On February 18 the ballet Charge premiered in the Aily City Theatre in New York. Charge is a new ballet by choreographer Claudia Schreier set on the third part of my Piano Concerto.
Oberon's Grove wrote about this new ballet:
"....Boldly and thrillingly choreographed for 22 of the school’s most technically advanced dancers, Claudia Schreier’s premiere, “Charge” calls upon her youthful cast for both strong traditional ballet technique and an unusually supple fluency of the upper
body, with correspondingly fluid port de bras. “Charge” is set to the third movement of the contemporary Dutch composer Douwe Eisenga's piano concerto.
Ms. Schreier showed a clear mastery of structure in deploying her large cast with consummate skill from start to finish in this exciting ballet. Opening with a single girl onstage, the
choreographer commences to build her ballet with a duo, a trio, and a quartet of dancers arriving in succession, eager to dance. By the time the full cast are onstage, the choreography and Mr.
Eisenga's sparkling, dramatic score are whisking us along on an exhilarating ride.
"Charge" unfolds with a dynamic sense of the inevitable: the music propels Ms. Schreier's choreography at every
moment, and the dancers give it their all. So many highlights along the way: a passage for six boys is echoed by six girls; a stylized pacing motif; a grand circle that rushes to form and then
vanishes just as quickly; an off-kilter pas de deux; four quartets in canon; fleeting solos; unusual lifts. Ms.
Schreier miraculously managed her large cast - in a limited space - so compellingly that things never seemed over-crowded or chaotic....".
Ballet Focus wrote:
"....Charge is an interesting, high energy work, with never a dull moment. She uses the dancers in various combinations, sometimes in quick bursts as they move in and out of the action. The work is full of high level ballet technique, with quirky modern twists. Eisenga’s score is a classical/pop fusion with a frenetic pace at times...."
Read the complete review of Oberon's Grove here.
Read the complete review of Ballet Focus here.
The Piano Concerto has been released on the cd Rose Road - City Lines.
(photo : Rosalie O'Conner)
