Above: Elizabeth Brown of New Chamber Ballet rehearsing the solo Moments, observed by choreographers Miro Magloire and Constantine Baecher
Saturday April 18th, 2015 - "Ballet is Woman," said George Balanchine; and Miro Magloire's New Chamber Ballet seems to be living proof of it. Miro's obvious delight and skill in choreographing for female dancers has resulted in a series of works which honor the ballerina tradition whilst at the same time pushing boundaries, especially in the realm same-sex partnering. Tonight, the customary New Chamber Ballet formula of women dancing in an up-close-and-personal setting to live music brought us works by both Miro and NCB's resident choreographer Constantine Baecher, including two world premieres.
Now celebrating their tenth anniversary, New Chamber Ballet have always presented an ensemble of finely-trained ballerinas with vivid, individualized personalities. The current quartet maintains the high standard: these are women who are comfortable with having their audience literally within reach, able to dance with confidence and poise in an intimate setting. Their dancing is enhanced by the accomplished musicality of violinist Doori Na and pianist Melody Fader who are always ready, willing, and able to tackle whatever music Miro hands them - and that's saying a great deal.
Entangled, a quartet for on- and off-pointe dancers, is performed to Paganini's Caprices expertly played by Doori Na. The girls, in Sarah Thea's minty-green sheer costumes with a harem feeling, are paired off: two on pointe (Sarah Atkins and Traci Finch) and two in slippers (Elizabeth Brown and Amber Neff).
The ballet opens with Amber and Elizabeth face to face (rehearsal image, above); they rush away from one another and then meet again - repeatedly - in an approach-avoidance sequence. Their dance becomes spastic; they struggle on the floor and there are shakes and shapes. Doori, the violinist, is meanwhile making fast and furious with the demanding Paganini score. The pointe couple appear: Sarah and Traci in stylized balletic poses with stretched arabesques and sculptural port de bras. The couples alternate; the soft-slipper girls have a shuffling little jig. As the adagio begins, the pointe pair lean into one another before they are left alone to a high violin shimmer. Innovative floor choreography follows. We half expect a faster final movement, but instead the ballet ends quietly.
Elizabeth Brown, a founding member of New Chamber Ballet, has been thru a serious injury episode and has come back in phenomenal physical condition and more expressive than ever. A unique dancer, Elizabeth performed Miro's solo Moments to Salvatore Sciarrino's Caprices 5,2, and 6. Doori Na plays the annoying (in a good way) and demanding score with touches of wit. The opening section is all about line and control, and Elizabeth here reveled in these beautiful, slow-to-still poses. The choreography becomes more animated, gestural, and space-filling, with a spirited circle of piqué turns. New Chamber Ballet audiences tend to be rather reserved, but lusty cheers went up after Moments.
Above: Traci Finch and Amber Neff rehearsing Miro Magloire's newest ballet, La Mandragore
La Mandragore (The Mandrake) is a new duet by Miro set to Tristan Murail's solo piano work of the same title. Melody Fader at the keyboard showed a particular affinity for this music which begins misterioso, becomes turbulent, then sinks back into eerie calm. Dancers Traci Finch and Amber Neff meet Miro's complex partnering demands head-on; they are fearless, strong and supple as they wrap around one another, performing lifts and mutually supportive feats in an unusual mixture of power and intimacy. Miro pushes the two dancers to extremes and they respond with compelling assurance and grace.
The world premiere of NCB resident choreographer Constantine Baecher's Two Tauri and A Tiger marked yet another success for Constantine, who has created several works for New Chamber Ballet over the years. Two Tauri opens with Elizabeth Brown rushing on to a stimulating Mozart theme played by Melody Fader; Elizabeth's solo is questing and energetic. Traci Finch enters next, followed by Sarah Atkins, each dancing a restless and animated solo. The movement has a playful, windswept feeling with an aspect of childlike joy, as when Elizabeth and Traci join hands and spin mirthfully about.
The music pauses and we hear the dancers breathing; they re-group in silence, have a walkabout, and a bit more spinning. As Melody intones a more staid Mozart theme, the ballet becomes pensive. The girls circle around, holding hands and relying on counter-balance. This passage recalls Balanchine's fondness for similar linkings, and also evokes Matisse's La Danse. As the music animates, the dancers rush about and a pair will playfully drag the third as in a children's game. This recedes into a more temperate passage with some stretching motifs. Overall, Two Tauri seems like a romping, good-natured piece; yet I feel there might be some underlying shadows, too. I'll need to see it again to get a deeper sense if it. One thing for sure: the three dancers seemed to be genuinely having a good time dancing it.
So nice to see Candice Thompson, Amy Brandt, Emery LeCrone, and Lauren Toole among the audience tonight.
New Chamber Ballet will conclude their 10th anniversary season with performances on June 12th and 13th, 2015. Further details will be forthcoming.