Challenges of Choreography
Oil by James Moore
THE MUSIC of standard (classical) ballet is instrumental. And because there are no words to get in the way—of the choreographer, the dancers, or the audience—expression through movement, and its interpretation, are free to span a wide spectrum, and to take their time doing it.
Things get tougher for everyone, though, when there are lyrics. Because now there is a literal story to tell and be heard. Now everyone is looking for description as well as feeling. The choreographer is pressed to communicate—and the dancers to demonstrate—every word, or at least every phrase. And the audience unwittingly listens to the lyrics as much as, if not more than, to the melody.
Unless the synchronization of words, music, and steps is exactly right, and as soon as it’s wrong, the dancing becomes tedious. Rhythms slow down. Movements become fragmented. The fluidity that is the essence of dance—particularly of ballet—stiffens up.
Stephen Gabriel
Matching lyrics to classical solos is perhaps where choreography faces its most daunting challenge of not letting artistry succumb to verbal storytelling. And, indeed, that’s where The Charleston Ballet Theatre’s performance of The Little Mermaid—albeit a production for children—drooped at times. In its defense, though, it was confronted by not one, but two adversaries: the lyrics and a large video screen with moving images (which created an effective backdrop for the otherwise bare stage, but which worked best when the images were still, not moving).
The good news, however, is that choreographer Stephen Gabriel more than compensated for these lapses with his small-tandem and corps-de-ballet pieces which were upbeat, magical, and fun. He did it, in part, through the use of Broadway-like steps and gestures that almost transformed this “ballet” into a musical cabaret. Doing so loosened up the choreography, the dancers, and the crowd. The music clearly called for it, and it brought the story alive in a refreshing way.
Jonathan Tabbert
Stephen was also fortunate to have several CBT dancers supporting the Children Series dancers. One who stood out for me—his dancing carried the musicality of the story throughout—was Jonathan Tabbert in the role of Sebastian. His relaxed, effortless style, his sustained concentration, and his effervescence made him fun to watch and draw energy from. The same could be said for Melissa Weber who danced the role of Flounder. I’m only sorry she wasn’t on stage more often.
With even less time on stage, but dancing with presence and panache, was Alexander Collen as Chef Louis. In fact, his brief solo parts were possibly the best of the show in terms of their camouflaged complexity, their expression of the character he was playing, and his synchronization of both with the music. Alexander is a wonderfully pure dancer (as I wrote in this post about him and Stephen last year).
Melissa Weber
Another fun performance to watch was the role of Queen Ursula, danced by Christina Slaton (who I unfortunately could not find a photo of). Her costume was great, here energy toward the audience was piercing yet likeable, and she obviously enjoyed bringing out the despicable Octopus’s sultry side.
But the main credit goes deservedly to dancer-turned-choreographer Stephen Gabriel who, I think, has a special talent for group choreography. To get so many dancers, not only to dance in unison, but to blend and switch and reunite through a complex series of movements, is a rare achievement even in the world’s best ballet companies. And Stephen does it seamlessly.
Alexander Collen
Having seen Stephen, who is a terrific actor as well as dancer, be so animated in his performances, it was nice to see him sitting quietly in the technical booth watching the multiple parts of his directorial labor unfold as a whole.
Bravo.
Interesting and well written. I am impressed by your understanding of your subject, and your interpreting it for us.