Alabama Ballet saved the best for last with their season finale, “Coppélia and the Toymaker.” It’s a pure delight from start to finish, the finest production I’ve seen the company present so far, and a gem in their repertory.
Visually stunning and displayed to advantage in the intimate Dorothy Jemison Day Theater, the onstage world of “Coppélia” is created with Peter Farmer’s detailed storybook illustration-like sets and colorful costumes in a palette including yellows, reds, greens, blues, and pastels.
As Swanhilda, Luiza Boaventura displays not only technical prowess, but mesmerizing comedic intuition. Her Franz, Frederick Lee Rocas, thrills with soaring, elastic jumps and effortless turns. Their characters’ playful, jealous, and ultimately happily-ever-after romance is endearing and heartfelt.
The entire cast excels in this work, from corps to soloists to the students performing the charming “Ribbon Dance.” The national dances are a particular highlight of Act I, with the exuberant Ariana Czernobil and Noah Hart leading the explosive “Mazurka” and the vibrant Alynn Piccirillo and Rocas guiding the “Czárdás.”Act III’s notable solos, “Dawn” and “Prayer” are beautifully accomplished with Catherine Garratt‘s skimming bourrées, easy turns, and fluent upper body and Nadine Barton’s strength, serenity, and sustained balances. The sweetly flirtatious “Betrothal Couples,” the men and women who make up Swanhilda and Franz’s friends, and the large ensemble of the “Waltz of the Hours” all shine.
The choreography by Associate Artistic Director Roger Van Fleteren, derived and adapted from Marius Petipa and set to music of Léo Delibes, possesses an engagingly kinesthetic quality — movement you sense internally as you watch. A rigorous blend of classicism and folk-inspired steps, it challenges the spectrum of dancers’ technique.
The more kinesthetic that choreography is, the more it draws the audience vicariously into the world onstage. The dances of “Coppélia” pull the viewer into the realm of youth, love, and merriment. They’re not movement for movement’s sake, but an outgrowth of emotion. Watching them and experiencing them kinesthetically brings to mind choreographer Liam Scarlett’s recent description of dance in The New York Times. He said, “The body has automatic reactions […] We cry, laugh, our heart quickens, we hold our breath. Everyone speaks with their hands. Dance is just an amplified version of this.”
Alabama Ballet’s 2015-2016 season featured classical and contemporary works depicting subject matter light and dark. From the haunting gloom and edge of Agnes de Mille’s “Fall River Legend” to the atmosphere of infinite, childlike hope in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™,” the company showcased the versatile technical and dramatic talents of its dancers and artistic staff. “Coppélia and the Toymaker” sends its audiences into the long between-season break with a glorious memory.
Coppélia and the Toymaker
April 9 at 2:30 p.m. (Ariana Czernobil and Noah Hart as Swanhilda and Franz)
April 9 at 7:30 p.m. (Grace Anli and Alexander Forck as Swanhilda and Franz)
April 10 at 2:30 p.m. (Luiza Boaventura and Frederick Lee Rocas as Swanhilda and Franz)
Dorothy Jemison Day Theater, 800 19th Street N., Birmingham 35203.
Tickets: $25-$45. Students with valid high school or college ID or current report card can purchase tickets for $20.
Purchase here or call Ticket Biscuit at 205-202-8142.