A Review of "The Spring Gala" by Midland Festival Ballet

The following appeared in the MRT on May 4th.

The Spring Gala

The Spring Gala presented by Midland Festival Ballet last weekend at Midland College was an eclectic, intriguing mixture of works that showed the sheer variety of possible forms that are available to dance companies today. This reviewer once rather infamously stated at a faculty meeting that there was no need for a college dance program because the average cat walking across a room is more elegant than any human being can ever be. While I was not entirely convinced that I was wrong all those years ago, the Spring Gala did provide a new sense of appreciation for the devoted skill of dancers and the conceptual complexities of choreography.

The Gala enabled local ballet dancers to showcase their talents, while bringing in a series of guest artists to both inspire their ambitions and to provide depth to the performances. Just as the dances often explored both the strengths and the limitations of human experience, so these guest artists apparently embodied the quandaries raised by time. Justin Liu is a young dancer, not yet fully developed, while Peter Kozak, Jean-Hugues Feray and Yumelia Garcia have obviously seen better days. Their performances were excellent, but surely not what they might have been 10 or 15 years ago.

The program started with the "Grande Tarantella." The costumes were gorgeous, and the dancers were suitably aware of the apparent paradox of fairly traditional steps and forms being complemented by castanets. While the origins of the Tarantella lie at least partially in the legendary idea that a frenetic dance could stave off the poisonous effects of a tarantula bite -- actually rushing around in this manner would merely circulate the poison quicker -- the castanets reminded me of a rattle snake's ominous tones.

While outnumbered, Liu and Kozak gracefully sculptured the love-hate relationships between men and women as they fought for dominance over their constantly moving, swirling female counterparts. It is a telling tribute to the skills of the local amateur dancers that they did not appear overwhelmed by the professionals in this dance. The female of the species, so the dance seems to say, is the more deadly. Get too near those rattling castanets and sinuous bodies at your peril.

A telling contrast to the near open sensuality of the first dance was found in the pas de deux "Handel Celebration" performed by Garcia and Feray. The greatest classical music has a distinct form and yet seems to be constantly seeking to break out of it into new, more improvisational tones. In the same way, Garcia and Feray performed this often traditionally formed classical dance with a sense of modern freedom. A consummately skilled, if brief, little dance.

We returned to a broader toned piece with "Outside of Time," Perhaps I am being obtuse, but precisely why it was called this escaped me. It could have been called "Outside of Starbucks" and made as much sense. But the piece itself was an intriguing mixture of Western and Asian forms from the choreographer Lee-Wei Chao. Many of the hand movements seemed Asian, while the steps were European. At times the dancers seemed to be birds, at others flowers waving in the wind, and then perhaps fairies dancing in a forest. The local dancers were excellent, particularly Louisa and Emily Chapman together with Kinder McCullough. They exhibit elegance, grace and beauty in their dancing.

A more foreboding atmosphere pervaded "A Passage." While the previous piece suggested that movement would continue endlessly, even perhaps defeating that most foreboding of enemies -- Time -- the concept of "A Passage" implied that stillness is the basic force of the universe. So it started with all the dancers lying on the floor as if dead, before hands, arms and then legs stirred and gracefully stretched upward. This piece was the only one in which none of the guest artists were featured, and yet it was in many ways the highlight of the show. The surest testament to the abilities of our local dancers. The work ended with the dancers flowing back to the floor, like languid rose blossoms at the end of the summer. "A Passage" was simply stunning.

After the intermission came a long finale, "Paquita". Some of the local dancers looked rather tired in the opening section, but we were compensated with a wonderful Pas de Deux by Garcia and Feray. While both have had long careers, they still exhibit great exuberance and joy in their dancing. The same occurred with the variations in which individual dancers gave brief but often memorable routines. Standouts were Kinder McCullough and Emily Chapman once again. Their dancing possesses a poignant melancholy mixed with sheer happiness.

Overall, a grand way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The one sad point was that not a single young man -- or danseur -- is part of the Midland Festival Ballet, at least on the evidence of the Spring Gala. So to the young men who may be reading this, consider ballet in the following light. A male ballet dancer develops the awesome power to lift a woman with one hand above his head and then to dance off the stage with her in that position. How many football players have that type of upper body strength? Second, the world of ballet is full of beautiful, elegant women.

So hopefully next year we will see some young men join the Midland Festival Ballet. All joking aside, as a 6'3", 215 lb ex rugby-player, I would give much to have the kind of fluid, transcendent artistry combined with a boxer's stamina and strength that was on display last weekend.