Aspen Santa Fe Ballet @ Ohio Theater 2/27/10

We like all kinds of dance but a good ballet company with contemporary repertoire is something we’ve seen too little of in recent years. So it was with a mix of anticipation and dread that we went to see Aspen Santa Fe Ballet at the Ohio Theater. Will they be good or will they disappoint?

We needn’t have worried. ASFB brought the goods. And we weren’t alone in our enjoyment. To all appearances the near-capacity crowd was very happy with the performance. The early departures and whining children that inevitably accompanied long story ballets in the Playhouse Square Ballet Series of years gone by were not in evidence. Many in the audience stood to applaud at the end. We heard people say, “Wasn’t that wonderful!” or “I could watch the whole thing again.” What happened to the conventional wisdom that only big name ballet companies performing story ballets could draw enough Cleveland audience to pay for themselves?

What was the best part of the concert? It seems everyone we talk to has a different favorite. In many concerts the opening dance is a throwaway, but IN HIDDEN SECONDS drew the audience in. Dancing at first in silence amid mysterious, misty, atmospheric lighting, a duet suddenly became a trio, and soon 2 more trios joined that trio. Where, exactly, did the additional dancers come from?

Elasticized panels in the black backdrop allowed dancers to enter unseen as long as the upstage area was relatively dark. Later in the dance, the light plot (by Nicolas Fischtel) reversed this formula and the brightly lit dancers briefly manipulated the elastic string-like panels as if in response to a crescendo in the string score by John Tavener.

It’s easier to talk about the dancing IN HIDDEN SECONDS in terms of what it was not. The women were not on point; there were no overhead lifts and few if any multiple turns. Yet, it was unmistakably ballet. This is the first we’ve seen of Brooklyn born choreographer Nicolo Fonte and on the strength of IN HIDDEN SECONDS we’re eager to see more.

As much as we like Twyla Tharp’s choreography, we were certain we wouldn’t like SUE’S LEG. Choreographed back in 1975, SUE’S LEG would surely look dated. And ballet companies are notorious for not getting Tharp’s jazzy isolations right.

How wrong we were. Dancers Seth DelGrasso, Samantha Klanac, Nolan DeMarco, and Emily Proctor nailed Tharp’s playful mixture of jazz and ballet. Proctor, as cutie-pie, was especially versatile, drawing applause for her pique turns (Honestly, the things people applaud.) and casually exhibiting an uncanny ability to quiver her thighs. (Vic thought that was awesome.)

The score, a selection of songs by Thomas “Fats” Waller, is full of ancient chestnuts – I CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE, SAVIN’ ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU – and each song is crammed full of Waller’s tinkling piano runs and burbling asides. Tharp’s choreography has energy and humor of its own, riding the wave of Waller’s songs with dry wit and seemingly endless invention. How can we see more of Tharp’s early work danced this well?

Born and trained in the USA, choreographer William Forsythe began choreographing in Europe, became widely recognized as a major voice in contemporary ballet, and has been seldom seen on this side of the Atlantic ever since. ASFB’s performance of his SLINGERLAND is the first live performance of Forsythe’s work we’ve ever seen.

Though many of the poses are off kilter, SLINGERLAND is, in many ways, a traditional ballet pas de deux. The woman is on pointe and she wears a tutu of sorts. The man supports her as she balances and turns. Go to YouTube.com and search “William Forsythe choreography” to see QUINTET, FIRSTEXT, and other, less traditional pieces from Forsythe’s work.

RED SWEET was the logical choice to close ASFB’s Cleveland concert both in terms of sheer eye appeal and in terms of prestige.

Brightly and beautifully lit by Jordan Tuinman, RED SWEET employed abundant side lighting and gorgeous vermilion gels to illuminate the dancers, especially the women, who were costumed in rich, dark red leotards and bare legs by designer Nete Joseph.

RED SWEET is a commissioned work created especially for ASFB by choreographer Jorma Elo, and therein lies its prestige, for Elo is a young, productive, and widely praised voice in contemporary ballet. ASFB is justly proud to have a commissioned work by a choreographer who is in such demand on both sides of the Atlantic.

Like IN HIDDEN SECONDS and SUE’S LEG, RED SWEET is set to a series of short musical numbers, here by Vivaldi and Biber. Eight of the dancers, 4 men and 4 women, enter and exit in varied and engaging dances -- solos, duets, trios, a gallop for 2 men, 4 couples in silence. At 23 minutes, RED SWEET is too short. When the curtain starts down on the final tableau (One girl carried high in grande pas de chat over a row of reclining dancers; is this a reference to the barrel jump in Paul Taylor’s ESPLANADE?) there was nothing to do but stand up and clap as hard as possible. More!

And that might be the news in nutshell, that contemporary ballet is cool and if Dance Cleveland and Playhouse Square will bring it, Cleveland audiences will come out to see it. http://www.dancecleveland.org

From Cool Cleveland contributors Elsa Johnson and Victor Lucas. Elsa and Vic are both longtime Clevelanders. Elsa is a landscape designer. She studied ballet as an avocation for 2 decades. Vic has been a dancer and dance teacher for most of his working life, performing in a number of dance companies in NYC and Cleveland. They write about dance as a way to learn more and keep in touch with the dance community. E-mail them at vicnelsaATearthlink.net.