Displaying items by tag: Sandpaper Ballet

The 9^th annual Chicago Dancing Festival came to a close on a rainy Sunday last week with the Dancing Under The Stars performance at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.  Despite the less than ideal weather for an outdoor performance, there was a good crowd to catch the closing show of the festival, even a few folks camping out on the grass under makeshift tents crafted out of umbrellas.  Overall the show made it worth sitting through a little rain!

The show opened with a fantastic mash up of flamenco, Irish Step and tap brought to us by the Chicago Rhythm Project.  With only 6 dancers, sometimes performing 2 at a time, they created a show that sounded and felt as big as a full troupe production. The stage was mic’d perfectly to echo the rhythms throughout the pavilion enabling 6 dancers to create a large and loud performance.

I was most excited to see the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater perform Sandpaper Ballet but was left a little disappointed. After a very long overture of Christmas music, 25 or so dancers, clad in one piece costumes that gave the illusion of a clear sky with a few puffy clouds over a luscious green landscape, finally filed onto the stage. There were great moments with intricate and interesting formations but overall it felt flat and a little unrehearsed. Timing was off and the swingy jazz movements that could have really brought the ballet to a fun and whimsical place, seemed like they were being thrown away.

The show got back on track with Torrent from the Brian Brooks Moving Company.  The staging was amazing with the movements of the dancers and their formations flowing along with the music brilliantly. Between the score backing up the piece and the constant motion of the dancers, I was absorbed as I watch movements transfer from person to person and flow across the stage.  They were introduced as a returning favorite and they certainly lived up to the title.

As a great contrast to the large group pieces, Sarah Lane and Joseph Gorak of the American Ballet Theater wowed the audience with a picture perfect pas de deux performance from The Sleeping Beauty. I watched the entire piece with a smile on my face, thinking that it is performances like this that make little girls everywhere want to grow up to be ballerinas!

The Miami City Ballet took a turn from their traditional Balanchine style ballet to perform Sweet Fields, choreographed by Twyla Tharp. Set to a series of Shaker hymns, and performed in simple white costumes, it was a moving piece. At times the bounce and flow of the costumes became distracting but overall this piece was elegant, alternating between powerful and serene moments.  And with a lift that elicited a collective gasp from the audience, it certainly captured everyone’s attention.

The show ended with a true showstopper and my favorite piece of the night.  The Joffrey Ballet performed In Creases choreographed by Justin Peck. Performed to Philip Glass Four Movements for Two Pianos, which were situated on the stage with the dancers, it was an intricate ballet demonstrating perfect technique combined with movements I have never seen before. It had a breathy quality for a ballet piece and was a great blend of modern and traditional ballet.  This piece alone was worth sitting outside in the rain for and a great end to an overall wonderful performance.

With another year under their belt, the Chicago Dancing Festival has wrapped up for this year. Having attending two of the performances, I am already looking forward to next years 10^th anniversary season. The Dancing Under the Stars performance stood up to the test of Chicago weather, combining traditional ballet, modern ballet, tap, and modern into an eclectic and captivating show. If you missed it this summer, keep your eyes out for shows next summer!