If the roaring standing ovation at the conclusion of Madison Ballet’s opening show of the 2024-25 season is any indication, the company is poised for yet another promising year.
Performed Friday in the sparkling Starlight Theater at MYArts on Mifflin Street, “Rhapsody in Blue” comprises five pieces including world premieres from Madison Ballet artistic director Ja’ Malik and rehearsal director Richard Walters, respectively, both of which featured live local musicians.
The Starlight Theater is a fitting venue for the high-quality artistry on display. In each piece, dancers make satisfying use of the deep, wide stage. It feels like watching them exhale in real time after the confinement of smaller venues. The delight of local musicians accompanying them only adds to a collective sense of pride.
The evening begins with a restaging of “In Grief” by former Ailey dancer Yusha-Marie Soranzo, first performed by Madison Ballet in April 2023. Shannon Quirk again commands the stage in a deeply felt solo that sets the larger piece in motion. The six dancers, as duets and an ensemble, seem to be collectively reaching for something. Each carries a sense of hollowness that they can’t seem to fill, though the attempt becomes beautiful as they move with the music.
Ja’ Malik’s “Fragments of Hope” is new to Madison audiences, having premiered in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2022. It is nothing short of exacting, energizing, and electric.
The piece opens with moody lighting by Ely Kleinsmith that illuminates seven dancers forming a collective sculpture on stage. Company apprentice Gabriel Aguilar takes a commanding presence as he articulates abstract movements with masterful precision. The entire group, and in particular the duo Dana Sheldon and Eric Stith, also rise to the occasion.
After the curtain, a wonderful stranger next to me is brought to tears and says to her seatmate, “it’s like exuberance in motion.”
A brief pause precedes “Something to Remember You By,” a large group work first performed by Madison Ballet in February. The playful gestures throughout the piece approach pantomime, though there is nothing unserious about the relentlessly virtuosic dancing that accompanies them. Alex Verba is again a standout.
Walters’ “Before We Begin,” the title of which alludes to its deconstructed nature, ventures to break down some of ballet’s assumed formalism. Cellist Dan Barker is positioned downstage right and provides the sonic warmth only live music can bring. The dance begins with a green light swinging back and forth behind the stage as dancers make haste when momentarily illuminated.
This sense of play continues throughout; one dancer’s exit includes a literal wave goodbye to the audience. Some of the dancers look at each other before another phrase as if to ask, “Should we do it?” It’s a pleasure they do.
The world premiere of “Rhapsody In Blue” by Ja’ Malik, named for the iconic George Gershwin piece that accompanies it, closes the show. It is a celebratory ode to Ja’ Malik’s home city of New York, complete with skylines stitched on two-piece costumes worn by the large ensemble. Sweeping gestures are punctuated with references to pedestrian movement, like when dancers saunter on stage or bump into each other. There are times when the work flirts with camp, and I wish it went further.
The energy of Gershwin’s music as interpreted by local band Mr. Chair — a trio including Jason Kutz (piano), Ben Ferris (bass) and Mike Koszewski (drums) — raises the collective vibration of the theater to the point where viewing the dance feels more like witnessing a dance floor in action rather than a proscenium stage on display. It is a fitting reminder of the power of the artistic community in Madison.
It is a delight to see new faces performing on stage with Madison Ballet this season, and there are sure to be many more new ones in the audience, as well.
