![\"Joanna](\"http:\/\/www.irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/2786_72_cap.jpg\" "\\"2786_72_cap\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nRMBallet\u2019s inaugural\u2019s performance introduced an exciting new company of expressive dancers.\u00a0 Their theatrical dance works are both entertaining and compelling.<\/p>\n
The studio wall is arranged with an exhibit of boldly colorful paintings created by guest choreographer Myles Marsden for his ballet Pictures at an Exhibition<\/em>.\u00a0 The first section is an ensemble piece, in which the viewers arrive at the exhibit, dancing to the Promenade<\/em> from Mussorgsky\u2019s suite.\u00a0 A series of divertissements follow \u2013 pas de deux and trios that seem to tell the stories of the paintings and the effects they have on those who view them.<\/p>\n Robert Graham and Viktoria Hofstaedter perform Strangers<\/em>, a stirring pas de deux full of swooning falls and high breathtaking lifts, danced to Pink Floyd\u2019s Breathe<\/em>.\u00a0 Every time that Hofstaedter falls forward or wraps herself around Graham, the movement seems to dramatize the spell that an artwork can cast over a viewer, lifting the spirit or inducing a dreamlike state and transporting the viewer to another world to experience a gamut of emotions.\u00a0 Hofstaedter\u2019s movement is especially lovely and lyrical and Graham seems to channel the force of a powerful work of art.<\/p>\n In the closing section, The Web<\/em>, Luis Gabriel Zaragoza is crouched low upstage and seems to prowl along the back wall.\u00a0 Joanna Sienkiewicz and Lola Shapiro fly across the floor as they make their entrances, but soon they are doing bouree turns in place or hopping in arabesque, as if their ability to travel has been slowed down or even arrested.\u00a0 It left me with the image that they\u2019d been captured in a web spun by the power of the artwork.<\/p>\n I\u2019d never before seen Pictures at an Exhibition<\/em> presented as a ballet and I was completely charmed by Myles Marsden\u2019s approach to the subject, and his theatrical choreography.<\/p>\n Richard Marsden\u2019s jazzy Cherokee Ballet<\/em> was stylish and great fun.\u00a0 Robert Graham partners the flirtatious Catherine Borrone while Viktoria Hofstaedter and Lola Shapiro provide the counterpoint of a chorus line.\u00a0 I especially liked the unison section performed by the girls toward the end of the dance.\u00a0 Very artistic and entertaining.<\/p>\n One of the highlights of the evening was Richard Marsden\u2019s performance of The Cavalier in one of the variations from The Nutcracker<\/em>.\u00a0 He is boyish and exuberant in the role and he seemed to be having a great time as he flew across the floor and executed one series of tours after the next.<\/p>\n The evening closed with Richard Marsden’s sultry Latin flavored piece called Toros<\/em>, performed to La Rosa Negra<\/em>.\u00a0 Joanna Sienkiewicz moves with authority as Negra contrasted with Rosa, danced with jubilation by Analia Farfan, both women partnered by Robert Graham.<\/p>\n I’ve never before seen a ballet company who deliberately set out to pay homage to the traditions of the Ballet Russes and I really liked the premise upon which this evening of short dance pieces was based.\u00a0\u00a0 RMBallet\u2019s dances have a wide appeal.\u00a0 The evening\u2019s program offered plenty for the ballet fan to appreciate, and it could be just as entertaining and deliver just as much of an emotional punch for a person who isn\u2019t familiar with ballet.<\/p>\n I\u2019m really looking forward to seeing where the company will go from here.\u00a0 This is one to watch!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" RMBallet presents Intervals – The Ballet Russes Reborn – Gala Celebration Ballet Arts Studio at City Center January 29, 2012 All photos by Arthur Coopchik RMBallet\u2019s inaugural\u2019s performance introduced an exciting new company of expressive dancers.\u00a0 Their theatrical dance works … Continue reading <\/a>Catherine Borrone, Analia Farfan and Richard Marsden dance the trio Dark Side of the Moon<\/em> to Pink Floyd\u2019s Time<\/em>.\u00a0 The women trade off lovely solos full of yearning that are beautifully danced.\u00a0 Marsden\u2019s enormous spirit is evident from the most humble gesture to the liveliest tours en l\u2019air.<\/p>\n<\/a>Joanna Sienkiewicz delivered an emotion packed performance of The Sacrificial Dance<\/em> from Nijinksy\u2019s Rite of Spring<\/em>, realized by Richard Marsden.\u00a0 Sienkiewicz can move with gossamer ballet grace, but she had no trouble delivering the anguish and the heaviness that this role demands.\u00a0 She seems driven and helpless at the same time.\u00a0 She just broke my heart as she jumped in place or pounded the floor, the fierceness of her movement growing more intense as the dance builds.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n