Dance review: Los Angeles Ballet's 'New Wave LA' program

Everything isn’t always beautiful at the ballet. Sometimes there’s loneliness, rough sex and violence, as there was at Los Angeles Ballet’s "New Wave LA" program, presented Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

Yes, life can be a downer; even that peasant girl Giselle had a rotten, no-good day. But more disheartening than the oppressive subject matter of "New Wave LA," was the shallow choreographic skill and exhibitionist athleticism throughout much – though not all – of the works premiered this weekend (continuing the next two weekends in Glendale and Santa Monica). 

With the exception of former ballerina Josie Walsh, the choreographers represented on "New Wave LA" come from the commercial rather than the classical side of dance; three have worked on the popular TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.”

If you’re an optimist, this match looks like an idea with some promise. We live in the entertainment capital of the world, and co-artistic directors Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen are trying to build a unique and distinctive repertory – not to mention grow an audience. Boundaries that once separated modern dance from ballet have evaporated, so couldn’t the gulf between the concert and the sound stages be bridged as well? 

Choreographer Travis Wall provided inspiration, despite the swinging fists in his “Reflect. Affect. Carry On … .”  Using cover recordings of songs by Queen, U2 and Sigur Rós, Wall put a new spin on the party from hell, displaying complexity and subtlety in his narrative. Couples slouched on sofas, or slow danced about the room, stealing one another’s partners.

Wall’s universe was dreamy, surrealistic. The eight dancers meandered about the stage space on differing planes, coming together in an unexpected trio and a handsome group section for the men. The yearning in Wall's lyrical vocabulary was palpable, but his characters expressed isolation more than desire.

In “Wink,” Mandy Moore also concerned herself with singles looking for love, and she created a mood considerably more upbeat than the others (thanks also to musical excepts from Cirque Eloize’s “Rain” and designer Keyra Gonzalez’s white, flowing costumes).

To suggest their openness to one another, the six women and four men held their hands ahead like sleepwalkers, and their hips thrust forward in an off-center pose.

Eventually, Chelsea Paige Johnston and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp found a rough-hewed happiness. The men endured below-the-belt pummeling from the women, and all the dancers dropped their arms to signal a pause in their search.

Both Josie Walsh in her “Transmutation” and Sonya Tayeh in “the back and forth” turned up the energy with pieces that were raw, athletic and disturbing for their depictions of abuse to women.  Walsh gave the dancers an astonishing workout, to a thumping score by Paul Rivera Jr.  This was a mean streets kind of ballet – the women in toe shoes – with steps shoehorned into the rhythm. Walsh had her trios facing front, performing huge leaps, large kicks, gymnastic explosions all in unison, which gave it a drill team feel.

Tayeh, using a mixed score of rock 'n’roll and tango, gave us the male-female relationship as bull fight; literally, with the men head-butting the women. The ladies ended up impaled on the raised leg of their partners, flailing about. One ballerina was pulled offstage by her legs; another dragged across by her face, her leg in arabesque. Drew Grant, who does an impressive snarl, sneered as he pushed Grace Mcloughlin. The audience enjoyed the workout, but it left this viewer cold.

The best part of "New Wave LA" was watching how the dancers tore up the stage. Tall and elegant Zheng Hua Li transformed himself into a rat. Tyler Burkett whipped through rhythmically perfect pirouettes; Johnston mugged at the audience and unfurled her leg in sweeping extensions. The dancers’ commitment never wavered, and that was saying a whole lot.

-- Laura Bleiberg

Los Angeles Ballet’s "New Wave LA." 7:30 p.m. May 22, Alex Theatre, Glendale; 7:30 p.m. May 29, 2 p.m. May 30, the Broad Stage, Santa Monica. $15-$95. (310) 998-7782 or www.losangelesballet.org

Related:

Los Angeles Ballet tries the untraditional

Top photo: Craig Hall, from left, Chelsea Paige Johnston, Katrina Gould, Alexander Forck, Nancy Richer, Zheng Hua Li, Monica Pelfrey, Tyler Burkett in "Reflect. Affect. Carry On….” 

Bottom: Grace Mcloughlin, Drew Grant in “the back and forth."

Credit: Reed Hutchinson/Los Angeles Ballet

Comments

[LAdance]

The program was great. I found that every piece was very powerful, each in it's own way.
The comment about Sonya Tayeh's back and forth and Josie Walsh's Transmutation ''leaving the viewers cold'' leads me to wonder if Bleiberg and I were sitting in the same theater, surrounded by the same audience on Saturday night.
Those pieces definitely did NOT leave the audience cold. On the contrary, I thought the thrill, and excitement were almost palpable. And I most certainly did not get that ''drill team'' feeling that bleiberg is referring to in Walsh's Transmutation.
I loved that the program went from showing sweetness, to roughness, to loneliness and more. As an audience getting to experience all those feelings in such a powerful way in one program is all we can ask for.
New Wave LA was a very important step and certainly a major one for Los Angeles Ballet. It proved us once again that there is nothing that those talented dancers can't do. Nothing they can't make us feel.
I'm sure I wasn't the only one to walk out of the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center Saturday night, excited at the thought of the next time I would be coming back to see what other wonders the Los Angeles Ballet will have in store for it's audience.

[danceralamode]

This review is terribly written. It reads like it was written by one of my Dance 101 students on one of their first attempts to view dance and write about it. If you're going to review dance, please know how to write about it. This reminds me of the days when newspapers had sports writers or music critics critique dance because they couldn't employ specialized dance critics. Please don't allow this writer, Bleiberg, to review dance anymore. She doesn't know what she's watching or how to write about it.

[Caite Lorber]

Were we at the same performance?

This performance of Los Angeles Ballet's New Wave LA was certainly provocative...but it was also powerful, innovative and wonderfully danced. LAB deserves kudos for stretching and supporting young choreographers. LA needs a dance company willing to keep up with all aspects of developing arts. With support we could be seeing new composers, set designers, fashion designers and artists collaborating with dance. We need to encourage new thinking...not discourage it. Go to see this very interesting and beautifully danced performance! Good for LAB!

[Jeanu]

What an unfortunate review of a sensational new ballet company in its latest performance of 'New Wave LA'. Reviewers of the arts would be enlightening the public if they could - first of all - write. One would think that in reviewing any of the arts, the critic would have knowledge of her subject, and a gift for the written word.

I enjoyed the performance, and encourage this new Los Angeles Ballet to leap forward.

[GKaufman]

This may be LAT's first gritty review of Los Angeles Ballet. They have treated the company with kid's gloves up until now. Sure, the review leaves much to be desired. But at least the paper is treating LA's best shot at a professional ballet company as more than a 'pet project' like it has in the past.

We complain about the lack of professional dance in Los Angeles, but where's the professional reviewer? Lewis? You out there?

[NewFAN]

The worst part about ballet is that it has become a dying breed of arts. One of the most complicated and beautiful performing arts, but one of the most forgotten. What is it that makes this show any better or worse than any other? Was it a culture shock for some that these dancers have more desires than balanchine? Could it have been their empowering presence on the stage? Maybe it was the crowd giving the most powerful applause and thanks for having seen such a beautiful and "keeping up with the Jeffersons" performance. I have only seen 2 ballet shows which were Balanchine and New Wave LA. I was so skeptical going into my first show, but at the end I found myself realizing that I knew absolutely NOTHING about this art form. For a little bit I was impressed, but I wasn't hooked. A few months later I went to see New Wave LA and the show left me feeling as if I was a part of it. For the first time these dancers were able to express themselves in a way that they enjoyed and it took a little salt and pepper to do so, but is it abnormal that our generation wants to move away from the past and see new things. How many times can one watch the nutcracker or balanchine without pulling their hair out? There is no room for bad reviews of this show, because times have changed and NEW WAVE LA is doing a damn good job of keeping up. CONGRATS on a AMAZING performance! Wonder to yourself how such a beautiful sport with so much life can be such a dying breed...

[APop]

I've seen every production of LAB since their inception and I thought this one was among the best I have seen. Each of the 4 new ballets was a unique and exhilarating experience in their own way. I loved the range of emotions and energies. A strong night of dance all around. Bleiberg's comments, to this viewer, were incredibly off the mark. If you have a chance, go see it on the westside and don't pay attention to the LA Times review. She definitely did not get it right.

[Caite Lorber]

With respect. In response to G.Kaufman's comment; there are reviews from various sources on the Los Angeles Ballet website: http://www.losangelesballet.org/html/news_reviews.htm
many of which would not be considered reviewer's 'pet'.

I give LAB credit for including even less-than favorable notices online for all to read. Ms. Bleiberg's May 18 review was simply sub-standard.