Every year the re-creation goes on, and every year by this time the Utah Ballet stands complete - just in time to be ransacked again by graduation, changing plans and fortunes. Artistic director Conrad Ludlow is a man in the business of putting himself out of business, since the desirable fate of many Utah Ballet dancers will be to go on to professional employment or teaching.
Nonetheless, an excellent program is now being danced by the University's showcase company, in which the level of dancing is as high as it has ever been and the program numbers both entertaining and substantial. Indeed, this is one of the better years for technical security, poise and showmanship.Much of the choreography is by Ludlow, in an alternation of pas de deux and group numbers. Among the latter is "Fowl Lake," a romping sendup of you know what, set to a rock version of Moussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain." Kelly Beebe is the vapid Duck Queen, Michael Haben her hero in Indian headdress, and von Rothbart thunders through like the leader of a motorcycle gang. The duck corps works in a little rock 'n' roll, and roll, as a mechanical duck makes sorties.
Equally engaging is the concluding "Cascades," set by Ludlow to Scott Joplin tunes, with dancers in '20s shifts interpreting the light-hearted syncopations of that composer in a delightful period piece.
"Cassandra," a work by graduate student Barbara Bryan, is an engrossing piece. In Toru Takemitsu's electronic score she's found the right music to underlie the Greek tragedy, and she communicates the story effectively in an idiom that combines modern fluidity and strength with tradition. The piece suggests a feeling of antiquity, yet characters come to life with real human emotions.
Greek soldiers with threatening pikes and a few Trojan women stay in the background, as the young Cassandra (Jennifer Adams) defies the god Apollo in a sharply focused pas de deux, and Frances Tiberi as the adult Cassandra conveys a sense of inevitability as she mourns the fate of her people. Costumes by Jan Elam are true to period, and Deward Wilson's shadowy lighting with its bloody slash of red is the most striking in an evening of good designs.
Many pas de deux demonstrate dancer-for-dancer strength, as each couple gives a creditable and often exciting account of duets from the standard repertory.
Outstanding is the Balanchine Tchaikovsky pas de deux, staged by Ludlow. Jennie Creer exhibits the sparkling joie de vivre so desirable in this repertory, as she moves effortlessly through the tricky progressions, with Jefrey Horne as her strong counterpart.
Alex McCulloch and Alexandra Hahl are technically adept, with the right nuances for the "Swan Lake" pas de deux; Tiberi and Horne bring peasant buoyancy and charm to a "Coppelia" excerpt, and Janelle Meyen and Michael Bullock dance Ludlow's comic "Night Out." The opener is another good student choreography, "Ballroom Dances" by Christina Watts - a pretty, upbeat piece in the classic vein, introducing the dancers in attractive interaction.