Upon entering the space, one is met with the visual of four groups of female cheerleaders all positioned in tableau, sitting on benches or standing in a group talking amongst themselves and ignoring the public. It is as if one were transported back to the Senior Quad and the benches where the elite jocks and Varsity cheerleaders hung out. I didn’t like their self-centered smugness then and I didn’t like it now. I asked one of the young ladies if she had studied ballet in High School and was given a very dismissive and rude answer. Apparently, these dancers hold the position of High School Student above and beyond the realm of mere mortal or civilian. Or at least Artistic Director Lincoln Jones does. The evening was a homage to High School girls, and the focus on their positions and perspectives in that culture was honored as a Cult of Youth. If you peaked in High School and are lamenting that particular four or five years of your history, then this show is for you!
ABC’s “Homecoming” – Photo by Mary Joyce.
The costumes (uniforms and dresses) were beautiful, made by R. Li and Yasamin Sarabipour. The uniforms were cheer tops with very short white pleated skirts, white tennis shoes and socks. All hair was up in a ponytail tied with a bright pink ribbon. At one point they change into Drill Team slinky chemises with white skirts, white gloves and pointe shoes. The music direction by Morgan Jones featured a fantastic marching band. Drums: Greg Niemi, Alexis Nguyen, Benton Roswell, Eric Dowd. Trombones: Khristian Foreman, Khris Purkson, Nathan Fulmizi, Ethan Holmes. Also Micaella Landers, Jack Kovacs, Ryan Roberts and Morgan Jones.
More creativity went into making the program than the choreography for the evening. The program was a High School folder with four pages of notes and information inside, all done in teenage high school cursive. There was even a personal note between two teenaged girls about who was going to ask them to the Homecoming Prom. Meanwhile the choreography mainly consisted of marching with intermittent spurts of ballet steps masquerading as cheer or drill team combinations. I choreographed a few numbers for my High School Varsity Cheerleaders, so I know whereof I speak.
ABC’s “Homecoming” – Photo by Mary Joyce.
The marching mentioned above was on pointe and in parallel. A word on the history of the pointe shoe here. The pointe shoe developed as a means to make the ballerina appear as if she is lighter than air, floating or flying, hovering above the earth. One may think of Marie Taglioni in “La Sylphide.” Jones inverts this concept to make it appear as if his corps is grounded and pounding into the earth en pointe. I appreciate the hard work the dancers must have done to withstand all of the marching with the box of the shoe hitting the floor on every downbeat in the music. It was grueling to watch. They were very well rehearsed and completely uniform so kudos must go out to Kristin Stechmann as the Rehearsal Director.
ABC’s “Homecoming” – Photo by Caleb Thal.
The adoration of youth and the aggrandizement of female teenagers was a driving force throughout the performance and after a short while, tiresome. A character actor as ‘Principal’ came out to give an overly long speech as if we, the audience were still high school students. Then the speech centered on a girl he saw at a dance and referred to as “an Angel.” This was somewhat inappropriate given the age of the girls and the age of the male Principal. This was neither novel nor comic. Especially as so many of the professional dancers I know in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix and Texas began studying ballet at a very young age and were already in professional programs as teenagers and either didn’t go to high school, getting their GED, or getting through it as fast as possible. Homecoming was the last thing on their minds as they were rehearsing and performing and looking forward to their careers in the artform and not caring one iota whether they were popular in high school. The concept of an evening work based on “Homecoming” for a ballet company is great and can be a success. However, this production was more PR and Marketing without the choreographic power to illuminate that most delicate time of transition filled with possibility.
For more information about the American Contemporary Ballet, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: American Contemporary Ballet’s “Homecoming” – Photo by Caleb Thal.
