Page 4 The Blue Banner March 15, 2001 Features Review Not Your Typical Ballet Performance ^ ® wr.rlrl CThp Charlesroti sessed in the earlier two pieces. Rachel Grumpier StaffWriter The Charleston Ballet Theatre per formed in Asheville March 9 and 10. The company provided a daz zling performance of four techni cally challenging, upbeat pieces. The first piece, “Nme Lives: The Songs of Lyle Lovett,” was my fa vorite, surprisingly, since I am not a huge Lovett fan. In fact, when I noticed the Lovett piece in my pro gram, I tried to devise a way to escape die dim auditorium before the curtain went up. However, 1 instantly changed my mind as six men somersaulted onto the stage dressed in black cowboy outfits with huge grins on their faces. “Nine Lives” was definitely not a classical “Swan Lake” kind of bal let. Most of the ballet rules (shoul ders down, hips square, stomach lifted) were ignored to produce an engaging and lively performance, composed of eight Lovett songs, including “I’ve Been to Memphis,” “She’s Hot to Go” and “If You Were to Wake Up.” In “I’ve Been to Memphis,” Kathryn Anderson strutted onto the stage in black pointe shoes and fishnet tights. The cowboys crawled after her as her long red hair flew out behind her, unrestrained by the traditional ballerina bun. I could not help but laugh at all these dancers crawling, shrugging their shoulders and wiggling their hips on stage. Several times, the entire auditorium filled with laugh ter, an uncommon feat for a ballet company. The dancers performed the diffi cult, non-traditional ballet lifts and leaps with seemingly effortless agil ity. With their eager smiles, they obviously enjoyed dancing “Nine Lives.” The piece allowed them to use their extensive dance training in a more relaxed way. Jonathan Tabbert made use of his phenomenal stage presence in “She’s Hot to Go.” When Lovett’s lyrics ring out, “but she was ugly from the front,” Tabbert’s jaw dropped in surprise as he did an enormous double take. The choreography also nicely PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHARLESTON BALLET THEATRE The Charleston Ballet Theatre performed both traditional and non-traditional ballets at Diana Wortham Theater March 9 and 10. The company is a non-profit organization funded by the South Carolina Arts Commission. complimented the Lovett songs. The dances acted as a visual repre sentation for each song. For instance, in “If You Were to Wake Up,” Christy Whitesell dived precariously into Frank Affrunti’s arms. He held her in a straight horizontal line and then rocked her into a fetal position as Lovett sang, “the way you lie sleeping, is it like before?” “Nine Lives^’ was full of Kodak moments, memorable movements or poses. Any mistakes the dancers made they covered up with their infectious charm. After a long, interminably long intermission, Whitesell and Tabbert returned to the stage ready for a more classical ballet. Whitesell traded in her fishnet-wearing, sul len seductress attitude for a fluffy, white tutu and a sweet disposition, which suited her better anyway. Tabbert don ned some white tights that made all the middle-school girls sitting in front of me giggle nervously. I heard one girl say, “I can see his thing.” Whitesell and Tabbert performed a short duet from Tarantella, origi nally choreographed by George Balanchine, god of the New York Seeger Performance in Highsmith WALTER FYLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER City ballet world. (The Charleston Ballet Theatre is the only dance company in South Carolina with permission to use Balachine works.) The two dancers executed the exhaustive petite allegro (dance of small, quick steps) with clarity and unwavering enthusiasm. Tarantella’s cheerful music, writ ten by Gottschalk, kept the audi ence in a lively mood. But the best part was the tambourines, deco rated with multicolored ribbon, Whitesell and Tabbert brought out during their dance. With the tambourines. Taran tella almost turned into a circus act. Somehow, Whitesell and Tabbert managed to keep the beat to the music as they leapt, jumped and spun. ' To end the piece, Tabbert grabbed Whitesell, tambourine and all, kissed her on the cheek, and sent her skipping off into the wings. It was a sweet ending to an almost sickeningly sweet ballet. Affrunti, Phyllis Rothwell Armes and Stephen Gabriel performed the third piece, “Souvenance.” I have no idea what the word “souvenance” means, but the subheading read “the eternal love triangle.” The darkened stage revealed Armes’ slender frame in a stark white unitard. Beside her stood Affrunti in white tights (so you could see his “thing”) and Gabriel in a full black suit. “Souvenance” was a somber piece full of difficult partnering work. Armes first began dancing with Affrunti. He would lift her up high above his head and let her slide down his chest until she rested, balanced on pointe with her right leg curled above his shoulder. Gabriel stole her away and danced just behind her, mirror ing her steps as she leapt into the air, her legs split perfectly hori zontal to the ground. Then as Armes rejected both men and left the stage, the men had a rather intimate scene with Affrunti on top of Gabriel. When Armes returns, Gabriel and Affrunti together lift her into a series of back flips. Both men accent Armes intense grace and flexibility. Several times the dancer’s faces painfully re vealed the difficulty of the dan gerous steps as they winced in concentration. Although the dancers sometimes lost the effortless agility they pos sessed in the earlier two pieces, “Souvenance” was by far the most beautiful and challenging for the dancers. The evening ended with “Carmen Fantasy,” a rather dull piece with all the dancers in black bouncing around to Paolo Sarasavle’s Carmen. The familair music helped re duce my boredom, but I still had to fight from closing my eyes. Because of the somber music, the dancers refused to smile. And without any emotion revealed on the dancer’s faces, the choreogra phy needs to be good. However, Jill Eathorne Bahr's choreography lacked any storyline, and, while she concocted some unique patterns on stage, Eathorne Bahr’s work could not hold my attention. Having just completed “Souvenance,” Armes and Affrunti looked like the might pass out on stage. Although they managed to execute all the steps, their partnering work looked strained and agonized. All the men on stage wore blacl: fuzzy tights pulled up right below their chests, and the women wort black, sparkly leotards. Altogether, the esemble looked a little like Madonna’s Vogue video. The Charleston Ballet Theatre gave a spectacular performance overall. Once the performance was over, the row of girls sitting in front oi me were all fast asleep. Before the performance, they assured me they were actually professional dancer: They said they would be per forming after the company from Charleston was finshed. I guess they changed their minds. Beford the performance began, Steve Steinert introduced the girls as the recipients of dance scholar ships. They all showed particulai promise, he claimed. Steinhert also spoke to the au dience about the lack of funding for the arts North Carolina’s severe budgei cuts greatly affected Dian Wortham’s ability to bring dance music and drama to Asheville Steinert asked for donations help fund performances. I think its important to suppon the arts. 01, for one, want to con tinue to see great dancers on oui stage instead of Fletcher School ol Dance’s pathetic version of “Tht Nutcracker. Mo Peggy Seeger, a folk singer, gave a talk March 14 in the Laurel Forum on women’s influence in music. Seeger, in honor of Women’s History Month, also performed a fall-length concert later that evening in the Highsmith Center Lounge. Seeger, born into a tal ented family, is the daugher of Ruth Crawford Seeger, the first woman be awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for Music. Her father, Charles Louis Seeger, devel oped an electronic means of writing down music notes. Her half-brother, Pete Seeger, is also a folk musi cian. ■etbite For 60 years, your neighborhood banker has been the face of the Savings Bonds program, providing you with information and issuing and cashing services. On the occasion of the 125th Anniversary of the American Bankers Association, the Treasury Department applauds the many thousands of banks and bankers who have helped make U.S. Savings Bonds the most widely-held security in history, and thanks them for their continued support. 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