Ballet Chicago- S'Wonderful: Corrected

Balanchine's Serenade (artists unknown)

Ballet Chicago Studio Co. & Guest artists put on a fantastic show last night called S’Wonderful. The title was indeed apropos! It was an evening of luscious entertainment and choreography with some very talented artists. Courtesy of the Chicago Reader: “For its tenth-anniversary celebration, "S'Wonderful," the troupe performs George Balanchine's Serenade and Who Cares? plus Artistic Director Daniel Duell's new Prelude and Fugue and Mono No Aware and Ted Seymour's new Fragile: This Side Up. Sat 5/19, 2 and 7:30 PM, Sun 5/20, 3 PM, Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport, 312-902-1500 or 312-251-8838, $16-$30, children $12”

The costumes by Sandra Haggard after Karinska for Balanchine's Serenade were quite lovely and simple. It featured the ladies wearing a simple, light blue leotard with a floor-length, split, light blue tule skirt. The ladies arms would very effectively swoop down periodically to fluff out the skirt. I like how Mr B. uses port de bras to create various symmetrical group poses as well as his use of frequent little spins and hops. I don’t know the technical names for these movements but the cor. is very beautiful, light and joyous, and I suppose it was reminiscent of pure classicism. The dancers sold the performance well. Principals, Julie Niekrasz, Hamilton Nieh, who had such beautiful line and technique, and Alicia Fabry, Luke Manley and Charlotte Speranza were all lovely. I couldn’t help but to notice Robin Stupay b/c she was very beautiful and had such wonderful stage presence; she kind of reminds me of Stella Abrerra from ABT. It helped that she was in the front row but the rest was all her.

Mr Duell’s Mono No Aware was a very refreshing piece of modern cor. featuring four males as Japanese Samurai’s. This was the first live cor. I have seen using a Phillip Glass score, whom I frequently listen to so it was nice to see. The men did a fantastic job, but both Jake Laub and Hamilton Nieh stole the show for me. Alicia Fabry did an excellent job as the only female dancer. Overall, it was a nice piece of cor.

Mr Duell’s second piece, Prelude and Fugue, featured the only live music of the evening, Johann Sebastian Bach, played by a familiar pianist, Mungunchimeg Buriad. I saw her perform thrice for the Joffrey’s The Green Table back in February; she is excellent. This was a very lovely ballet for four dancers, Rachel Jambois, Alicia Pugh, Olivia Schmit and Charlotte Speranza. I would have to say it seemed like pure classical ballet to my amateur eyes. I thought one dancer, Rachel Jambois, really captured the essence of the piece although all of the ladies were fantastic. Rachel has such a natural flow, musicality and rhythm to her dancing that was delightful to see.

I was very impressed with Ted Seymour's new Fragile: This Side Up. This is just a modern or contemporary piece of cor. at its best and the dancers did a wonderful job with it to the music of Alva Noto, Aphex Twins, and Marcelino. The costumes were by Jessica Lee Keller and reminded me a bit of Wonder Woman’s outfit sans the magic lasso. I thought dancers, Rachel Jambois and Ashlynn Coffee really stood out in their ability to make the unique cor. look very natural on their frames as if they had been dancing it all their lives. As it turns out, Ashlynn’s very proud papa was beaming as he stood next to Mr Duell when I asked him during intermission who several of the dancers were. Dancers, Alicia Pugh, Charlotte Speranza & Jake Laub all had wonderful musicality and just looked like they were really enjoying themselves. I was sitting next to Alicia's very proud mama. The entire audience was just really jazzed up and having a ball right from the beginning, which had a very different feel then when I attend the Joffrey or ABT. Everyone was 100% behind these dancers.

Mr B’s Who Cares? was my favorite piece of the night because it showcased the talents of every single dancer, plus it is a really happy, joyous ballet. It felt like the entire cast just outdid themselves in that number. Mr Ted Seymour also proved himself to be a wonderful dancer as well as choreographer. Again, Alicia Fabry, Luke Manley, Robin Stupay, Jake Laub, Hamilton Nieh, Rachael Jamois and Charlotte Speranza were in excellent form. If I only singled out a few dancers, I mean no disrespect to the others; it is just that these folks really knocked my socks off. The entire night was S'Wonderful.

Correction: The parents of ballet student Mr. Jake Laub informed me that I had inadvertently called him Luke Laub. Oops, thank you for the correction. Also, the dancers were not listed separately as being a professional or student so visit BC's home page for more info.