Know how I know a bohemian storm is brewing? Because I witnessed the beginning stages of one Saturday night at the Play Ground, that's how.
Over the Top's latest showcase, "Transformations 2008," had wrapped up. I was all ready to go home feelin' satisfied with the night's performance but ... wait, there's more.
After the curtain call -- is it still called that at a dance revue? -- the studio's head honcho, Juliana Bertelsen, came up to the edge of the audience (it's a cozy little theater, in case you've never been there) and asked something alone the lines of, "Would you guys like to see an encore?"
Why not? I thought. Couldn't hurt.
Luckily, the 90-plus souls surrounding me agreed. (Otherwise it would've been a little awkward.)
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What happened next completely blew me away; forever changing my perception of what kind of output a local dance studio is capable of.
It seems choreographer Megan Abel had quite the little number hiding up her sleeve. For this surprise number, she tapped into the nightmarish gypsy world that is "El Tango de Roxanne," the bizarro cover of the Police's 1978 blockbuster that appeared in Baz Luhrmann's triumphant 2001 film "Moulin Rouge."
The premise was simple -- damsel-in-distress Erin Tope is torn between two men (and, near the end, almost literally torn apart by a violent lover) -- but the execution was 100 percent powerful.
This isn't to discredit the 19 pieces that came before it, of course, as there were many highlights.
Devra Livensgood's "Tribal Tree" was mesmerizing, youngster Nathaniel Harvey shined in the playful "Another One Down" and the team of Abel and Tope scored another hit with "The Man Who Walked 500 Miles." In this lighthearted number, which shares more than an affinity with romantic comedies from Hollywood's golden era, maniacal dancing couple (obviously, right?) Robin Rantala and Tope turn the act of courtship into a fevered farce -- even throwing in some old-fashioned sexual innuendo for good measure.
My only qualms with the production were with (the man known only as) Halo's numbers, which coupled slickly produced R&B schlock -- Chris Brown's "I Wanna Be," for one -- with the most played-out, straight-from-"Jump In!" dance moves on the market.
There's no arguing that Halo has talent (same goes for backing members like Bryan Brown and Brittany Kolquist), but does the world really need more white baseball cap-wearing back-up dancers?
NEWS TO USE
The next Over the Top showcase is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 15 at Sacred Heart Music Center. The show, "Ceremony: Pomp with Circumstance," is a collaborative performance, with choreography by both Juliana Bertelsen and Lisa McKhann. Cost TBA. For more information, contact Over the Top at 591-0748.
