fusion of ballet

An opportunity to visit the last program of the season for the Kansas City Ballet offered up "Fusion," an interpretation of four short stories by internationally recognized leaders in choreography and dance.  

The evening began early with an up close and personal pre-game talk, led by Artistic Director Devon Carney, which defined the efforts that went into this particular event.  Others in charge of choreography, sound, and lighting, joined the discussion focused primarily on the premier of one of the four short works, which ultimately stood out above all of the others.

The lineup began with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s "Tulips and lobster," inspired by the 17th-century Dutch masters’ paintings, which debuted at the Kansas City Ballet in 2018.  Earlier talks described it as baroque and felt as much.  It got the ball rolling though, with a story revolving around the tulip. The lobster felt thrown in for lack of anything more than to have it there to support the title.  It held little significance to the effort.

"hold on tight," appeared next, a world premier that stole the show, by Caroline Dahm, graduate of the University of Missouri - Kansas City Conservatory.   An original electronica score created exclusively for this work cleanly supported an intense story of sound, light and motion that captivated the audience. It may very well be more interesting to experience on the second round though, and every revision thereafter, as it promised to be a continually evolving piece.  

A brief intermission followed, enabling everyone to soak in what they had just witnessed for about a minute and half (actually 15).  Making our way to the upper floors for the reception proved an effort in itself, leaving us feeling as though no sooner had we arrived that it was time to return.  This sort of thing would undoubtedly go off better at the the end of the show.

"In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated" kicked off the post-intermission festivities.  It promised an intense electronic score too, which turned out to be mostly an electronic percussion score.  While the dnace proved as intense and athletic as promised, the length began to weigh on the audience long before it ended, a solid reflection of the year of its original production(1987).

The final piece celebrated Irish heritage in an interesting little tale of "Celts," which felt a little cliche and stereotypical. To the dismay of many Irish, this excess of line dancing and synchronized percussive footwork shall forever be recognized as The Standard Dance of the Irish and any attempts to introduce more a traditional view will be undoubtedly met with contempt.  Most in the audience had little care towards that view though, simply enjoying the moment.

The collective known as "Fusion" had a good showing on this opening night.  Again, the production by Caroline Dahm stole the stage and show and stood out above all others and if you are looking for something unique for your upcoming Friday night, this is it!