Boulder Ballet performs with props and passion
When sitting down in The Dairy Center for The Arts, it was difficult to know what to expect from the ballet “Comédia.”
The 11 rows of seats were filled with all people of all ages, from elementary school to retirees. The audience buzzed with conversation and was struck with silence as the lights dimmed.
After seeing “Comédia,” it may be hard to define what a ballet performance is. The two-part production, which was performed by the Boulder Ballet on Feb. 22 through 24, utilized so many elements that are foreign to classical ballet that it seemed to define a new art form.
The first part of the ballet, “Cirque D’Amour,” carefully blended individual dance numbers without a cohesive storyline. Each dance used strikingly different dance styles, prop use and musical choices that gave the overall show an unexpected diversity.
Peter Davison, the director of the show, said his ballet had an underlying theme, even if the dances didn’t outwardly relate to each other.
“As the diverse ideas developed, a connection between each emerged: a thematic through-line of love and attraction between people and some of the ways that those forces manifest and affect people’s actions,” Davison said in the event’s program.
Props added excitement to each dance while still allowing the dancers to be the main attraction. Umbrellas were used in several of the dances along with pillows, a large metallic ball, plastic tubing and a ladder.
Three standard light bulbs created drama and beauty in the final dance. Eerie and sculptural forms posed and flexed on the stage with each muscle pronounced by the shadows. More statuesque than human, the men and women on stage transformed themselves with simple household items, adding ingenuity to the awe of the quality performance.
The second ballet of the performance, “Bella Luna,” had a stronger plotline than the first performance. In the story, a young girl is promised to a rich man by her father, but instead she falls in love with a poor man who is sent to war. The story was a bit predictable, but the performance style made up for any flaws in the plot.
Boulder Ballet Web site says the ballet is performed in the “commedia dell’arte” style, which is a type of street performance that was common in Italy centuries ago.
According to the Web site, “This form of theater involved archetypal characters, who portrayed romantic scenarios infused with local politics and highly physical action.”
The dancers appeared with their faces painted white, which created a band of dancing mimes whose exaggerated movements and facial expressions told the story of love and heartbreak.
Emotions ranged from silly slapstick to the horror of death. Though the story began with the glee of new love, it soon turned to horror as one character goes to war and the other must choose to wait for her love or to marry a man she hates. The ballet ended in a more melancholy note, but still left room for some optimism.
Throughout the show it seemed all ages found something to enjoy. Children giggled at the antics in “Cirque D’Amour” while adults sighed at the aching dance of a heartbroken woman in “Bella Luna.”
A dance concert with such varied style, emotion and plot is one to be noted. Regardless of one’s age or experience with ballet, there is something enjoyable to be found in “Comedia.”
For more information on the Boulder Ballet, visit their Web site at http://beyondballet.com.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Carolyn Michaels at Carolyn.michaels@colorado.edu.
