PRINTPointe, plié, percussion
The theater is aLIVE with the sound of music
CLAY MCGLAUGHLIN
Members of Missouri Contemporary Ballet practice for the upcoming performance LIVE. There will be five different performances all accompanied by live music.
April 9, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Missouri Contemporary Ballet isn’t filled with typical bun-wearing, tight-sporting, all-too-serious ballet dancers. Instead, it is seven dancers — some with tattoos, others with piercings — who practice their passion in a warehouse studio. The studio, littered with water bottles, ballet shoes and a few free weights, has techno music blaring from the speakers. The dancers inhale deeply and start their routine of sharp moves, freeing motions and pointe work. The music ends, and the only sound is everyone catching their breath.
MCB has been around for three years but is ready to dip its toes into a new adventure: dancing to live music. “When you dance to live music, anything can happen,” says Noelle Lelakus, MCB dancer. Karen Mareck Grundy, the artistic and executive director of the ballet, played with the idea of live music to propel live dancing, which led to the appropriately titled show, LIVE.
What: LIVE
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts
Cost: $15 – 30
Call: 875-0660
Travis McFarlane, the show’s musical director, helped turn Grundy’s idea into a reality. McFarlane gathered the right tunes to go with Grundy’s vision. “Because the music is going to be so different, each dance will be different,” Grundy says. With such a variety of dances, some even lasting 12 to 14 minutes, as stated by dancer Chris Benjamin, the audience should be ready for anything, including costume changes. “The tutus come on and off throughout the entire piece,” Grundy says of the Mahjongg segment, titled “Six to One.” The segment infuses electric and punk rock sounds.
Another dance is a series of solos featuring a rolling chair as a prop. “I asked each dancer to create movement that portrays their past, the present and where they want to be,” Grundy says. The jazzy style of the Tom Andes Trio featuring Neil Ostercamp will also be accompanying the dancers and playing the music of Bobby Watson. The last three musical groups are Melodia Nueva, the Missouri Symphony Conservatory Children’s Chorus and the Astraios String Quartet, which will play the jams of Led Zeppelin.
Dancing to live music is new for the dancers, but there is little trepidation. “It’s really hard because some musicians are used to [using improv],” Benjamin says. McFarlane agrees the show will be challenging. “You have to be very in tune with tempo,” he says. “The slightest variation could become physically taxing for the dancers.” McFarlane is also looking forward to the bands and dancers working as a team. “I am excited about ... what we can create together,” he says. With their undeniable skills and stylized dances, MCB performs in unconventional ways once again.
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