The American Dance Machine is devoted to recreating the choreography of Broadway shows -- to make the public understand, if they don't already, that some of our greatest choreography is in Broadway musicals. This year's survey ranged from the Agnes DeMille "Dream Ballet" that ends Act I of OKLAHOMA to one of Warren Carlyle's numbers for last seasons's revue, AFTER MIDNIGHT. There were a couple of Tommy Tune's cleverest numbers (from WILL ROGERS FOLLIES and GRAND HOTEL) and, of course, works by Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins, but the numbers that stood out were those by Michael Bennett, the brilliant "Turkey Lurkey Time" from PROMISES PROMISES and three numbers from A CHORUS LINE. They reminded us of how brilliant Bennett was and how much he expected of his dancers.
This was an exhilarating two hours of dance. I don't know how the twenty-two dancers survive multiple performances of what was an extremely demanding bill of twenty numbers in a variety of styles. Not everything was letter perfect. Lori Ann Ferreri hasn't quite mastered the arching of the back that is one of Bennett's trade marks and there were moments the dancers seemed tired (this was the last performance of a three-week run), but one couldn't help but admire their talent, boundless energy and versatility. All in all, a great show.
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