Both Luminario Ballet Directors Judith FLEX Helle and Damien Diaz welcomed us all to the fabulous Avalon Theater to celebrate their 17th year with a Gala and Award Ceremony for Allen Walls, Executive Director of the World Choreography Awards and lifelong choreographer, director, producer. There was also a video tribute to Anita Mann for her contribution to the field of Dance and her incredible career as professional dancer.
The evening consisted of a number of works old and new from Halle and Diaz as well as works from Guest Artists Jackie Sleight, Adrian Hoffman, Precious Gilbert, and Brandon Hansen. There were a great deal of fabulous aerial pieces on the program with additional aerial choreography by Vanessa Nichole. The performers knocked themselves out on the ground and in the air to deliver a sensual and eye-opening visual to the evening. They were: Brandon Hanson, David Prottas, Diego Altamirano, Jaime Reid, Johnathan Hart, Marlon Pelayo, Misha Hill, Precious Gilbert, Sadie Black, Vanessa Trevino and Johnathan Darcelle.
Luminario Ballet – Photo by Sheri Determan.
Helle’s 2021 piece “Hard As A Rock” opened the program with aerialists Hansen and Nichole dancing above Altamirano, Reid, Hoffman, and Black. Costumes were black skirts with gold leotards for the women and black skirts over gold Speedos for the men. At one point they all rip their skirts off and continue in the skimpy under garments lending the work a Las Vegas sensuality. This piece showcased the choreographic transitions from floor to ceiling and how the dancers navigate partnering and lifts which then mutate into the air. All in command and well done. Costumes by Kathryn Shemanek and Liz Wasynczuk worked well here as they did in the rest of the program.
Luminario Ballet – Photo by Sheri Determan.
All of the pieces on the program had vigorous video montages projected on massive screens onstage and along the sides of the theater. These worked best when in conjunction with the subject matter of the piece being performed, as in the case with “Nighthawks” by Damien Diaz. This was a take on the classic film noir oeuvre from early Hollywood and featured suited henchmen, police and a not-so-delicate doll. Inspiration for the piece were certain paintings by Edward Hopper – “Room in New York”, “Manhattan Bridge Loop”, and “Nighthawks”. The screens showing excerpts from these paintings worked best here as they encapsulated the action and formed a realistic backdrop and time frame to the events transpiring. Music by Igor Stravinsky kept the piece moving and surprising. In some of the other pieces on the program the video montages on the screens simply overpowered the performers to the point where it was difficult to focus on them while performing onstage. One of the videos featured an exploding sun erupting into a galaxy of stars and ejections which, for me, entirely wiped out whatever was happening onstage. To be truthful, I may be an exception to the overstimulation of visual input as I cannot look at my phone, listen to music, read a book, and swipe left all while navigating rush hour traffic in LA. But I may be the exception.
Luminario Ballet – Photo by Emerson Chen.
Standout dancers throughout the evening were David Prottas and Johnathan Darcelle who embodied beautifully every character they portrayed as well as delivered extremely clean technical ballet choreography. They both made every step seem a natural progression for the part they were playing and acted their roles with every aspect of physicality available to them, including the expressions on their faces. Congratulations to Luminario Ballet for their 17th season and for honoring various leaders in the field of Dance.
To learn more about Luminario Ballet, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Luminario Ballet – Photo by Sheri Determan.
