased at the box office by calling (330) 535-3179 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Roger Durbin is professor emeritus of bibliography at The University of Akron and board director of the Dance Critics Association. To contact him, e-mail r.durbin@sbcglobal.net.
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