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Friday, May 19, 2006&= nbsp;

 

Individual ar= tistry delights, but FusionFest dance a forced marriag= e

REVIEW

Verb Ballets

Bolton Theatre: May 18, 2006

 

By Wilma Salisbury

Plain Dealer Dance Critic

 

It was an engaging idea: the linking of Verb Ballets w= ith Cleveland composer= s as part of the Cleveland Play House FusionFest ’06. But the dance that premiered Thursday night at the Bolton Theatre looked like the product of a forced marriage.

 

Klaus Roy, distinguished former program annotator of t= he Cleveland Orchestra, composed his “Christopher Suite” (Suite Francaise) 56 years ago for the birth of his first so= n. Although the piece is cast in baroque form, the harmonies are neoclassical = and the rhythms syncopated.

 

Choreographer Hernando Cortez, artistic director of Ve= rb Ballets, followed the phrasing, structure and tempo of the music. However, = he changed the title to “Shadows of Nes-min,= ” and he superimposed imagery from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

 

The mysterious choreography combined quick steps with angular arms and stylized friezes. Some movements were reminiscent of Nijinsky’s “Faun.” Others harked back to Isadora Duncan’s early modern dances. The men in the cast were bare-chested seekers interacting with warrior-goddesses in flowing skirts and fabric breastplates. The chic costumes were designed by Suzy Campbell. The lightin= g by Trad A Burns placed the action in a dark and sh= adowy place.

 

While the dance effectively evoked an ancient ritual, = it bore little relationship to the sunny character of Roy’s music, which was beautifully played by Michael Schnei= der on an offstage amplified piano.

 

Piano and pianist took a prominent place onstage for “Six Easy Pieces,” the lyrical ballet Cortez choreographed earlier this season = to music of the same title by Jonathan Sheffer, mu= sic director of Red (an orchestra). Campbell’s pretty dresses gave the women a unified look. Jason Ignacio added a humorous touch to the tipsy tango. Pointe dancer Oren Porterfield was feather-light = in her duet with Mark Tomasic. Schneider played the romantic pieces sensitive= ly.

 

Saxophonist John Perrine created a musical framework f= or “Backlash,” the ballet Cortez choreographed last year to Eric <= span class=3DSpellE>Ziolek’s “Verbtuosit= y.” Improvising melodies as he strolled through the theater, Perrine set a cool mood for the hot ballet. He then joined percussionist Benjamin Winters for an expert performance of the imaginative score.

 

The program ended with “Planet Soup,” Cortez’s rousing cross-cultural showpiece set to recordings by world music artists. Although it was a misfit on the program, the high-energy fin= ale showed Cortez in his element as a choreographer whose eclectic style is a fusion fest.

 

The program receives its final performance at 8 p.m. F= riday.

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: wsalisbury@plaind= .com, 216-999-4248