American Contemporary Ballet Review: Inferno & Burlesque
October 21, 2022 | ACB Performance Venue – Los Angeles, CA, USA
There are neither secret entrances nor code words, yet Inferno & Burlesque, the debut performance of American Contemporary Ballet’s Season XI, provides its audience with the ballet equivalent of the privacy, intimacy, and energy of a speakeasy in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.
Set amongst the concrete, steel, and glass of an otherwise unoccupied and unfinished commercial space, the evening was without a doubt the most interactive dance experience I have ever had. Part ballet and part performance art, the three acts challenged the audience with an exploration of sin, fear, sensuality, love, tension, beauty, power, vulnerability, and grace.
“…nothing can prepare you.”
In the days leading up to my attendance, I innocently (and possibly naively) enquired with ACB’s social media manager on Instagram regarding whether there were any materials, notes, or commentary that I could preview in preparation for the performance, to which she responded, “…nothing can prepare you.” Although I absorbed this retort with a grain of salt, I was intrigued because what is immediately noticeable about ACB is the company’s unique marketing vision that borrows cues from film noir and other similar genres to emote a sense of tension and mystery around its productions.
ACB’s home is an undeveloped suite on the 28th floor of a high-rise office building in Los Angeles which has hosted a sold-out audience of 92 for nearly every performance of Inferno & Burlesque. The space and limited capacity enhance the storytelling opportunities because, without the trappings of a traditional theater, ACB instead uses lighting, darkness, and shadow to frame and enhance the performance space and influence the viewer’s focus.
The audience is also mere feet away from the stage which brings the dancers and patrons onto the same plane and forces the viewer to interact with the performers in a noticeably personal and emotional way. ACB’s Director, Lincoln Jones, exploits the intimacy of the surroundings by inviting us to mingle with the dancers on eye level. Due to our proximity to each other as well as to the performers – in our own role as part observer part voyeur – the audience collectively experiences the choreography in a way that is unique and intoxicating.
American Contemporary Ballet Review: Inferno & Burlesque
The opening ballet of the performance is Jones’ Inferno, a seven-part interpretation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Accompanied only by a live score provided by pianists Brendan White and Daniel Gledhill and arranged by Charles Wuorinen, the company tells the story of Dante’s journey as he is guided through the worlds of sin, torment, and salvation from the initial encounter with the three beasts, through purgatory, the descent to hell, and then beyond to a hopeful future.
The costume design by Ruoxuan Li and Yasamin Sarabipour is minimal and utilitarian, which, like the bare space surrounding the stage, focuses our attention to the dancers and their movement.
As confirmation of the raw state of nature within which Dante and his guides make their journey, Carmen Callahan, in her role as Beatrice, Dante’s symbol for divine love, first sprints onto the stage from the audience and embraces Virgil (played by Maté Szentes) in the nude. Rather than being erotic, Callahan’s nudity beautifully augments the emotionally charged choreography and score.
Rather than use this opportunity to translate Dante’s work into a modern contemporary telling, Jones’ adaptation transports the viewer to the 14th century, which is interesting because, all the while, the dancers perform the ballet in front of the background of the cityscape of the Los Angeles skyline that surrounds and invades the space through the unobstructed windows that form the back wall of the performance space.
In my opinion, the juxtaposition of the 21st century city lights and urban space with the pre-Renaissance epic poem of good and evil communicates the timelessness of the story and themes of sin, exploration, selfless love, and redemption.
With Burlesque, Jones exploits the blank canvas presented by the office suite to seamlessly transport us from the gates of Hell to a cozy nightclub. Rather than presented as a ballet, Burlesque spotlights the ACB company performing seven individual jazz and contemporary vignettes in a variety-show format. Rather than tell a cohesive story, the vignettes each highlight the dancers’ ability to speak to us through their movement.
Burlesque is both sensual and thoughtful, with music and costumes that tell a unique story but do not depart completely from the simplicity and minimalism we experience in Inferno.
One of the most visually stunning moments of the entire night is when Madeline Houk takes the stage in Variation IV wearing a bright red leotard; the bold color piercing the otherwise black and white environment and demanding our attention.
Variation II features Paige Wilkey, Claire Bednarek, and Madisyn Wilson in one of the most powerful and challenging pieces of choreography I have ever experienced. In a scene that can best be described as Kafkaesque, Wilkey, completely covered in a skin-tight latex second skin, is dispassionately observed and aided by Bednarek and Wilson as she writhes on the floor, dramatically shedding her second skin in a manner that is reminiscent of a metamorphosis. As her naked form is slowly revealed, the audience has to grapple with the raw energy of Wilkey’s figurative re-birth.
Hannah Barr closes out the second act of the evening in Variation VI with a gorgeous and vulnerable solo, which, true to Burlesque tradition, invites us to a striptease. Rather than overtly sexual, Barr’s performance is muted, gentle, and graceful; drawing the audience in with the intimacy of both the space and her movement. The second act ends with Barr departing the stage, her bejeweled bosom reflecting the beams of the theater spotlight.
Burlesque concludes with Variation VII, which Jones originally choreographed for Dita Von Teese.
Words cannot really do Variation VII justice; it must be seen to be truly experienced.
Accompanied by Ana Barreiro on drums and Michael Arrom on organ, Houk, Barr, Wilkey, Quincey Smith, Brittany Yevoli, and Elise Kruger one by one enter the stage and take their spots on and around a lone sofa that could be found in any mid-century coffee house, sorority house, boarding house, or hostel.
Adorned in A-line skirts, bobby socks, saddle shoes, and wool sweaters, the ladies could easily be mistaken for actors in American Graffiti or characters in a Kerouac novel.
Without spoiling the ending, what ensues is a truly unique blend of dance and art that literally obliterates the fourth wall and brings the performers and audience together in a climax that is both confusing and joyous.
If Inferno & Burlesque is indicative of what Jones and American Contemporary Ballet have in store for their Season XI, I suggest you make your way to Los Angeles for what will likely be an unforgettable dance and performance experience with a very skilled group of artists and creators.
Featured Photo for this American Contemporary Ballet review of Brittany Yevoli in Lincoln Jones’ Burlesque. Photo by Asilda Photography.
