Dancing Helen
The audience sat transfixed. The students, many disabled or hearing-impaired, were watching Dancing Wheels' newest work, "Helen Keller: A Tribute to Her Teacher," during a matinee Monday at Cuyahoga Community College's Eastern Campus.
As Helen and Anne Sullivan, her teacher, danced a pas de deux that moved from untamed to exhilarating, the young observers hung onto every moment. They were immersed in a ballet that is touching, charming and full of educational and entertainment value.
Dancing Wheels, the Cleveland company of dancers with and without disabilities, has a fine addition to its repertoire in the 45-minute Helen Keller ballet.
Christopher Fleming's choreography is rooted in the lean, elegant classicism he absorbed while dancing with New York City Ballet. He knows how to convey emotion and balance artistic elements.
Fleming is also a refined showman. One of the highlights of his new ballet for Dancing Wheels is a vaudeville number, performed to Vincent Youmans' "Tea for Two," that makes vivacious use of the dancers, dressed in colorful period costumes.
The ballet lightly traces Helen's life from wild child and devoted student to eloquent advocate for the disabled. Helen's pas de deux with her teacher and pas de trois with Anne and her husband are episodes of rapturous lyricism and playfulness radiantly danced by Rachael Rish (as the young Helen), Sara Lawrence (Anne) and Hoang Ngoc Dang (John).
The projected texts, relayed in sign language by Mark Howdieshell, and photos add depth to the ballet's texture.
Members of Mary-Verdi Fletcher's company, including the artistic director, revealed their refined style most exuberantly in the final salute to Helen, set to music from Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. The stand-up and wheelchair dancers spun and raced through Fleming's sparkling patterns. Beautifully costumed and lit, the new work is a natural fit for dance lovers young and old.
Keith L Arsenault
International Arts & Entertainment Group
Tampa, Florida
www.iaeginc.com
813 831 3465 office
813 205 0893 cellular
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