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Show Civic Ballet corps displays spirit, ability, precision , ;L Margaret McMillan portrays a spirit in "la Valse" during the opening performance of the Utah Civic Ballet. The company is performing four ballets at Kingsbury Hall that will run through Saturday. I By Judy Hoffman I i The Utah Civic Ballet opened its fall season Wednesday night with "Symphony in C," "La Valse," "Sylvia Pas de Deux" and "Firebird." These ballets gave the company ample opportunity to show off their growing technical and dramatic ability. The performance was on the whole, professionally danced and enthusiastically received. Symphony in C, choreographed by George Balanchine to music by j Bizet, opened the program with its ( first Salt Lake performance. The first movement was headed by Carolyn Anderson and Tom s Rudd. Miss Anderson smoothly )! blended her eloquent dancing to t the fast flowing musical phrases, i However, a cold detached i expression only gradually grows ; warmer through the movement. 1 Rudd, was an attentive partner i and danced his variation with j clean precision. i Willowy Lyricism lj Janice James and John Hiatt led the second movement. Miss James' willowy lyricism seemed to ask i Bizet to extend his musical i phrases just a bit to even better i accommodate high reaching E extensions. All her fluid t movements well matched her i softly 3 Yradiant expression. Hiatt i enhanced har performance with ; his thoughtful partnering. 1 Barbara Hamblin and Ben t Lokey were principles in the third p movement. Miss Hamblin combined a flawless technique , with unerring sensitivity to her , role. She performed each step i with complete aplomb while j, maintaining a joyouse eloquence. l Lokey's performance was marred I by overbearing mannerisms, j Vicki Hutten and Christopher , Fair lead the final movement. Miss Hutten simply sparkles as she darts and turns about the stage. She infects the entire audience with her happiness while dancing. Her turns and jumps are brilliant while her brief adagio with Fair is tastefully restrained. Fair does well to keep pace with Miss Hutten but needs to control the tension in his hands and arms. La Valse, choreographed by Willam Christensen and accompanied with music by Ravel, had Nila Speck and Richard Tanner in the leading roles. Dancers, music and lighting combined to create a remarkably sinister scene. Showed Dramatic Ability Miss Speck and Tanner were commanded by evil spirits as they bewitched those around them. Both dancers showed strong dramatic ability and ballet technique. Great artists Marnee Morris and Jacques D'Amboise electrified the audience with their performance of the Sylvia Pas de Deux. Miss Morris has impeccable balance combined with high extension. All her movements have the quality of gently blowing velvet. Mr. D'Amboise seems equally at home on the ground or in the air. His high arching leaps and cabrioles nearly overreached the limits of the stage. He artfully used the ground for those steps done in a character dance style. Increases Appreciation Watching Miss Morris and Mr. D'Amboise performed certainly increases ones appreciation of ballet. Mr. Christensen's version of Firebird had Miss Anderson in the leading role. This ballet has the most exquisite sets and costumes, by Ronald Crosby, of any ballet in the repertoire. Mis Anderson gave an extremely sensitive and meticulously thought-out performance of the leading role. She darted about the stage with the lightness and power of a truly enchanted bird. When captured by the prince her arms and hands kept up a helpless fluttering while her expressive eyes looked constantly for escape. She was imperious in her moment of |
