Contemporary Company, Ballet BC, Showed Genre’s Diversity at Cal State

Canada’s Ballet BC showcased three distinctly different works last weekend when they reopened Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (commonly called The Soraya) after two pandemic-darkened years. Ballet BC, known on of the world’s top contemporary ballet companies, showed their diversity and the diversity of the genre in their return to the 10-year-old, 1,700-seat facility, located on the campus of California State University at Northridge. An excerpt from the ballet troupe’s lyrical, romantic rendition of “Romeo + Juliet (2018)” started the evening; followed by the fascinating, innovative work “The Statement (2018)” and finally “Garden (2016),” an abstract, yet intricate ballet.

Making a Statement

The highlight of the evening was clearly Crystal Pite’s mesmerizing, highly creative and engrossing “The Statement.” Pite started her career as a dancer with Ballet BC. She has since choreographed works for countless renowned companies, including the Nederlands Dans Theatre, for whom she created the piece, which had the Soraya audience cheering enthusiastically. The piece, which explores conflict and power, is mesmerizing and innovative on its own. However, with the conflict in Ukraine on everyone’s minds, the timing of the performance in Southern California added an undeniable sense of conflict and drama.

“The Statement” is not a typical “ballet.” Yet, the piece is tightly choreographed. Derived from a play by Jonathon Young, the piece incorporates recordings of the dialogue between the four characters that provide the rhythm/music for Pite’s choreography. The action centers around, under and on a large conference room table. The group addresses an undescribed “situation that needs to be cleared up” and the need for a public statement or mea culpa. The power and conflict shift – as do the inventive, enthralling movements – as the quartet addresses responsibility, blame and scapegoats for ongoing fighting that they say existed for generations,” but has spiraled out of control.

The performers act out the dialog. The action ranges from the bare bones expressiveness to exaggerated, cartoonish gestures. All might be seen (less dramatically) in a contentious corporate meeting. These include hands cradling bowed heads, hands emphatically splayed on the table, frustrating face palming, pushing a protesting colleague, bodies arching in anguish, and literal backtracking. Pite isolates and emphasizes each word and emotion. She adds elements one would expect from Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner that help convey the desperation and adrenalin – legs jittery with nervous energy, feet sliding out from under someone, or jumping on the table to emphasize a point and intimidate others.

Each dancer displays a distinctive character and movements. They each convey tension, whether over being blamed, deference, corporate guilt over bad outcomes, or being second guessed. The Ballet BC dancers bend, twist, crumble and clearly convey the situation with Pite’s creative. physicality bringing Young’s words to life and the audience to their feet.

Acting and Interacting

Medhi Walerski, who also serves as Ballet BC’s Artistic Director, created the other two contemporary works performed at Cal State that showed the company’s diversity:

• Scenes from the company’s full-length “Romeo + Juliet,” which incorporates Sergei Prokofiev traditional score with alternately playful and romantic interactions. The couple was realistically portrayed by the dancers as lovers not their star-crossed, tragic end. The choreography and the dynamic dancers conveyed a great physical connection and dramatic lovemaking versus the usual staid partnership portrayed. The creative set design used large rectangles that transformed from the balcony to the bedroom for Juliet and Romeo. The excepts at the Soraya included brief, unnecessary bits with Juliet’s nurse and the Friar that distracted from the romance.
• “Garden,” another ballet developed for the Nederlands Dans Theatre, features Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Piano Quintet in A minor.” Walerski’s work intersperses with pas de deux, absorbing quartets, and bits utilizing the 10-dancer ensemble in skin-colored costumes. The lighting and a curtain add to the work, with dancers’ faces or feet highlighted for emphasis. Saint-Saëns’ piece features interplay between the piano and other instruments. Walerski uses the music to drive the interplay between pairings of dancers.

Ballet BC Coming Again

Ballet BC is returning to its Vancouver, Canada, home for more performances this month. However, the 35-year-old contemporary company is now The Soraya’s Resident Ballet Company. They will be back next season at Cal State.

In the interim, the Soraya is showcasing other dance genres. The Martha Graham Dance Company is returning to the theater for the fifth time and will debut a new piece. The Ragamala Dance Company, an Indian company, will premiere a new work co-commissioned by The Soraya and the Kennedy Center.

Written by Dyanne Weiss

Sources:

Performance Feb. 26, 2022

The Soraya/Davidson & Choy

The Arts Desk: The Royal Ballet: 21st-Century Choreographers review – dancers rise to fresh challenges

Photo by Michael Slobodian of Ballet BC dancer Brandon Alley and Emily Chessa, courtesy BalletBC/Davidson & Choy.