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Ballet Ariel

Ballet Ariel Sometimes Struggles But Is Always Charming

By what seems to be shear determination and hard, hard work Ilena Norton keeps Ballet Ariel viable, and with the help of Patricia Renzetti and Gregory Gonzalez often vibrant. That company presented its 10th Anniversary concert in the Cleo Parker Robinson Theatre in the historic Five Points section of Denver (Colorado) on April 4 and 5, 2009. Despite the increasing drabness of that theatre (even Parker Robinson chooses to go up in other venues) Ballet Ariel succeeded to bring the stage to life.

As has become expected, Renzetti’s staging of classical ballet – this time Arthur Saint-Leon’s 19th Century classic “La Vivandiere” – was sparkling, with Jennifer Begley and Gregory Gonzalez as the lead partners and Jennifer Bokone, Jessica Clayton, Rebecca Gardner, and Damara Titmus as the pas de quatre. Gonzalez always provides strong partnering that can make even the most tentative ballerina confident. His variation was exquisitely executed, albeit subdued. A stand out in the work was a short variation by Rebecca Gardner, whose stature gives her a magnificent presence and who seems to inherently know where her body is at any one moment and where it should go next.

Paul Fiorino presented a short work in mime and dance – “The Mime” – that involved a sack of balloons, a mask, and him falling in love with the only red balloon, which just happened to have enough helium to float loyally over his head, much like the red balloon in Albert Lamorisse’s film by the same name. Gregory Gonzalez’ excerpt from “Storm,” as set on Begley, Clayton and Ryan Seate was short and energetic.

The second half of the concert consisted of Ilena Norton’s (with Renzetti) ballet “Echelons” about the assassination of Julius Caesar. The work struggled some with overacted pantomime (including a failed sound system that reduced some text to inaudible), but included dances and characters that made it interesting enough to maintain a solid performance life. Of note was the costume for the Soothsayer, and Xilin Zhu’s movement qualities that made that character believable, as well as Rebecca Gardner’s dancing, and sense of place and character, which made her depiction of Cassius not only real, but a delight to watch. Gardener’s sense of focus makes her eyes as important as her considerable movement technique. Virtually hidden in the “crowd” scenes was a remarkable dancer named Simon Gnagy.

Watch Ballet Ariel. They present exciting choreography set on a cast of dancers developing as excellent, and their concerts are a most affordable way to entertain family.

Donald k. Atwood MFA, Ph.D. atwood@worlddancereviews.com

© Copyright World Dance Reviews 2009