Ballet BC

Title: Nine Sinatra Songs

Principal Dancers: Makaila Wallace, Shannon Smith, Simone Orlando, Alexis Fletcher, Maggie Forgeron, Donald Sales, Jones Henry, Peter Smida, James Gnam, Leon Feizo-Gas, Marianne Bauer, Conner Gnam, Melissa Morrissey, Rachel Prince

Choreographers: Twyla Tharp, Dominique Dumais, John Alleyne

Where: The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts

Reviewed by: Tessa Perkins (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada)

Ballet BC’s first show of their Dance Alive season is a composition of three small ballets: Schubert, Petrouchka, and Nine Sinatra Songs. Each one is very different from the others, and the variety makes for a very entertaining evening of wonderfully executed, innovative choreography.

The most classic of the three ballets is Schubert, choreographed by John Alleyne. The movement is very fluid and continuous, but also inventive and original. Yellow and Orange tones also gave it a very soft feel and the use of lighting added to the colour intensity. At times the colours reminded me of a sepia-toned image. Beautiful costumes, music, lighting, and movements made this piece stand out.

With interesting props and animal calls, Petrouchka (choreography by Dominique Dumais) was a bit more on the weird and wacky side of the spectrum. The music was based on the score by Igor Stravinsky and the use of props was very clever and at times comical. When the piece opened, the woman, charlatan and muscleman were each wrapped in red hanging drapes coming down from the ceiling. The Charlatan danced inside a box frame made out of metal bars and did some very dynamic movements within such a small space. The woman made noises like bird calls at one point which came off quite strange, but made the piece even more unique and progressive.

Lastly, nine Sinatra songs were each given their own unique personality as each coupe danced in a slightly different style. Due to the fact that the women were wearing high heeled shoes and the men were wearing black dress shoes, the dancing was more ballroom than ballet, but Twyla Tharp’s creation was nevertheless highly entertaining. Each woman wore a different colour dress based on designs by Oscar de la Renta and danced in a different way to represent classic songs like “Strangers in the Night,” “One for my Baby,” and “Forget Domani.”

Ending the show on an upbeat note in classic Sinatra style, Ballet BC started their season with variety, innovation, and style. I only anticipate more of the same as I await their next work of artful ballet.