American Repertory Ballet
Neither a last-minute injury nor an extremely shallow stage diminished the esprit de corps and crisp presentation of plucky American Repertory Ballet in “Mix It Up,” an ambitious program featuring four premières at the Community Theatre in Morristown, NJ, in February. This company takes the word “ballet” in its name seriously by encouraging choreography on pointe. In all four new works, the women wore toe shoes.
First came Harrison McEldowney’s Ménage à Cinque, a playful romp with a touch of mock-Gallic sophistication for two couples, plus an odd man out. They danced to “Sacrebleu,” an electronic jazz CD compiled by Dimitri from Paris. Jennifer Cavanaugh and Audra Johnson, hoisted onto the men’s shoulders and tossed around vigorously, made it all look like rollicking fun. Due to injury, the work’s final section had to be omitted, so perhaps this should be considered a preview until the work is shown in full.
Val Caniparoli’s Suite was the most polished and persuasive new work. Peng-Yu Chen, a lean, elegant dancer with a dreamy, insular performance manner, was the central figure. Pedro Gamino and Andrew Notarile joined her in a smoothly unfurling sequence of variations to a Handel passacaglia arranged for violin and cello. Wearing raspberry leotards and tights, the dancers alternated between swift, sleek solo passages and duets and trios, their bodies etching ever-surprising shapes. The concluding image of this smartly crafted work suggested that the men were perhaps figments of Chen’s imagination, dismissed when no longer required.
I ™ Kenji, by Susan Shields, was the evening’s centerpiece. The title suggests an ode to its composer, Kenji Bunch; and the wildly varied score ranged from percussion-heavy, melodramatic movie music to reflective strings to a sharply accented allegro romp. Four color-coded couples (Shields designed the bright, sassy costumes including pancake-style tutus) displayed jazzy swagger with a lot of swaying hips and brisk allegro as they moved through crisp, formal patterns. But the partnering—even for the central couple, Cavanaugh and Christopher Louk—rarely reached beneath the surface to engage the emotions.
While these three dances were all world premières, Six Pianos, which ARB Artistic Director Graham Lustig originally created for Configuration in 2005, received its ARB première. There is no escaping the Steve Reich flavor of Graham Fitkin’s propulsive score, but both the music and the ballet showed there is still room for originality and valid exploration within the Minimalist territory so often favored by choreographers. The dancers blazed through with admirable speed and daring, given the less-than-ideal stage space, and their overlapping encounters paralleled the music’s intersecting piano lines.
Striking, almost acrobatic lifts were smoothly integrated into the action, and the cumulative impact of Lustig’s sensitive choreography transcended mesmeric pattern-making to inject heart and mystery into the mix.
The program closed with a spirited performance of Twyla Tharp’s near-perfect Jazz Age idyll, Baker’s Dozen. The dancers were familiar enough with its intricacies to negotiate the improvised wing space with beguiling finesse.
Susan Reiter is a freelance dance writer based in New York City.
