Photo by: Oliver Fantitisch
It was with great anticipation that I looked forward to Rasta Thomas’ Rock the Ballet at the Joyce Theater. I remembered how impressive the young dancer was the several times I had seen him on stage and hoped that the intervening years had made the technical prodigy into a mature, expressive dancer, capable of nuance and depth. A quick reading of his biography in the Joyce program notes indicated that he had worked with well-known dance masters such as Twyla Tharp, Lars Lubovitch, Victor Ullate and had danced a number of touchstone classical roles. So, when up to his own devices, on a program of his own making, would all these remarkable influences pay off?
Alas, the answer is no. His first mistake was confusing the dance making of his wife, Adrienne Canterna-Thomas for choreography. His second was supplying a bit of his own dance making; and his third mistake was his regarding the five young men who call themselves The Bad Boys of Ballet as material for a full-length program, let along a multi-week season at a prestigious New York dance theater. (For the record the five young men of The Bad Boys of Ballet are: Robbie Nicholson, Kameron Bink, Adrian Lee, Patrick Pugh and Robert Roldan.)
Rock the Ballet consisted of two acts of dance, virtually all danced to pop and rock songs ranging from Coldplay and Black Eyed Peas to the now ubiquitous music of Michael Jackson, with just a dash of classical by way of a Maria Callas rendition of the “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen. I took page after page of notes only to realize that the choreography of Ms. Canterna-Thomas consisted of nothing more than a series of high-energy kicks, falls, wiggles with some classical revoltades, cabrioles and entrechats thrown in to the mix to show off “technique.” Mr. Thomas’ bit to the Bizet involved the boys rolling around while abusing blown-up sex dolls, a subject which, in the right hands—paging Mark Dendy!—might have been funnier and more adroitly treated.
I have to be fair here and say that each of the six men had great technical expertise and could execute the ballet technique along with the jazz, modern and even hip-hop with ease and flair. But doing steps isn’t dancing and putting steps together doesn’t constitute choreography. Ms. Caterna-Thomas’ work certainly wasn’t choreography. Her idea of punching out the rhythms was to literally punch out the rhythms with fists beating the air. Her ideas of flirting and sex were so adolescent as to be cartoonish with the men lined up to ogle her, biting their hands to indicate sexual frustration. The rest of the work was grade-D Las Vegas. Even Las Vegas choreographers know how to present pizzazz with skill and subtlety, expertly moving people around to music. Ms. Canterna-Thomas merely strings steps together to show off her skills and those of her male dancers with no irony, subtext or musicality. Just as an example, the program ended with the men stripping off their shirts and doing an ersatz Chippendale bump and grind to “Do You Think I’m Sexy” which is not only a tired subject, but done much better by the hunky Chippendales.
The single best element of the program was the omnipresent rear projection work of the Video Projection Designer William Cusick. His videos portrayed everything from aerial trips over cities to abstract patterns to rain falling and were smooth and professional, if not always pertinent.
As for costumes, the men wore jeans and white shirts. Ms. Canterna-Thomas wore a sassy black tutu bit in Act I and was in form-fitting red in the second act.
When I consider what kind of program could have been made using all these seven dancers’ considerable powers, I feel sad. If only Mr. Thomas had brought some mature, adult artistic input into the shaping and planning of this program. For this was a naïve-- albeit rip-roaringly performed--program that wasted the natural talents of all concerned. Rock the Ballet looked like a bunch of exuberant kids showing off saying little more than “look at me!” when it could have, with proper guidance, displayed the individual qualities of the dancers in choreography that is virtuoso, yet expressive.
If Rasta Thomas’ Rock the Ballet manages to make a return visit it would be great if Mr. Thomas avoids nepotism and works with a master choreographer with the vision to turn this group into something more than a cheer-inducing machine.
The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave.
New York, NY
December 15th, 2009 – January 3rd, 2010
Tickets: 212-242-0800 or www.joyce.org