Michael Medcalf of the Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre and Jack Schantz, Music Director for the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, are unifying their organizations' forces by providing a model for other local arts organizations in their collaboration, while fulfilling a void left by the former Cleveland Ballet's annual production of the Nutcracker at the same time. Peter Chakerian spoke with them about both organizations' “synergy” meets “grace under pressure.” Hear Cleveland Jazz Orchestra's Holiday Concert on Sat 12/11, 8PM at the Masonic Auditorium.

It’s a blustery Friday afternoon. At the corner of East 89th and Quincy on Cleveland’s east side; autumn leaves whisk by as the change of seasons settles in. Inside the Karamu House on the corner, a pre-production meeting foretells the holidays to come.

After calling in reinforcements to wrestle with an uncooperative VCR, Michael Medcalf appears relieved. The Executive/Artistic Director of the Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre (CCDT) has the picture he was looking for. Descriptions of a holiday production give way to real scenery. The video flickers to life as stage-play visions of gospel vocalists and dancers parade across the screen. Metcalf finds his Pepsi then finds a seat.

Opposite the screen sits Jack Schantz, Music Director for the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra (CJO). He unassumingly begins to pop his fingers to the swinging rhythms and melodies. Mental notes immediately begin accompanying musical notes from television speakers. Both men observe the placement of dancers, actors and scrims in the footage from previous versions of Night Before Christmas – a CCDT holiday production conceived, directed and choreographed by Medcalf and written by local playwright Margaret Lynch. This year, Schantz and Medcalf join forces twice: First, they offered a full delivery of Night Before Christmas at the CCDT’s Annual Benefit Performance on Sat 11/20 at Cuyahoga Community College Metro Campus Main Theater.

If you missed out, fear not. Both rejoin forces for a highlights show as a part of the annual CJO Holiday Concert on Saturday, December 11 at 8 pm (Masonic Auditorium).

Seating arrangements for the band and other staging questions settled, equally organic discussions on musical tempos, arrangements and other compositional ideas begin. Medcalf acknowledges the importance of this afternoon meeting and of “the limited time we both will have to get this production just right.”

Christmas wish lists notwithstanding, schedules for both organizations only permit them to rehearse twice in real time before show time. “Synergy” meets “grace under pressure.”

If communities are defined by their cultures and measured by their ability to communicate, then the pairing of the CCDT and CJO more resembles that remark. Given the missions and desires of both organizations to preserve more contemporary styles, the relationship can be seen as a blueprint or even a “best practice” for how arts organizations might operate together artistically, creatively and even financially. Their vision just might be the wave of the future for Cleveland’s arts community.

“I think that it’s good for arts organizations to communicate well and develop relationships together in a way that’s more than just a cross-pollenization of respective audiences and styles,” says Schantz. “We’re both trying to get the word out about what we’re doing [together]… so in that sense, we are really ahead of the curve.”

“In order for us to survive in this environment – with such an active arts community full of talent and choices – it’s more important for collaborations like [this] to happen,” Medcalf adds. “These kinds of collaborations don’t happen very often.”

“It’s important to the extent that we are able to communicate that as well… the more interconnectedness, the better,” Schantz offers. “This relationship really has been a perfect fit for us. After all, when you have live music accompanying dance, it really is an electrifying combination.”

That’s exactly the thought that crossed Medcalf’s mind late last year.

Having performed the Billy Strayhorn/Duke Ellington Nutcracker Suite on the same evening as the CJO – “in two different venues with two different audiences” – Medcalf decided to call the CJO about collaborating on a joint holiday production.

“I’ve always loved Duke [Ellington] and that piece of music,” Medcalf relates. “When I found out what they were doing...literally, the Tuesday after our production finished, I called Bob [Keesecker, CJO Executive Director] and said ‘Hey, you know what? We’re doing the same music. Why don’t we do a production together?’

They first decided to join forces on Ellington’s Latin American Suite this past summer at Cain Park, with Medcalf and company providing original choreography to match the music. Part of Ellington’s Nutcracker was also tested on stage that night, with resounding results. The performance went over so well with the audience, it was decided that a joint holiday concert would become a tradition for both organizations.

“Any long-standing tradition, you will find, is rooted deeply in the strength of family, relationships and values,” Medcalf adds, with reference to the collaboration and to the production itself. “With this production, it is multi-layered, it is suitable for the entire family and really has lessons for all of us on the meaning of Christmas.”

After a few more scenes are viewed, the video ends and both Medcalf and Schantz have some loose ends to tie up. There’s a script that will need to be marked with musical cues. Copies of the Strayhorn/Ellington arrangement need similar treatment.

There are also rehearsal itineraries to clarify, and additional stage directions to map. There may be additional music to perform outside of the Strayhorn/Ellington work. Both long for a convention called extra rehearsal time, but seem satisfied by the afternoon’s progress. “This project is a ballet and the music is very, very strong,” says Schantz. “There’s emotional meaning, physical meaning and intellectual meaning. And at the same time, it’s a little bit tongue-in-cheek and irreverent."

“But there is something very American about it,” Schantz adds. “It’s a lot like these hip-hop cats who are using turntables and turn them upside-down to get a different kind of sound out of them. The records become the instruments.”

He sees the creative output of the CCDT and CJO the same way. It’s hard not to liken their pairing to the relationship between the “Suite” and contemporary dance – and perhaps even the Ellington/Strayhorn relationship.

“The symbiotic relationship between Strayhorn and Ellington is a storied one. During the course of their collaborations,” Schantz finalizes, “it was very difficult to see where Ellington ends and Strayhorn begins.” The symbiotic relationship between the CJO and CCDT blurs those lines and garners rave reviews in the process. Strong crowds turns up the entire weekend – particularly for the Saturday night event, a CCDT benefit. And it is easy to see why.

Night Before Christmas tells the story of Symphony and Paris, a young sister and brother who have a pair of loving foster parents in Mr. and Mrs. Pastor. But sensing holiday hollowness, both children express a longing for a reunion with their birth parents. As they drift into a Christmas Eve slumber in the pew of their church, the siblings are paid a visit by their very own Fairy Godmother (“That’s F.G. to you,”) actress/dancer Nina Domingue snaps during the production) and the “Sugar Rum Cherries,” a saucy-but-defunct Vegas showgirl act.

Suddenly, the children are swept up in a moving fantasy-adventure of dance and theater – experiencing personal revelations as quickly as their whirlwind globe-trotting experience moves from the U.S. to France, Africa and China. It’s a wonderful life, the youngsters decide, as they grow emotionally and spiritually into young adults right in front of the audience.

The production was called “a spirited community show,” and judging from the performance, the description couldn’t be more dead-on. But words don’t do the production justice. It is beautifully staged and heartfelt. The music soars, the dancers astound… and the central characters Paris (Taylor Jones) and Symphony (Jelisa Charles Williams) turn in performances way beyond their years.

It’s the stuff that traditions are made of.

Medcalf agrees, but is also quick to explain what he and Schantz see as the role of Night Before Christmas, in post-Cleveland Ballet years.

“The Nutcracker is a tradition,” Medcalf offers. “Hopefully, this production will become a tradition for the community as well. If it doesn’t become a tradition in the community, it will still be an additional offering. You can’t go into any creative process with the idea that you are simply replacing something or… creating for the wrong reasons,” Medcalf adds. “We really don’t consider this as filling a void; so much as we see it as filling a need. That’s where this production is coming from.” from Cool Cleveland contributor Peter Chakerian peter_chakerian@yahoo.com

Interview and image by Peter Chakerian

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