North Carolina Dance Theatre’s annual contemporary ballet series, Innovative Works, presents a thoughtful conglomeration of premieres and past favorites. A series begun fourteen years ago by President and Artistic Director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, this year’s installment of Innovative Works at the Booth Playhouse is a pleasure for the audience and company alike.
The world premiere of “Glass Houses” was inspired by the works of South Carolina artist Shaun Cassidy. Dancers perch upon a Cassidy sculpture and Rebecca Carmazzi begins the piece on a playground swing that’s affixed to the structure. She swings like a pendulum, even as surrounding company members begin to explore the sculpture and stage. The apparent fragility of Cassidy’s structure is a perfect vehicle for the dancers’ immingling. The piece explores the cheapening of human connections thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and other web-based social networks. It begins with a video, showing some of the formative moments of the work, including initial designs from Cassidy and early dance rehearsals. The video wasn’t necessary for an informed viewing, but it was appreciated.
Carmazzi, the linchpin of the fragile “Glass Houses,” dances painfully alone, even while part of a brief pas de deux. As more and more dancers (and information) flood the stage, she remains independent. During ensemble lyric moments, she is agitated; at other times she is languid while her peers dance aggressively. As “Glass Houses” closes, she re-affirms the individual inwardness of the human being. This triumph is a collaboration between the McColl Center for Visual Arts and choreographer Sasha Janes, who serves as both a North Carolina Dance Theatre Company Member and Rehearsal Director.
The other world premiere of the evening was Mark Diamond’s “Matisse.” Exploring the relationship (and perhaps relations) between Artist and Muse, the program notes instruct that the ballet “depicts scenes involving Matisse intermingling with subjects from his work as he strives to learn and express varying styles and innovative techniques.” Quite literally framed, the ballet showcases the gamut of Henri Matisse’s styles. Dustin Layton certainly gave the painter a youthful flair. The clothes come off and the muses fall harder for their master; models Traci Gilchrest, Mary Ellen Beaudreau, and Kara Wilkes display tinges of jealousy that surely must have existed among models and muses alike.
Diamond also choreographed the fabulously raucous “There Again, Not Slowly.” Alessandra Ball, Rebecca Carmazzi, Anna Gerberich, David Ingram, Sasha Janes, and Justin VanWeest gave an impressively contemporary performance, set to the musical stylings of Chemical Brothers and Aphex Twin. As described by several NCDT company members, this is the “party people’s ballet.”
Two audience favorites returned to the stage in this incarnation of Innovative Works, “Tearing for a Cure” and “Moody Booty Blues.” The most stirring work of the program, Uri Sands’ “Tearing for a Cure” was last performed by the North Carolina Dance Theatre in 2005. Arvo Pärt’s “Spiegel im Spiegel” alone is a powerful work. Add Sands’ choreography to Pärt’s somber simplicity and the result is profound. I found myself ruminating on the homograph in the title of this work. Certainly the connotation of shredding is evident in the dancers’ motions; my eyes welled as the HIV/AIDS duet came to a close. As the causes for which we are tearing become apparent, one must wonder if we are lulled into a passive state by simply affixing a ribbon to a lapel in Sands’ exploration of society’s penchant for ribbon campaigns.
The show opener, “Moody Booty Blues,” was great fun and clearly a patron favorite. Choreographer Dwight Rhoden had the up-tempo moves to suit the sounds of Muddy Waters and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Despite a few ill-timed maneuvers, it’s hard to argue with gyrations, mesh and raw electric blues.
Innovative Works’ six-show run continues this weekend, with performances November 12-14 at the Booth Theater.