Ballet's concert lives up to its title

By Jennifer de Poyen
DANCE CRITIC

February 13, 2001

DANCE REVIEW
New dancers, fresh choreography and an original score -- these were the pleasant surprises of "Dances of Love and Laughter," San Diego Ballet's weekend concert at the Lyceum Theatre.

Timed for Valentine's Day but reaching beyond romantic themes, the concert fulfilled the promise of its title with a jazz-tinged dance set to tunes by Nat King Cole, a humorous romp inspired by Arthur Murray's words of dance wisdom and a confident neoclassical ballet set to new music by resident composer David Burge.

Javier Velasco is a triple-threat choreographer, as comfortable working in jazz and musical theater as in ballet. And his tendency to mix idioms from all three disciplines gives his dances uncommon energy, unexpected charm.

In "Arthur Murray's Dance Secrets," guest performer Tim Irving read excerpts from the dance icon's eponymous 1940 book -- filled with retro ideas about male-female roles and relations, and perky tips for a better life through dance -- while the dancers demonstrated Murray's do's and don'ts.

"Helpful Hints for Little Girls," Irving intoned, while petite Corina Fabbroni gamely followed Murray's advice for dancing with a taller partner -- lifted elbows, dancing on tiptoes.

Here and elsewhere, Velasco's choreography made pointed fun of the dance master's pre-feminist ideas; in one segment, Fabbroni, Stephanie Aubuchon, Cathy Long and Melanie Rogers practiced their moves with deadpan expressions as Irving explained that women must learn to step backward "because men are used to stepping forward." In another sequence, Aubuchon defied Murray's instructions on learning to keep time, breaking into a whimsical, sexy floor dance as Irving looked on in mock horror.

"Dances of Love and Laughter," Burge's sixth ballet for the company, once again demonstrated the wisdom of this collaboration between composer and choreographer. As in the past, Velasco seemed to push beyond stock movements and comfortable phrases when confronted with the composer's lush, quirky score.

Burge's use of Romantic idioms -- turbulent piano chords, a plaintive oboe, angular melodies -- was a creative response to a Valentine's Day assignment. And Velasco's large-ensemble choreography, created for the semi-professional ballet, the junior company and guest artist Eric Geiger, favored expressivity over flashy moves and searching, off-the-beat responses to music.

"When We Have the Stars," set to familiar and obscure Nat King Cole tunes, was the evening's most romantic, and most conventional, offering. But even here, amid the jazzy riffs, starry-night backdrop and frolicking couples, Velasco's unconventional spirit came through: Ilya Kuznetsov, reappearing at different stages to dance expressive solos. He's a romantic outsider who experiences love not with a partner, but through song.

Choreographer: Javier Velasco. Composer: David Burge. Lighting: Phillipe Bergman. Featured dancers: Stephanie Aubuchon, Corina Fabbroni, Leila Gardiner, Jamie Kilgore, Cathy Long, Michelle Majors, Melanie Rogers, David Colbert, Ilya Kuznetsov, Mark McCulloch, Gabriel Medina, Rachel Sebastian, Eric Geiger, Suzanne Wilham. Guest performer: Tim Irving.

Jennifer de Poyen can be reached by phone, (619) 293-1277; fax, (619) 293-2436; e-mail (jennifer.depoyen@uniontrib.com); or mail, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112.