**** Recommended Of Light and Shadow, a performance by Ballet 5:8 demonstrated the company’s versatility with the world premiere of Celestia; a beautiful pas de deux danced to a live piano solo, Corinthians 13:13; a dark, dark and more contemporary piece, The Cave; and finally, an interpretive piece, The Space In Between. Since I love ballet, I was delighted to be in the audience for this performance. 3 ½ Spotlights
If I had a criticism of Celestia, it would be for underuse of the male dancers. They support/spin/lift the female dancers, but only rarely get a chance to show off their own abilities. The female dancers are wearing black with a hint of neon blue while the male dancers black shirts have a neon logo on the back.
Celestia is a very classical ballet choreographed by Ballet 5:8 Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slater to music by Kevin Puts, Time for Three, Philadelphia Orchestra, Xian Zhang. It features a strong corps de ballet backing the principal dancers in solo and/or pas de deux performances.
Principal couples: Sarah Clarke & Christian English; Kayla Kowach & Laurence Gonzalez; Lorianne Robertson & Samuel Opsal. Pas de Trois: Valerie Linsner, Lezlie Gray & John Szwast. Corps: Ellington Nichols, Caedence Sajdowitz Maggie Degroote, Jenni Richards, Lauren Rios, Marissa Woo, Savannah Stach.
Corinthians 13:13, choreographed by Seyong Kim, is a stunning pas de deux, danced by Elizabeth Marlin & Samuel Opsal to a piano piece by Johann Sebastian Bach. Opsal begins with a graceful but athletic solo until he’s joined by Marlin and they begin an exquisite pas de deux expressing the couple’s yearning for each other. An interesting factoid – the music is a live piano solo – but the piano soloist’s name is never mentioned in the program.
The Cave, choreographed by Julianna Rubio Slager to music by Olafur Arnalds, Johann Johannsson is a dark contemporary piece. In this case, when I say dark, I mean almost no light on the stage, with the exception of a single floor mounted spotlight. There’s a kind of platform on the opposite side of the stage. The dancers are clustered on the platform until the child manages to crawl down out of the cave and across the beach. The way they moved – crouched in a kind of awkward position – reminded me of the way sand crabs scuttle sideways across the beach. Unfortunately, the lighting never got any brighter, so the movement was lost to the viewer.
The Child: Libby Dennen. Corps: Elizabeth Marlin & Samuel Opsal with Katrina Clarke, Laurence Gonzalez, Melanie Rodrigues, Miranda Rubio Opsal, John Szwast.
The Space In Between, choreographed by Julianna Rubio Slater to music by Olafur Arnalds, Philip Glass, is Slater’s interpretation of The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. It was also the final performance for Ballet 5:8 Lead Artist Lorianne Robertson, who is retiring.
Robertson narrates (through dance) a series of eight more or less stand-alone scenes. Each scene has a cast of characters led by Frank & Sarah (Christian English & Valerie Linsner) in the process of letting go – Earthly Farewell, Gray Town, The Bus to Heaven, The Valley of the Shadow of Life, Ghosts and Choices, George MacDonald’s Wisdom, Frank and Sarah, and Awakening to Glory. The entire company dances in this piece.
The Ballet 5:8 company includes Lead Artists: Lorianne Robertson, Sarah Clarke, Samuel Opsal, Valerie Linsner and Elizabeth Marlin. Solo Artists: Libby Dennen, Kayla Kowach, Melanie Rodrigues and Lezlie Gray. Company Artists: Natalie Chinn, Christian English, Katrina Clarke, Miranda Rubio Opsal, Jenni Richards and Caedence Sajdowitz. Guest Artist: Laurence Gonzalez. Company Apprentices: Annaliese Icard, Rachel Walker, John Szwast and Marissa Woo.