Go See BalletBoyz, like, Right Now Before They're Gone...
I met a friend/fellow dancer last night in the lobby of the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Philly. We chatted for a few minutes as we waiting to go into the theater to see BalletBoyz perform "theTALENT." She asked me, “What will you write on your website if you don’t like the show?”
“Well, I don’t really think that PhillyIsDancing.com is really about any super harsh critique,” I replied. “So far, I find myself writing about what I liked in a show, but also including ‘I wish I saw more of this’ or ‘I wish that had been done differently’ or ‘I didn’t understand this part.’” I want the site to be more a celebration of dance in Philly. I guess if I really disliked a show, or, like, fell asleep, I probably wouldn’t spend the time to write an article about it.”
Continuing to chat, we made our way over to the beautiful Zellerbach Theater. The large room was close to packed. The show was presented by the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and Dance Affiliates as part of the 32nd annual Dance Celebration Series.
After a brief introduction, the lights dimmed and the curtains came up. The show began with a video clip of a documentary about the making of the performance. The choreographer talked about the unique challenge of working with an all male ballet company; strikingly different from an all female, or mixed company. He talked about capitalizing on the strength of the dancers, and the masculinity that they brought along with a variety of skill sets.
As the movie screen rose to the ceiling, the stage lit up to reveal the dancers lying on stage. The performance began. From the first moment, I was entranced. There was so much that was unique about this show, and it was executed so perfectly.
The company obviously draws its inspiration from ballet, but all of the choreography in this performance married ballet and contemporary dance. However, I was reminded of so many different types of dances throughout the night. I saw elements of martial arts, as many of the movements were capoiera-esque. Certain parts of the dance (particularly in the second half of the show) reminded me of African Dance, with sweeping floor movements and strong drum beats. I even found myself thinking about Salsa, since the lifts the dancers pulled off were constant, precise, and would have given any salsa performer a run for their money.
The dancers rarely moved alone, always seeming to react to one another in a constant state of fluidity. They even seemed to battle, facing off against one another in an array of paradoxical movements - sharp, but continuous; bold, but effortless. Their movements were graceful, but always, always strong.
One of the stark differences between a male ballet and a female ballet is the muscular make-up of the dancers and of the group as a whole. One of my favorite parts of the performance took place when all ten dancers faced away from the audience in a close group, and simply rolled their shoulders back, one at a time. The light shining down on the dancers highlighted every motion of every muscle in the dancers’ shoulders and backs, all in perfect syncronization.
I highly recommend this show to anyone who loves dance. Even if ballet isn’t your “thing” or if contemporary dance is too abstract and tends to bore you, I assure you that you’ll be amazed by this show. During the performance, I kept hearing audience members saying “wow…” not to the people around them, but an honest, involuntary “wow” meant just for themselves.
So, as I explained to my friend before the show, if I wasn’t 100% amazed by a show I see, I simply write in my articles, “I wish I saw more of this” or “I wish that had been done differently.” I’ve done that in just about every article so far; it’s called writing with a critical eye. Only writing about the positives in a performance is ingenuine if you feel there were shortfalls or incongruencies. But, in this case, I longed for nothing to be done differently. I enjoyed the show in and out, all the way through. That's so rare. As the curtains closed, my friend and I looked at each other thinking the same thing as she said it loud, “Wait, there’s more, right? I want to see more…!’
You don’t have much more time to see BalletBoyz in Philly this year… tonight and tomorrow night and they’re outta here!
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
