Variety energizes ballet triple play

By Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 19, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated March 19, 2008 at 9:48 a.m.

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Photo by Terry Shapiro

Emily Bromberg and Alexei Tyukov in . . . smile with my heart by Lar Lubovitch.

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Funny thing about the sort of three-part program offered this week by Colorado Ballet: Some dance fans love the variety, while others would rather watch arm- flapping swans skittering across the stage all night long.

Full-length classic ballets may be the art form's meat and potatoes, but the triple bill presented at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House through Sunday does more than serve up the work of two unquestioned master choreographers, along with an important younger voice.

It reminds audiences that these dancers can do just about anything they're asked to do, and do it with style, commitment and assurance.

The two masters of dance - the late Antony Tudor and the alive-and-kicking Lar Lubovitch - were represented by works that display their fluid approach to movement and their close and loving relationship with the music at hand.

Then there's the new work on the program: Dwight Rhoden's Straight Line to Nowhere, commissioned by Colorado Ballet.

Talk about a change of pace.

Occasionally, there was a familiar balletic step or lift. The rest of the time, the imaginative choreographer sent the dancers through all sorts of unorthodox combinations and freeze-frame poses. In a recurring moment, a couple face each other, he gestures to her and is met with acceptance: The woman's hands extend, sweetly supporting the man's head.

Dancers enter and exit at random, sometimes reappearing from behind upstage drapes that are lifted, exposing figures in silhouette. On occasion, a gigantic ring covered in foil descends to the stage, serving as an entryway of sorts.

All this cryptic action is danced to an even more cryptic sound score, consisting of Handel harpsichord music, avant-garde piano music by John Cage and frustratingly brief, repeated snippets of Bach concertos.

What it means is anyone's guess - which makes Straight Line worth watching. As the music jumped about from the pretty to the intentionally grating, selected balletic movements were recalled, each presented with a coldness as challenging to the eye as the red, pillowy semi- tutus worn by male and female dancers.

At last, Bach's glorious four- harpsichord Concerto brought the full cast onto the stage for a celebratory finale that ended unexpectedly with a return of Cage's evocative music as the curtain fell. Not for traditionalist tastes, but intriguing and inviting for the adventurous dancewatcher.

Enticing in a more accessible way were the earlier offerings. Tudor's Leaves Are Fading, danced to some gorgeous music by Dvorak, remains an exquisite piece about sweet remembrance, here featuring a stunning pas de deux from Maria Mosina and Igor Vassine.

Lubovitch's salute to Rodgers and Hart, . . . smile with my heart, benefited from the fine playing of an onstage six-piece instrumental combo led by Catherine Sailer. The dancing by the three couples was solid, particularly in the concluding pas de deux to My Funny Valentine, performed elegantly by two recent additions to the roster: Emily Bromberg and Alexei Tyukov.

Marc Shulgold is music and dance writer. 303-954-5296 or shulgoldm@RockyMountainNews.com

Colorado Ballet

* Grade: A-

* When and where: Repeated at 6:30 p.m. today, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 14th and Curtis streets

* Cost: $19 to $145

* Information: 303-623-7876

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