AMERICAN FOLK BALLET, Capitol Theatre, Tuesday, Feb. 19; one performance.
The American Folk Ballet beautifully brought its own take on the American West to locals and international visitors Tuesday night as a part of the Cultural Olympiad.
The troupe consists of dancers, singers and a narrator. All three elements blended wonderfully to illustrate the West and the people who populated it.
The songs and dances in the show range in style from Native American to Scottish to a good old-fashioned hoedown — well, as much a hoedown as it could be with towering leaps and complex spinning sequences.
The show was divided into two distinct parts. The first half dealt with the more serious side of the Western movement, while the second half was full of smiles and delved into the lighter side of pioneer life.
One of the highlights of the former came with the final number before intermission. As a preacher preached and a choir sang, a congregation of dancers slowly became a part of the music, and the scene turned into one of a rollicking revival, complete with heads shaking and arms waving in the air.
The playful Irish dancing in "Daughters of Michael Dongarvan" opened the second half of the concert. The soft-shoe Irish tap dancing of the first part of the number was exuberant. The dance then shifted to more classical ballet steps, all the while keeping the fun of the scene of some girls taking a break from washing the clothes.
"Skating on Blue Pond" also brought a lively scene to the stage, one that was appropriate, considering the concert's Olympic ties. The singers opened the scene and set the stage, so to speak, by singing about courting in "On Top of Old Smokey." Dancers breezed across the stage with grace and ease, pulling off leaps that would probably impress the skaters competing in the Olympic Ice Center just up the road.
The final number, "Party at Grandpa Whorton's," looked like a scene out of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." (Even one of the dancers was named Dorcas.) Pioneer men and women took turns wowing the audience by jumping to the front of the stage to show off their footwork.
The program was well-danced and visually exciting but the the sound, unfortunately, was lacking. The loudness of the microphones on the singers had to be adjusted a few times and there was even a buzzing feedback throughout one of the numbers.
Also, some of the music for the dance numbers had the sound quality of an eight-track tape player.
The costuming was as interesting as the source material allowed. There was one strange decision, however — having the women wear white bloomers with black tights under their dresses, making every spin visually a bit jarring.
E-mail: pthunell@desnews.com
