by Pigeons roll through the sky, trees tremble and the sun is not interrupted. Regent’s Park in the Solstice season is a dreamy place -especially with the trio of dream ballets of the Open -Air -Theater from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Gamechinging musicals from the 1940s.
Drew Mconie, the artistic director of the theater, is also a choreographer who places the dance in the heart of his program. There is mentoring for aspiring choreographers and a “dance takeover” in July. For the Dream Ballets, he asks three stars of the British dance to tackle one each.
All three were originally created by the necessary Agnes de Mille, the Mutensian choreographer of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first three musicals. Her great innovation was the dream ballet – an ambitious dance sequence that puts topics in the foreground, the fears of the characters drags the surface and causes bodies to cause things that they cannot admit.
On Oklahoma!, Hammerstein’s call for a carefree ballet opposed the first act. It had to show the heroine’s subconscious conflict – and “dreams of fear”, it insisted on “full of horror and threatening downfall”. For a good measure, she added: “Mr. Hammerstein, there is no sex in this piece!”
In the new versions there is precious little sex and limited psychological turbulence. The three choreographers from Mconie develop all similar scenarios: an older male figure that controls five dances like a puppeteer. The development of three facets of the same scenario dilutes its effect: When you observe another moody manipulator, his come with unknown people feels. It is a shame because the evening is full of delicacies.
Kate Prince (who heads the hip shop company zoonation) uses Carousel. Tommy Franzen (who won the National Dance Awards last week) is her Grinmischer doll champion and moves at an exposing speed and intensity. Even if francs are shifted by the plush deabion brown, it remains skilful, with the side out of nowhere. The dancers scurry back to a depressing past instead of hoping.
Julia Cheng (cabaret, violinist on the roof) takes action with the unknown score of Allegro, a rare Rogers and Hammerstein flop. The music is great, the orchestra swings quickly and funny. Cheng leans into a happy eccentricity: its line -up of Street Dance Virtuosi Swoop and SCUTTLE, skip back on the heels or closes elegant lines with a cheeky -twisting hand. Paris Crossley and Jonadette Carpio are particularly zipped.
In Oklahoma! ‘S Dream Ballet creates Shelley Maxwell (a brilliant theater movement director) the most evil Marionette master: Christopher Akrill is fully evil, in white face, red his chops. As a cleaning narcissist, he plays with eager, suitable dancers – it is like an episode of the apprentice with additional choreography.
June broke out everywhere and the lively dance talent of London London. And the living orchestra of Sinfonia Smith Square Whiz between Romp and Romantic and enjoys Rodgers’ melodies that are changing around your heart. It is a faulty evening – but one who dances lovingly into the late sunset.
Regent’s Park Open Air Theater; Openartheatre.com
