Aspen Santa Fe dancers make ballet accessible

If you were looking for traditional ballet Friday night, you would have been disappointed. But when you have choreographers such as Twyla Tharp on the bill, it's unwise to expect the traditional.

The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet -- a title that seems more fitting to Amtrak than a first-rate dance company -- provided an intriguing mix of classical foundations and pop athleticism at Artemus Ham Hall on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The 10 dancers who greeted us for a go at Tharp's "Sweet Fields" were decked out in flowing, Easter-white garments that were skimpy and innocent looking, allowing a shade or two of sensuality to pleasantly subvert the performers' wholesome, well-scrubbed appearance.

Tharp's trademark exaggerated leg extensions seemed a natural fit for William Billings' 18th century American hymns. The breezy but reverent work -- performed on a bare, dark stage -- was accented by Todd Elmer's use of dense fog and shafts of sidelight that created a cathedral feel.

"Sinatra Suite," again by Tharp, melded ballet with ballroom dancing and a handful of signature tunes from the Chairman of the Board. Seth DelGrasso's solo turn on "One For the Road" was particularly poignant. Tharp punched up the frustrated energy of the jilted lover, so that when the man in a tux physically interpreted the lyric, "(I'm) fighting a torch that might explode," you knew exactly what Sinatra was singing about.

Gerald Arpino's "Light Rain" was a romantic pas de deux rich in eclectic movement that culminated in what felt like two independent spirits joining forces to create a single, stronger physical shape.

Jorma Elo's "Pointeoff" ended the evening with a modern high-voltage ensemble number set to piano solos by Bach. It was stuffed with surprising line patterns and groupings.

The flaws were minor quibbles. I'll never figure out why ballet companies tend to go so overboard on bows. The never-ending curtain calls far exceed our desire to applaud. And a half-hour's worth of two intermissions for a 75-minute program seems excessive. You know a break isn't warranted when there's no queue at the ladies' restroom.

But only a curmudgeon would even bring that up. The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is an exciting company that succeeds in its mission to make a minority art form accessible. Their programs are a good time.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.