Ravings of a Textual Deviant

As far as I’m concerned, the coolest thing about my mom teaching for Ballet Internationale is the season tickets.

Peter Pan was the final show of Ballet Internationale?s 29th season, and it certainly left me looking forward to the 30th. This particular show was the result of a trade with the Atlanta Ballet, in return for 1001 Nights. The first thing that I noticed was that the visual style of the show was quite different; B. I. generally patronizes a fabulous workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia, with a very distinctive look.

The performance I saw featured Principal Dancers Ogulcan Borova and Irina Komarenko as Peter Pan and Wendy, respectively, with Karen Scalzatti-Kennedy as Princess Tiger Lily and Selahattin Erkan as the best dancing crocodile you could ever want to see. Chieko Oiwa made a brief appearance as Tinkerbell (who is portrayed by a lighting effect for most of the show.) Ivan Kozlov was at his piratical, parodical best as Captain Hook. It was easy to see that everyone?even the corps de ballet?was having a great time. The choreography gives the entire cast the ability to show off their acting talent as well as dancing, and I must say that everyone was up to the challenge. Phillip Velinov went above and beyond with his performance as Nana, the dog. I?m told he?s got quite the mischievous streak, which made him perfect for the role.

The most challenging part of the whole show, technically, was the portions in which Peter and Wendy are dancing in midair. Borova and Komarenko made it look easy, although I?m sure that it?s awkward at best. At one point, there are four people on wires during a scene change; there are also a few points where the wires had to go on and off very quickly. All of it was accomplished smoothly, so hats off to both performers and crew. There?s plenty of entertainment value as well; the crocodile?s first act solo is not to be missed. For me, those few minutes would have made the entire show worthwhile, no matter what else happened. The scene in which the pirates kidnap the Lost Boys is also well done.

I know that not everyone is interested ballet, but Peter Pan is a great show for kids and adults alike. If it comes back to Indianapolis, or your local ballet company makes a trade with Atlanta, go see it.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2003 at 9:24 am and is filed under Off the Shelf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.