by Alanna Matthew

Special to the Review

Ballet Kelowna came to Summerland with their 2009 Fall Tour on Oct. 25 and did not disappoint their fans. The six-member company is looking better than ever with its varied repertoire and high-energy talent. Artistic director David LaHay presented  Classic Contrast, a program of both traditional and cutting-edge works.

Petipa’s Swan Lake Pas de Trois revealed the impeccable classical style of Tiffany Bilodeau, Christina Cecchini and Cai Glover. The three captured the buoyancy of this piece, executing the technical fireworks with aplomb: Bilodeau dancing with queenly assurance, Cecchini with unspooling bourrée turns and Glover with the some of the highest cabrioles (beaten jump-kicks) I have ever seen.

LaHay’s In Arden Woods is a new work inspired by Shakespeare’s sonnets set to the voices of Kelowna women’s choir Candesca by pianist Arnold Draper. The ballet shows lovers meeting, parting and intriguing in a woodland setting. The costumes of warm russet browns and reds have Elizabethan touches. The dancers circle, flirt and quarrel in a fluid sequence of solos, duets and group movements. The mood is lighthearted.

Allegro Per Tre, also choreographed by LaHay, is accompanied by the tempestuous music of Glinka. New company member Davin Luce had a well-executed spin to a kneel, plus an exciting circle of leaps (coupé jetés). 

One of the program’s highlights is Le Banc (The Bench) by Victoria choreographer Paul Destrooper. To music by J.S. Bach, dancers enter a public park and use the bench with movements that reveal  individual character. First, a man tries unsuccessfully to sleep on the bench, is disturbed by birds and later by a storm. A briefcased businessman (Glover) encounters a girl (Cecchini) and they dance together, he supporting her in melting backbends before she finally rebuffs him. 

Cecchini’s facial expressions are telling. Raelynn Heppel, the company’s soubrette, has a push-pull meeting with Eloi Homier. Then Tiffany Bilodeau has yearning solo around the bench, remembering a lost love. She has most expressive arm movements. The audience relished the humour of this ballet.

Finally, the evening ended with Indigo Moods, a ‘60s jazz piece by Vicki St. Denys using supple hip, torso, and shoulder moves, plus acrobatic contortions. Ballet Kelowna shows that it is as equally at home in an earthy vocabulary as with the airy classical idiom.