THE CONCERT BALLET OF VIRGINIA: Winter Gala 2020
A Dance Program Review
At: The Woman’s Club Auditorium, 211 East Franklin Street, RVA 23219
Performance: February 23, 2020
Ticket Prices: $12-$18
Info: (804) 798-0945 or http://concertballet.com/ or info@concertballet.org
The Concert Ballet of Virginia, a civic company based in Hanover County, continued its 44th performance season with a Winter Repertory Gala at The Woman’s Club Auditorium on Sunday, February 23. The Winter Repertory Gala – a showcase for the junior, senior, and performing companies – shared the program with The Concert Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Iris Schwartz, alternating a musical composition with a ballet.
The Orchestra seemed to focus on patriotic music, American composers, and American themes, opening with a rousing rendition of the “George Washington Bicentennial March” by John Philip Sousa. This set the tone and expectation for the remainder of the program.
Additional musical interludes included a Cole Porter symphonic portrait, another march, and a medley of American music, including “Shenandoah,” which lays claim to a rather contentious proposal to be Virginia’s “interim state song,” and “My Country Tis of Thee,” which the conductor encouraged the audience to sing along with but there were no takers.
The first ballet, Lindsay Hudson’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” featured an ensemble of enthusiastic young dancers who, while they did not always keep their legs straight or keep their toes pointed en l’air, appeared steady on their pointes and brought an infectious element of joy to their performance. Scott Boyer’s period costumes with full tulle skirts coordinated with deVeaux Riddick’s décor, with its life-sized pink and green plants, all of which were well suited to the genteel atmosphere with some patrons seated at tables, where they were served desserts and beverages, reminiscent of an 18th or 19th century salon. The ballet ended on a light note with a very charming back-to-back slide to the floor.
The first half of the program also included Valerie Shcherbakova’s “Bretagne,” set to music by Darius Milhand that seemed somewhat dark, even ominous, in contrast to the dancers’ white dresses with narrow fabric panels draped delicately along their arms. This ballet was set in an undisclosed period and locale (although the title suggests a French locations), with four blue panels painted with chandeliers and draperies and somewhat mysterious obelisks. The work is created with intentional symmetry, and ends with a lighter, livelier coda.
The second half of the program included Scott Boyer’s ‘The Gum Suckers,’ a contemporary ballet that swaddled the dancers in colorful layers and features several different lifts that were sturdy and well-supported. There was a section in which it was unclear whether the two lines of dancers were supposed to be moving in unison or in canon, but the ballet, which featured a quintet of five pint-sized dancers, was undoubtedly an audience favorite and earned extended applause.
It should be noted that Boyer, a founding member and the company’s artistic director, is the only remaining member of the long-time artistic and executive team. The program pays homage to Robert Watkins (former Artistic Director), deVeaux Riddick (former Designer and Technical Director), and Eleanor Rennie (Executive Director).
The program closed with Karen Moore’s “Rainbow Room,” which saw the dancers dressed in glittery top hats and fringed dressed moving in a jazzy Bob Fosse style to the big band sound of Benny Goodman. Christopher Gangloff’s pretty rainbow lighting effects added an extra layer of pizzazz to this work that began with the dancers laying of the floor, legs up, like the petals of a flower. A sassy percussion beat guided the dancers into a rousing kick line that circled the stage and Boyer, Donald Myers, and an apparently uncredited male dancer escorted the bevy of young women, wearing white tie and tails (but, alas, no top hats!) to complement the women’s fringed frocks.
The Concert Ballet of Virginia’s Winter Repertory Gala 2020 offered a genteel afternoon of audience-pleasing dance and live music in a beautiful setting on a lovely Sunday afternoon.
Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County.
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Photo Credits: Concert Ballet of Virginia Winter Gala 2020 program cover
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