Brooke RobertsonFrom bullfighting with turkeys to dancing with Titania, Queen of the Fairies, the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo put on a diverse show Sunday at the Performing Arts Center. Though enjoyable overall, some aspects of it worked, while some didn’t click.
The performance kicked off with an adaptation of the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” by William Shakespeare. For anyone unfamiliar with the play, I imagine the storyline would be initially confusing (I’ve read the play, though not recently, and I was confused!).
However, as it went on, the tale of two couples’ romantic hi-jinks, engineered by Oberon, King of the Fairies, and his servant, Puck, became clear. The choreography by artistic director Drew Silvaggio and dancer Jackie Lee perfectly captured the mood of Shakespeare’s comedy. Though at points the dancers would fall out of time, as the play went on they became more and more sure of themselves and their dancing improved greatly.
From the gauzy costumes to the graceful dancers to the classical music used, every inch of the performance was rooted in traditional-style ballet.
The second act, “Sidewalk Stories,” adapted from Shel Silverstein’s book of poems, was an entirely different animal.
As a fan of Shel Silverstein’s poetry, I was excited to see how Silvaggio wove the simple poems into a story. The poems, though they share general themes of love, friendship and childlike wisdom, don’t fit neatly into a linear story model.
Silvaggio incorporated different poems from the book, though some seemed to be randomly thrown in unconnected to the rest, that served as events in the life of a family.
Some of the poems were adapted very literally (a poem called “2 Boxes” was, in fact, two cardboard boxes dancing with one another), while other dances were more figurative arrangements of the root poem.
Another issue I had with the arrangement was Silvaggio’s use of Silverstein’s actual poems. To start each dance, either the words of the poem were projected onto the side of the theater, or read aloud by an unseen narrator. However, viewers sitting near the side where the words were flashed had two choices, either to read the poem or watch the dance – doing both was impossible.
The entire effect was disconcerting, but maybe that’s the point of a modern ballet. And despite, or perhaps because of its flaws, I did end up enjoying “Sidewalk Stories.” After all, not knowing what’s coming next is a great way to keep the audience on its toes.
The introduction and first dance, “I Won’t Hatch/Afraid of the Dark,” took place before intermission. Using music by DeVotchka (who contributed to the “Little Miss Sunshine” soundtrack), the dance set the stage for the wistful, nostalgic hour to come.
The first dance after intermission, “Traffic Lights/Us,” was a touching portrayal of a marriage in disrepair. The two dancers did an excellent job of communicating anguish (her) and indifference (him) using body language and choreography.
My favorite dance, “Ma and God/Long Haired Boy,” set to Queen’s classic song, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” was a large-scale, intricately choreographed number that was a joy to watch.
However, “Point of View,” featuring a turkey bullfighting the family during Thanksgiving dinner but ending with her consumption, was a little uncomfortable to view.
As a ballet novice (my main experience with the art being the movie “Center Stage”), I found the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo’s production to be enjoyable and creative, despite its rather endearing flaws.