Photo by Rachel Malehorn
Milwaukee Ballet ‘Genesis’
Tsai Hsi Hung's ‘The living quality’ in Milwaukee Ballet's ‘Genesis’
Part of me remains opposed to art competitions. Who’s to say that one artist’s work has more value than others? The other part of me is excited to learn who the qualified judges deem best and to compare that with my own opinion.
I’m talking about Milwaukee Ballet’s “Genesis International Choreographic Competition” which was back at the Pabst Theatre last weekend after four pandemic-complicated years. The competition is held every two years, and I have to say I loved the intimacy of the 2022 edition at the Ballet’s home theatre. But it was good to have the grand, expansive staging and Jason Fassl’s gorgeous lighting back.
It was an amazing show. Each of the three choreographer’s work was outstanding, original, personal, and I would say up-to-the-minute in terms of contemporary ballet. The dancing was magnificent. That each piece was created and brought to this level of perfection in three weeks’ time is incredible. By necessity, each dance is collaboratively created with the eight company dancers whose names each choreographer draws from a hat upon arrival in Milwaukee. Choreography aside, “Genesis” is a fantastic showcase for the dancers’ artistry, and their commitment to a competition seems heartfelt.
Seventy-some choreographers from 11 different countries applied to compete. So Lorenzo di Loreto, Tsai Hsi Hung, and Jack Lister are winners to begin with in terms of prestige and the opportunity to work with company’s artists and spend time in Milwaukee. They’ve each said as much to me in interviews. There are also cash prizes including one for “Audience Favorite.” Best of all, the first-place winner is commissioned to create a full length work for the company next season.
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The running order changes each performance, so as not to influence the audience responses. On opening night, di Loreto’s Baroccata was followed by Hung’s The living quality, with Lister’s Mr. Sheen as closer.
Baroque Contemporary
Di Loreto is an Italian dancer, and a choreographer with the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen. The title of his dance is an Italian riff on “Baroque.” To glorious music by Vivaldi and Bach, with a stirring choral work by the contemporary American composer Eric Whitacre in the penultimate spot, the piece offered surprise after surprise in gently athletic, free form contemporary ballet style. Baroccata played on the power and love dynamics of the Baroque Era court where ballet was born. Those dynamics inspired charming dance jokes, often involving dancer Randy Crespo. Later, the generosity and trust of love were honored in a gorgeous, constantly challenging pas de deux by the principal couple, Alyssa Schilke and Garrett Glassman, to Whitacre’s music. Parker Brasser-Vos, Itzel Hernandez, Raven Loan, Daniela Maarraoui, and Remi Wagner completed the cast. They couldn’t have been better.
Hung is Taiwanese. She continues to teach and choreograph in Taipei, but has worked in New York, Philadelphia, Houston, Chicago and other cities here and in Asia and Australia. She’s a painter as well as a choreographer, and she thinks of both arts in similar terms. Steps are the brush strokes of dance; movements have color. Her piece was inspired by Francis Bacon’s collection of self-portraits, and by the idea of self-portraits. She addressed the subject of self-study and self-knowledge as a search for light in the darkness. Her dance, to music by contemporary Chinese composer Liu Zhu-Chi, is a kind of tribal ritual, a spiritual cleansing by artists intent on turning aggression into beauty. In every sense new, very much happens, all with dazzling energy. There were astonishing passages by principal partners Marize Fumero with Marko Micov, and Kristen Marshall with Josiah Cook. Craig Freigang, Alana Griffith, Alexander Koulos, and Lahna Vandebush completed the powerhouse cast.
Just Smile
Photo by Rachel Malehorn
Milwaukee Ballet ‘Genesis’
Jack Lister's ‘Mr. Sheen’ in Milwaukee Ballet's ‘Genesis’
I felt closest to Australian Jack Lister’s Mr. Sheen. The climactic music, an orchestral version of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.” I know the lyrics well: “Smile through your heart is aching …You’ll find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile.” The melody is heart-lifting; the lyrics questionable, at best, which is part of Lister’s point. As the song is ending, all the dancers, smacked to the floor in seizures, lift drugged faces to the audience and smile before collapsing back. Shiny Mr. Sheen distracts us from human messes.
Lister’s choreography was radical, and the closest to my work in experimental theatre, not to mention my years of singing American Songbook standards. The piece opened with Lizzie Tripp-Molina dancing to the laughs of a Las Vegas audience at Frank Sinatra’s between-songs patter. Shocking explosions of light and sound interrupted her. Lister’s choreography was the farthest from classical but demanded every iota of ballet skill and stamina. Tripp-Molina, Barry Molina, Eric Figueredo, Marie Harrison-Collins, Amanda Lewis, Flynn Stelfox, Jacqueline Sugianto, and Ben Zusi were sensational.
In a brilliant evening, this was my favorite. The audience chose di Loreto’s Baroccata. The judges chose Hung’s The living room.
