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PHOTO BY MATT NAGLE

PRACTICING POLONAISE. Tacoma City Ballet Madison Sugg (left) and Madeleine Davis rehearse “The Polonaise,” one of six dances that will be performed in “It’s Bohemian!” March 28 and 29 at Theatre on the Square.

Tacoma City Ballet brings together talents of various local artists for ‘It’s Bohemian!’

By Matt Nagle

When the curtain rises on Tacoma City Ballet’s (TCB) “It’s Bohemian!” March 28 and 29 at Theatre on the Square, audience members will be treated to performances that encompass the talents of numerous local artists who contributed their skills to make the show happen – Dale Chihuly, Northwest Sinfonietta, and Pearl Django guitarist Neil Andersson to name just a few.

There is historical significance in TCB reaching out to the arts community like this, a carrying on of what was started in the early 1900s by the great Western European company Ballets Russes, considered one of the most influential ballet companies of the 20th century in part because of the ground-breaking artistic collaboration among choreographers, composers and artists that resulted in new and original works.

“‘It’s Bohemian!’ goes back to that effort to create new works,” said TCB Artistic Director Erin Ceragioli, “so we came up with an artistic theme – bohemian,” a term that conjures up all sorts of romantic thoughts about artists and free-thinkers sipping espresso in smoky Parisian cafés amid lively conversations about life, love and art.

Together with TCB Executive Director Philip Whitt and TCB Music Director (and Northwest Sinfonietta co-founder) Christophe Chagnard, the three brainstormed ideas that resulted in the exciting new series of six dances that comprise “It’s Bohemian!” All will be accompanied by live music and feature original choreography, fine art design and the nimble bodies of more than 30 TCB dancers ranging in age from 15-37 years old.

Ceragioli said TCB performances are nothing like the stereotype that many people have of ballet. “We’ve tried to do different things that are entertaining,” she said. “It’s not like you sit and watch one piece for two hours – it’s change, change, change” onstage, which works to keep things interesting and engaging.

“It’s Bohemian!” kicks off with a festive flavor in “Abiav,” which means “wedding feast” in the Romanian language. Choreographed to Romanian folk dances composed by Bartok and accompanied by the Northwest Sinfonietta Quintet, “Abiav” paints a classical Bohemian image of a Gypsy celebration.

Blake Yorek, a member of TCB, composed and will perform the music for “The Polonaise.” Ceragioli said this piece is “very darling” because it encompasses all three meanings of “polonaise” – the dancers will wear polonaise dresses and perform a polonaise dance to polonaise music.

For “Pepe’s Café,” Chagnard and Neil Andersson, guitarist for Gypsy jazz band Pearl Django, play accompaniment with a jazz quartet they formed for “It’s Bohemian!” with a bassist and violinist from Northwest Sinfonietta. This dance is about three young men, waiters at a café, who like to pick up girls “literally and figuratively,” quipped Whitt.

“Liebe” (Love) is choreographed by TCB’s ballet mistress Melissa Lovejoy with live accompaniment on piano by classical soloist Leslie Doerner. In this piece, 13 dancers wearing long dresses will form a “boat” on water, an idea Whitt came up with after reading a biography on writer (and bohemian) Robert Louis Stevenson, who sailed to South Sea islands in the latter part of his life.

Glass master Dale Chihuly made costumes for “Venetian Angels,” a ballet choreographed by Ceragioli to the sublime “Songs Without Words” by Mendelssohn, which will be performed on piano by Doerner. Ceragioli said Chihuly has been “a very good friend to the ballet company for a very long time.” The costumes he designed for “Venetian Angels” are simple black unitards painted with scattered splashes of bright colors like stars in the sky. Ceragioli explained, “It would remind you of like what’s going on in the universe. I thought the angels would be nice playing in the universe up there.” The dancers will move with a 60-foot length of lavender chiffon to give the illusion of the signature scallop shape of Chihuly’s glass vessels.

“Matisse painted unitards for dancers back in the day of Ballets Russes, and now we have Chihuly, another world-renowned artist, painting them for us. It’s one of those historical repeats that I love,” exclaimed Ceragioli.

Bringing “It’s Bohemian!” to a close will be another Ceragioli original, “Freedom, Beauty, Truth and Love,” an homage to the Bohemian credo accompanied by the Northwest Sinfonietta Quintet. Ceragioli said this finale will make for an abstract finish but in a “very ballet” fashion with big lifts and partnering between the dancers.  

“It’s Bohemian!” takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. March 28 and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. March 29 at Theatre on the Square. Tickets are $25, available at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts Box Office, by phone at (253) 591-5894 or online at www.broadwaycenter.org.

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