We had spoken on the phone with the London-based choreographer, Domy Reiter-Soffer, who reviewed some of the subtleties of James’ classic creep fest for us, emphasizing how the text was “so open to interpretation.” Are the mysterious and frightening occurrences at the isolated mansion the work of ghosts, as the young governess believes, or are they the product of her own repressed sexuality? Accept our witness that, to the extent that James’ text can be rendered in a dance Reiter-Soffer has rendered it in this 37 minute long ballet. Over the phone he stressed the power of dance to compress; “pages and pages of text can be conveyed in their emotional essence through a few dance movements.” Our next few paragraphs describe some of his methods.
Things begin with a dream ballet. We see the young Governess, portrayed by Eva Trapp, dreaming in her bed and stepping forth to dance out her dreams. She is accosted by dark dream figures who recap the set up for the story, how she travels (notice the suitcase) to an isolated mansion to become the governess of two children and finds herself apparently haunted by ghosts. Reiter-Soffer effectively previews the highlights of the story during this dream ballet and introduces the characters. How seamlessly this prologue segues into the ballet proper. Where does dream end and reality begin? The prologue becomes a wonderful theatrical metaphor for the novella’s central ambiguity!
Early in the ballet we began to appreciate Reiter-Soffer’s designs for the minimal but effective set and how it interacted with Dennis Dugan’s lighting design. On the backdrop a tilted dream-like sketch of the interior of the mansion appeared and disappeared with different light cues. A full-length window up stage right at first seems opaquely dark but then, via a change in lighting, the Governess suddenly sees in it, face to face, the wild uncouth visage of Quint, the deceased former manservant portrayed by Grant Dettling.
The costumes, designed by Reiter-Soffer and executed by Wardrobe Mistress Janet Bolick, set this story in time, letting the audience know that Victorian-Edwardian mores and all the attendant social and sexual baggage apply. The choreographer had praised Bolick’s execution of his designs and we must agree that the costumes looked and moved beautifully. Cleveland, be thankful for this woman who designs and executes costumes for many local companies.
The minimalist set leaves plenty of room for big, expressive dancing in the service of characterization and plot. One long pas de deux delineates the relationship between Quint and Miss Jessel, the deceased former governess with whom he made free. Company newcomer Andrea Blankstein brings a wealth of stage experience to the role of the initially compliant Jessel. Other duets portray the conflicted relationship between Trapp’s Governess and Quint. Dettling exceeds expectations as Quint.
The two children, the Governess’ charges, are central to the story. Are they the well-behaved innocents the Governess initially believes them to be or are they possessed by the ghosts of Quint and Jessel? Portraying children convincingly involves a lot more than mere diminutive stature. While both dancers succeed in their roles, Jeremy Lemme, returning for his third tour of duty with Ohio Ballet, deserves special notice for tapping into his inner child.
Turn of the Screw is a sophisticated Halloween scare.
Also on the program is a new dance by Artistic Director Jeffrey Graham Hughes, Faith. It’s set to the 5th Symphony of Jean Sibelius, music Hughes says he’s wanted to use “for a very, very long time.” The title suggested itself to him when he was working on movement to the symphony. “I said, ‘this feels like faith to me,’” Hughes explained during a phone interview. “I found a few quotes that I’ve kind of centered myself with as I worked on this piece,” he says, quotes which appear in the program note.
The main thing we noticed about Faith was the abundance of dancing. We would guess that the dancers would really like Faith, because everyone gets to show their stuff and everyone looks good. Lots of big jumps. Lots of difficult turns, nearly all of them done very well. Lots of partnering. And it’s not enough to have a string of pas de deux as Hughes has done in his previous ballets; he has too many good couples and too much good partnering material so in Faith he puts several couples on stage at once, all doing different material. Hughes likes his dancers and they return his regard by dancing very well.
There have been some changes in the company. Toby George will be greatly missed but other good dancers have been added. We’ve already mentioned Jeremy Lemme in Turn of the Screw; he shines in Faith as well, dancing big and fast. Some of the new girls are really stunning dancers. Erin Rivera-Brennand and Andrea Blankstein, both new to the company, join Lemme in a speedy trio and seem to easily keep pace with him and the music. All three were principals or soloists in their previous company affiliations.
When we interviewed Reiter-Soffer, he admonished us to “make it possible for the audience to appreciate that they have something very unique in their midst,” that Ohio Ballet is a very good little ballet company. We’ve praised Ohio Ballet before but in recognition of a new and improved company we second the Guest Choreographer’s motion. And say what you will about Hughes, you can’t fault him as a ballet master, recruiter of talent and nurturer of dancers. That Hughes brought Reiter-Soffer to northeast Ohio and that his new Turn of the Screw is so successful is an additional feather in his cap.
Rather than make an editorial comment about faith, Hughes seems to us to demonstrate in this dance what faith means to him. Confronted as we all are with an uncertain world, he demonstrates a consistency of spirit. Consider, dear reader, the uncertainty even now on the Gulf Coast; everything that people have built over a lifetime may be blown away at the whim of Hurricane Wilma. It’s a cruel world but Hughes persists in doing what he does best, offering up in Faith an abundance of fine dancing.
From Cool Cleveland contributors Victor Lucas and Elsa Johnson vicnelsaATearthlink.net
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