The Charleston Ballet Theatre presented last night An Evening of Pas de Deux. Kinsey Labberton went to check out the show and sent us this review. CBT continues tonight at 7:30 p.m. at 477 King St. Click here for tickets.
The best duets over the past 20 years of Charleston Ballet Theater’s history.
That’s how CBT promoted their show, An Evening of Pas de Deux which opened last night.
Featuring 10 duo pieces, many of which were classical and modern and some of which were absurd — like a version of “Damn it, Janet” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show — exquisite duets were exactly what the audience got.
As is the case in any variety show, an evening of one-acts, or follies, there’s the attempt to please everyone. Choreographer Jill Eathorne-Bahr balanced the playful with the dramatic. Though some pieces were flawed, no one can dismiss Bahr’s success in offering Charleston audiences 20 years of innovative dance.
Stand-out selections included the opener “Esmeralda Pas de Deux” — traditional movement performed on point in formal tutu by Melody Staples and male lead Michael Fothergill. The couple treated the audience to classical ballet at its best, with precision movements, elegant lifts, and solid adagio elements. Given the contemporary approach of the follow-up vignette, “Her Heart Went Blind,” An Evening of Pas de Deux that began with a conventional piece felt just right.
“Her Heart Went Blind” was inspired by the movie Crash and was just as evocative as the film. Dancers Jessica Roan and Jonathan Tabbert performed barefoot. The piece betrayed established ballet movement with flexed foot work. The suggestive embrace of the two dancers, Roan, like a four-jointed doll bending at the hips and shoulders only to clutch Tabbert in a harsh hug, made for the most lasting visual moment, arguably, of the evening.
Aside from the seductive “Carmen” which followed “Her Heart Went Blind,” the first Act quickly took a downward turn with two theatrical pas de deux arrangements; “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “The Great Gatsby.” Not to sound too discriminating, but there’s reason ballerinas are ballerinas and actors are actors. You wouldn’t put local PURE Theater actress Sharon Graci in toe shoes and expect her to brisė like Baryshnikov. Nor would I expect any of CBT’s elegant ballerina’s to convincingly act.
Ballerina’s lip-synching to dialogue from The Rocky Horror Picture Show broke the Fourth Wall to startling, rather than pleasant, effect. It appears that Eathorne-Bahr was trying to achieve a tongue-in-cheek interlude, to add a few giggles, but the pas de deux was frustrating and awkward. Perhaps kitsch had been the goal, but the result, unfortunately, came off as amateurish. We know there’s more to these talented ensemble. Sadly, the frivolity continued with “The Great Gatsby,” a pas de trois of lip-synching confusion.
From speakers were heard a reading from an excerpt of Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, as three dancers pantomimed. The decision to include the reading seemed somewhat patronizing, suggesting that some might not know the story’s plot. Whatever the reason, the voiceover didn’t work. If anything, it felt a little tacky regardless of the dancer’s effortless movements.
Thankfully all five of the second Act’s pas de duex scene’s were superb.
Particularly moving was Jennifer Balcersak Muller’s performance in the second piece, “Dracula.” Her partner, Roy Wei Meng Gan, played the ultimate villain, but it was Muller’s articulations as the stiff-as-a-board victim that most impressed me.
At first, I didn’t expect much from the selection of Melissa Ethridge’s “Lay Me Down to Sleep.” But I delightfully proven wrong. It was a terrific duet. Pajama-clad dancers Melody Staples and James Peronto transformed the song’s political anthem into a romantic lover’s serenade. Trey Mauldwin in “Carmin Burana” continues to show his impressive athleticism as he leaped, literally, to new heights. I’d quickly purchase a ticket to see a solo ballet just featuring him.
An Evening of Pas de Deux closed with a somewhat anticlimactic “Romeo and Juliet.” As with “The Great Gatsby,” the cheesy set piece came out, a mini balcony thread with fake flowers. If not for dancers Jonathan Tabbert and Jessica Roan’s chemistry and power, it would have been a lackluster end.
I applaud CBT for continuing to take chances, evolve with their choreography. Tabbert and Roan closed the show just as they’d started it with “Her Heart Went Blind,” perfectly on point.
You can’t achieve moments like that without taking risks.
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