A Grand Passion was just that

Given Ballet Kelowna’s leanings for boundless energy, every dance the boutique company presented was a joyous celebration of the human spirit.

A Grand Passion, mounted at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre (MCCC) last Friday, was very much the measure of a troupe that was both physically dynamic and stylistically vibrant.

Dance also has the unique ability to convey human emotions across all boundaries irrespective of language.

In expressing this unspoken language, the six dancers displayed a command of several styles beginning and ending respectively with artistic director David LaHay’s flirty Allegro Per Tre and the tragic Romeo and Juliet Appassionata.

In between came Marius Petipa’s romantic Pas de Deux from The Sleeping Beauty, LaHay’s seductive Tangazzo, and Shawn Hounsell’s brash North Shore.

On a 10-stop tour of British Columbia and Alberta’s smaller communities, Ballet Kelowna attracted one of the largest audiences if not the largest MCCC has hosted this season.

And unlike the larger companies that breeze in with curtain-up going straight into performance, LaHay introduced the program and offered context for each dance. It was his personal charm and passion that fired up the crowd and broke the ice.

Allegro Per Tre set to the overture of Mikhail Glinka’s Russlan and Ludmilla was a classical ballet challenge whereby an athletic Davin Luce supported the tutu-clad Clare Bassett and Raelynn Heppell. Although there were a couple of wobbles en pointe, the trio successfully displayed self-assurance in their dance vocabulary.

Pas de Deux from The Sleeping Beauty, set to Pyotor Tchaikovsky’s music, carried all the mystery and magic of love emphasized by ethereal flutes and violins. And nowhere did love soar as high as when the muscular Brenddan McCooey lifted the graceful Christina Cecchini and she floated in the air.

In an about face, Astor Piazzolla’s orchestral composition was the basis for the modern Tangazzo, an exploration of seduction. The dancers moved in clockwork precision with snappy, clean, crisp movements. At times the three couples danced synchronously. In other moments, the men strutted like peacocks and the women, no mean brown hens, definitely let everyone know who was in command.

North Shore was a stark contrast, a dark, moody ode to the craggy inhospitable landscape of northern Canada. Beginning and ending with stillness, this short dance was filled with sharp, quick movements, at times frantic as if time was running out. Perhaps it was the position of my seat, however at times Hounsell’s choreography appeared cluttered and the space jumbled with dancers.

Romeo and Juliet Appassionata, an 18-minute interpretation that somehow conveyed Shakespeare’s message, closed the program.

Cecchini as Juliet conveyed a gentle, lyrical quality while Luce’s Romeo was less determined in his quest for love than expected. Heppell’s Lady Capulet was a domineering delight, sweeping across the stage conquering everyone in sight. And McCooey stimulated the dance as the hot-headed Tybalt who dies in a fit of contortions.

Ballet Kelowna only received its start in 2002. It takes decades to build a company with a national reputation. However, with high-energy, technically proficient dancers and LaHay’s knowledgeable and canny insights, it’s a good omen for the future.