VERB BALLET JOINS THE LIVING WITH A WONDERFUL EVENING OF DANCE

Friday, June 26, after a Covid-induced period of Zoom-only dance recitals, Cleveland’s “classical ballet with a dash of American modern dance” company, joined the world of the living with a performance of three pleasing pieces, at the Breen Center.  
 
That’s not to say Verb is abandoning streaming.  The Director’s Choice” program was filmed and was streamed locally, nationally and internationally to an audience it had developed during the last year and a half.  A group of viewers who, not only bought tickets to the company’s electronic programs, but also became donors. 
 
As Dr. Margaret Carlson, Verb’s Producing Artistic Director stated before the opening curtain, it was those ticket sales and donations that kept the company financially solvent during the angst filled “we can’t perform live” days.
 
The program opened with a video interview featuring Richard Dickinson, the company’s Associate Artistic Director.  A former member of the Ohio Ballet, he explained why that Akron based company was the “grandfather of Verb.”
 
Ohio Ballet was founded by Heinz Poll, a German-born dancer who left the country in 1951 for political reasons.  After periods in France and New York, In Akron, he founded the Chamber Ballet, later Ohio Ballet, at the University of Akron in 1968.  Over a span of 31-years he choreographed 60 ballets and created a reputation that led to a local rivalry for excellence and audience between OBT and the Cleveland Ballet.  Unfortunately, due to what local dance aficionados would call errors in judgement by the companys’ boards, both organizations ceased to be.

In 1999, when he retired, Poll left the rights to some of his works to former dancers and company. Dickinson, who was given the rights to Triptych, the opening selection of the evening, explained the influence that Poll had on dance.

Triptych, in its company premiere, was first performed in 1988 and has been restaged from Poll’s original choreography by Dickinson.

Set to Mendelssohn’s piano concerto #2, the classical ballet with contemporary overtones, was danced on point in smooth, flowing movements.  Highlights of the number were a lovely pas de deux performed by Cleveland native Kelly Korfhage and Butler University graduate Benjamin Shepard, and strong solo segments by Emily Dietz, also a Butler grad.

The mood for the number was developed through Lighting Director Trad Burns’ warm lighting, which accented A. Christina Giannini’s costumes.

Stephania Martinez, the conceiver and choreographer of World of Another, a new ballet commissioned by Verb, was filmed explaining her philosophy of dance conception and how this piece was conceived.  She explained that using a computer and a wide-angle GoPro camera to enable full viewing of the studio, the ballet was created.  Martinez explained that she was inspired by “kinetic momentum, a versatility that expands the boundaries of contemporary ballet movement.”

Filled with visual interactions and creation of living images, World of Tomorrow is a showcase for displaying the breath of Verb’s multi-cultural company, with everyone, including Sikhumbuzo Hlahleni, and International Cultural Exchange Artist and Somlya Schirokauer, a Junior Trainee, taking the stage.  

Before one of the company’s favorite pieces, Bolero, was presented, Xochiti Tejeda de Cerda, who Poll gifted the rights, did a video interview.  Set to the sensual and exciting music of Maurice Ravel, Heinz Poll’s original sizzling choreography exploded amidst controlled movements, swirling capes and enticing dancing, featuring Antonio Morill.  
 
It was a perfect ending to joyous hour and twenty minutes of dance.

Capsule Judgment:  Audiences are emerging from the days of angst.  Live dance is back!  Verb Ballets is back!  Bravo!

Join Verb Ballets for free summer performances on July 30-31 for the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival, on August 13 for Tremont Arts in August, August 20 for Ballet Under the Stars, and September 3 at Cain Park.  For details go to verballets.org/performances

  

VERB BALLETS BRIGHTENS THE PANDEMIC WITH A DISPLAY OF GOING SOLO

 

 

According to Artistic Director Margaret Carlson, the purpose of Cleveland’s Verb Ballet’s recent streamed Going Solo, was to allow the audience to see the entire company through a series of dance sequences, mainly dancers in solo performances.  

 

Danced with pandemic appropriate masks, the dancers performed traditional, modern and folk compositions, accompanied by recorded music.  

 

The program included Paquita, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa, and staged in the Verb program by Robert Carter.  

 

The six variations, with music by Ludwig Minkus, displayed classical movement, featuring dancers on pointe.  The performers, Elizabeth Schaeffer, Kelly Korfhage, Lieneke Matte, Julie Russel, Kate Webb and Emily Dietz, were clad in white tutus.  

 

The result was a lovely, often lively display.

 

Sometimes, Always, choreographed by associate artistic director, Richard Dickinson, was danced to music composed by Samuel Barber, who is noted with the tribute that "Probably no other American composer has ever enjoyed such early, such persistent and such long-lasting acclaim."

 

The first segment of this newly conceived dance was performed to the modern classical sounds by Sikhumbuzo Hlanhleni, Hunter Hoffman, Antonio Morillo and Benjamin Shepard.  Costumed in white, the quarter displayed strong muscular lifts, poses and spins.  

 

Part two found Morillo and Shepard displaying powerful athleticism, while featuring strong coupling.

 

Part three found the all-male quartet bringing the number to its climax.

 

Dances For Isadora (Five Evocations of Isadora Duncan) is choreographer José Limón’s tribute to the brilliant, but tragic Duncan, considered to be the mother of modern dance.  She encouraged a free form to the art form, incorporating skipping, running, jumping, leaping and tossing.  

 

The five segments were:  Primavera (performed by Lieneke Matte), Maenad (danced by the captivating Emani Drake), Niobe (executed by Emily Dietz), La Patrie (featuring the stunning Noe Iwamatsu) and Scarf Dance (spotlighting Kate Webb).  

 

Le Corsaire, the men’s variation from the Grand Pas de Deux, was a very brief interlude, proficiently danced by international cultural exchange artist, Sikhumbuzo Hlahleni.

 

The early 1700’s, Jota, a sample of Aragonese folklore dance, was performed with joie-de-vivre by the company’s male dancers.  It was followed by Ukrainian Dance, set to a medley of traditional music and featured the entire company in a joyous conclusion.

 

Capsule judgment:  Verb Ballet, in contrast to many local theatrical and dance companies, had continued, as evidenced by Going Solo, to hone its skills during the pandemic.  They, and audiences, should look to a time, hopefully, in the near future, to be performing before live audiences.  

“Celebrating Black History” by Verb Ballets a study of two choreographic styles

Verb Ballets chose to highlight two young Black choreographers for its “Celebrating Black History” recent program at the Breen Center before a near sold-out performance.

Using the same company of dancers, Antonio Brown, Cleveland native and former Cleveland School of the Arts student was paired with Tommie-Waheed Evans to create the program.  Though none of the selections was particularly Black in story or music, the evening did show a difference in choreographic styles.

“Continuum (2011)” and “Passing By (2012),” both created by Brown, were upbeat, high energy pieces, danced to the choreographer’s remix, with lighting by Trad A Burns.  Both were like abstract modern paintings, had no unifying themes, storyline or a consistent dance vocabulary.  The dancers were constantly moving with energetic explosions.  Because of the pace, the performers were not always in sync, lines were sometimes staggered and movements not always precise.  The overall effect was acceptable, but not exceptional.

Evans’ pieces, both theme centered, were coherent and audience pleasing.  “Surge, Capacity, Force (2017)” based on the cry “But why, I just want to be here,” offered “a reflection on the human dimensions and increasing complexity of national security, including the physical and psychological borders we create, protect and cross in its name.” 

Evens created a vocabulary of modern dance, superimposed on balletic and gymnastic movements which translated into a dynamic explosion of creative yet disciplined movement, danced to patriotic and folk music and a webfeed of spoken words.

“Dark Matter,” the program’s highlight, told the philosophical ode of “love is not so much lost when it was never found for it to be love you must be willing to fight for it and not let it pass you by otherwise it is just a fantasy a yearning of your heart for what you’re not ready to grasp for.” 

A powerful piece, with disciplined moves, with compelling effects created by Trad A Burns lighting, it brought the audience to its feet for an extended curtain call.  Especially appreciated was the dynamic solo dancing of Omar Humphrey.

Next up for Verb:
“Havana Nights,” Friday, April 20, 2018, a benefit gala celebrating the company’s return from its residency in Cuba. 

“Spring Series,” April 27, 2018, 8 PM, E.J. Thomas Hall, Akron University.

“Dance Works 2018,” May 17-19, 2018, 7:30pm, Cleveland Public Theatre

For information and tickets go to:  verbballets.org or call 216-397-3757.

Verb Ballets presents uneven evening of dance; dance preview

Verb Ballets’ SUMMER SERIES, recently danced on the stage of the Evans Amphitheatre at Cain Park, was a mélange of dance styles.  Salsa, traditional ballet, and contemporary dance forms were features of the evening.

MOZEL TOV MI AMIGOS, choreographed by Hollywood’s Daryl Gray, opened the program.  Supposedly intertwining the influences of Jewish and South American cultures, it featured the music of Larry Harlow, known for fusing jazz and Puerto Rican salsa.  It was billed as an exploration of sounds that evolved from the Jews who fled the expulsions of Spain and Portugal to the New World.

The concept appears to be a take-off on “Mazeltov, Mi Amigos,” which was a strong 1960s movement by a group of young Latinos, mainly Ray Barreto and Charlie Palmieri,  which combined traditional Yiddish and Hebrew music with a Latin infusion.  It fell out of favor, but has recently had a rebirth in the Jewish-Hispanic areas in Florida.

The Gray-Harlow dance version was missing the Jewish influence both in dance style and musical sound.

The dancers, especially the male members, showed little understanding of the language of the Salsa dance form.   Salsa dancers move with an 8-count rhythm, shifting weight while keeping the upper body level which causes the hips to gyrate, while incorporating distinct arm and shoulder movements in time to fast, heavily accented music.   Many of these dancers tended to sway and move their arms in flowing balletic motions, rather than quick snap of Salsa.

The circle formations, which may have been Gray’s attempt to duplicate the Hora, were generally ragged, with unequal spacing between the dancers and lacked the footwork that would have separated it from the Salsa moves.  Even if well executed, the Hora is Israeli and Eastern European, not Hispanic Jewish.

Harlow’s music, though well conceived in the Latin beat, was missing the cantorial and Sephardic Jewish sounds.

The overall effect was more “oy vey” (“woe, is me”) than Mazeltov (“congratulations”).

ANDANTE SOSTENUTO was an excellent Heinz Poll classic ballet.  Brian Murphy, the strongest male dancer in the company, has strong balletic skills.  Having danced with Poll’s Ohio Ballet, he is familiar with the nuances that makes Poll’s choreography compelling and uniquely his.

Murphy exquisitely partnered Stephanie Krise, who showcased excellent point-work and body control.  Danced to Mendelssohn’s “Second Movement Piano Concerto #2, in D minor,” the lush sounds of the music were accented by the dancers smooth movements.

DARK MATTER, a contemporary piece choreographed by Tommie-Waheed Evans, was danced to the sounds of Greg Smith, as designed by Jordan Shannon. 

The dynamic athletic choreography mirrored the atonal sounds.  Movement patterns were often complicated, and seemed beyond the abilities of some of the male dancers, who had difficulty forming parallel lines and co-ordinate moving both hands and bodies as a unit.  Though overly long, the overall effect of the controlled chaotic piece overshadowed some of the dancers’ weaknesses.  

Trad Burns’ lighting highlighted the movement and sound textures.   Leslie Miller’s featured dancing was extremely well executed.

PASSING, by Cleveland dancer and choreographer Antonio Brown, was a contemporary dance piece combining modern, classical, gymnastic, and jazz styles of movement.

The movements were nicely lit by Trad Burns who painted rectangular spots of light on the floor into which the dancers moved in and out with creative results.

Brown is maturing as a choreographer as can be noted by his increased use of a variety of movements and texturing of action, though he still has too much walking, almost like he can’t figure out to do with the dancers between their action segments.

Verb has a consistently excellent women’s corps.  It needs to reexamine its stable of male dancers.  Besides Brian Murphy, who is reaching the upper age level of dancers, the males are generally not consistent and often show performance weaknesses.

Capsule judgement:  Verb Ballets’ SUMMER SERIES was, with the exception of the opening number, a pleasant, if not compelling evening of dance.

Dance previews:

GROUNDWORKS DANCE, presents Cain Park Summer Series, August 16, 17 @ 7 p.m., August 18 @ 2 p.m., Alma Theatre.  Program includes a world premiere of an Amy Miller piece, and “My Hummingbird on the High Line,” a commissioned work by Doug Elkins and “Before with After” by Artistic Director David Shimotakahara. (http://www.groundworksdance.org)

VERB BALLETS, September 28, 2013, “Highlights from the summer repertory and previews of works by Verb Dancers, Akron Civic Theatre; October 11-12, @ 7 p.m. World Premiere, SOLDIER’S PROJECT FRESH INVENTIONS @ Dobama Theatre @8.  (http://www.verballets.org)

DANCE CLEVELAND, presents BALLET X on October 5 @ E. J. Thomas Hall, University of Akron @ 8 p.m.  “Ballet X .  . . captures the push and pull of relationships in sweeping partnered phrases.”  (http://www.dancecleveland.org)

Bittersweet evening for Inlet Dance

Inlet Dance, Bill Wade’s innovative company, had a bittersweet experience in its latest concert, which was part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s DANCEWORKS ’13.
The program, which featured a world premiere, was mainly composed of dances from the group’s repertoire.  This was intentionally done, as this program brought to a close the dance career of Justin Stentz, one of the area’s best, if not the very best, male dancers.

Stentz, who joined the company’s training program in 2005, was promoted to apprentice status in 2007 and the next year was made a member of the company.  He has been studying to be a Physician’s Assistant, and will start pursuing that career goal-full time.

The handsome Stentz, whose sculpted body lends itself to powerful gymnastics and physical moves, has a keen sense of the dramatic while on stage.  His face and body clearly reflect the changing moods of the music and the message of the piece being performed.  His coupling with Joshua Brown, another proficient dancer, have created some of the most dynamic pieces showcased on local stages.  Stentz will be very difficult to replace.

The program opened with LET GO, which featured dynamic choreography consisting of running, flips, carries, and male-female reverse role interactions.  The exhausting piece probed working through past issues, learning, forgiving, and letting go as a means to maturity and freedom.

imPAIRed is a signature Stentz showcase.  Coupling with Elizabeth Pollert, the duo, having gone through experiences while in residency at the Cleveland Sight Center, dance the entire piece blindfolded.   Imagery, intimacy, and tension are evident as the couple moves near, on and over each other i perfect partnership.

BALListic is an Inlet “have fun” segment.  Dressed in bug-inspired blue costumes, the dancers use huge red balls to bounce, jump on, roll over, and as catapults for flips.  Their funny faces, slurping sounds and joyous movements create a feeling of absolute joy.

A much repeated Inlet favorite, A CLOSE SHAVE, highlights the artistic and dramatic flair of both Stentz and Brown.  Creating a dual image of actions on both sides of an imaginary mirror, the morning activities of shaving and face washing become synchronized dance movements.

In her book THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS, Laurie Beth Jones describes how each person has characteristics of one personality type.  Wade, a proponent of Jones’s philosophy, is creating a four or five installment piece illustrating each element.  The recent program contained two of the segments:  WATER, created in 2011, and its companion piece, AIR, in its world premiere.
Both WATER and AIR illuminate the attitudes, moods, thinking styles of those classified as having Water or Air personality elements via impressive choreography.

Capsule judgement: The Cleveland dance scene bids a farewell to Justin Stentz and though he will be sorely missed, the intelligent and talented young man moves forward into a helping career where he will transfer from entertaining people, to saving their lives.  Inlet Dance and its audiences will miss Justin.