On my way back to Europe I saw this very nice dance company.

There are four female dancers, a violinist and a piano player. The founder and artistic director, Miro Magloire, a musician and former dancer, choreographs all his group's dances.

The four dancers all have impressive backgrounds in their schooling and show a high degree of professionalism in their performing. One dancer for instance, Emily SoRelle Adams. at age 10, studied for four years at the Kirov Academy in Washington DC. Another dancer, Madeline Deavenport, performs sometimes with the Pennsylvania Ballet.

There were four pieces presented. Three I would call modern and the fourth romantic. I particularly liked the last two, "Silent Shadows" to the 'modern' style music of Giancinto Scelso and "Romantic Pieces" to the music of Anton Dvorak. In the first work, "Dreams" the dancers used only their own sounds for an accompaniment. In the second work, "Sonatine", I was particularly impressed by the strong command of facial expression used by the sole dancer, Madeline Deavenport.

"Silent Shadows" had three of the dancers modeling themselves into sinuous, flowing individual shapes and group compositions, somewhat reminiscent of two Christopher Wheeldon works that I saw recently. I really enjoyed the flowing motion and interactive images that were created here.

"Romantic Pieces" was what I was initially hoping to see, when I found the group's name in a New York magazine's entertainment section. "Chamber Ballet" stood out in my mind. Interestingly the word "New" is very important to the company. Miro Magloire explained that he primarily seeks out 'modern' ('experimental'?) music because 'romantic' music has already been so widely used.

Miro Magloire went on to say in his introduction that he found the music by Dvorak so beautiful that he had to create something for it. It is basically romantic in feeling, counterbalanced at times by more expressively modern elements. It is simply a Lovely work with very fine dancing and lovely choreography. It is also his most recent work, completed several weeks ago. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

New Chamber Ballet performs in one of the City Center studios on 56th Street. General admission was $20. Their next performance will be February 7 and 8. It will once again include the very beautiful "Romantic Pieces".

The dancers are Emily SoRelle Adams, Elizabeth Brown, Madeline Deavenport and Emery LeCrone. The violist is Erik Carlson and the pianist is Victoria Tzotzkova.

It is so nice that groups like this exist. The quality of its dancing is very professional and likable. The works show a fine level of creativity and charm. It's a very pleasant way to spend an evening.


[several typo corrections made]

I enjoyed your review of the Magloire chamber group.
Did the dancers dance on pointe or not?
You may have mentioned it and I missed it.

Hi jpc. Good to hear from you !

Yes, the dancers did dance on pointe.

A nice thing about this company is the pleasure of experiencing basic elements of fine enjoyment and creativity in a much more intimate and personal setting.

Every now and then a certain bit of dancing or choreography will occur that is equal to anything that a major company or choreographer can produce.

An element of discovery is one of the things that makes seeing a company like New Chamber Ballet so enjoyable and rewarding.

I guess we are always looking for the next brilliant dancer or choreographer. Companies like New Chamber Ballet may produce this but they also are very valuable for basic high quality, the pleasure of seeing more of the kind of dance that we may personally enjoy as well as the occasional flash of loveliness and brilliance that can make an evening at the theater such a pleasure. These companies also give lesser known but highly talented dancers and choreographers a chance to be seen and appreciated by a wider public.

As I mentioned, I really felt like simply seeing some lovely romantic dancing that evening at the scale of a chamber orchestra and "Romantic Pieces" to the music of Anton Dvorak was exactly that. In addition to beautiful basic choreography there was also the element of discovery as Miro Magloire introduced some fine and inventive 'alternative' accents.

The evening also turned out to be a chance to see some other new ideas and explorations.

Regarding the quality of the dancers, a work like "Silent Shadows" depends so much on the dancers' ability to take the choreographer's basic structure and make it something expressive and special. The New Chamber Ballet dancers did just that.

Another nice thing about an evening like this is that you get a chance to talk with the choreographer and the performers. You can feel like you are part of the creative and supportive process and maybe you are adding to the success of their next production. I particularly enjoyed talking to one of the dancers because I could see and feel at close range the beautiful expression and artistry that permeated her being as we were talking.

'Variations on A Theme' can sometimes be just as rewarding as masterstrokes of invention. This is something else that groups like New Chamber Ballet can offer.


[a couple typo corrections made]

I just discovered at the New Chamber Ballet site that videos of their dances can now be seen.

http://newchamberballet.com/

(click on "Works" and then on "Video" to view 17 different clips)

I have only seen about five of them, but the ones that I have seen are very lovely.

"Romantic Pieces", that I saw last November, liked very much and mentioned above, is included.

I also like very much what I have seen so far of "Pas De Deux from Fall", "Aeolia" (excerpts) and "Life".

I guess you can call New Chamber Ballet "Miro Magloire's company". He is a choreographer and a composer. A large amount of credit must also be give to his very fine and very professional dancers.

His style somewhat reminds me of Christopher Wheeldon in his use of basic ballet elements while also using his own technical innovations and expression. The quality I like very much about both these choreographers is their maintenance of ballet's Lyrical Beauty.

Miro Magloire's seems very attached to expressing the music. Being a young prize winning composer in Europe this is not unexpected. His choreography is totally in phase with the music. It can ride the different currents within a single phrase.

The music he choses varies from classical to highly abstract. About the abstract, he says that he likes to try to make it emotional. I find his abstract works to have a very fine human quality. This quality is also the result of such fine, attractive and expressive dancers.

From my very limited viewing of his work, one live performance and some internet videos, I enjoy the work called "Romantic Pieces" very much. It is choreographed to some very beautiful music by Antonin Dvorack. It can be viewed at his site by clicking on "Works" and then "Video".

http://newchamberballet.com/

Among the several dances posted, to classically oriented music, "Romantic Pieces" is a skillfully crafted creation. It has a very nice and comfortable flow. It is lovely, inventive and very appropriate for the score. I like it more each time that I see it, as I do all his works.

Part II of "Reflections" is also very interesting to me. (It can also be viewed from the company's internet site). It is choreographed to his own composition. Although I tend to mostly listen to melodic music, I find this score somewhat fascinating in its abstract, perhaps intellectual composition, as well as in its sense of simple listening pleasure. The dancing seems very appropriate for this music and also very interesting and well crafted.

Again I have to say that the quality of his work and Christopher Wheeldon's, that I like very much, is their expression of Lyrical Beauty and the 'Ethereal' as they explore new frontiers.


(The Company's next performance is September 11 and 12, 8:00 pm, at City Center Studios, 130 West 56th St, 4th floor, NYC. It was very reasonably priced when I went last November. Take a look. (more information at internet site)).


[typo corrections]

Dancing with A Flow of Beautifully Crafted, Distinct Moves and A Lovely, Embracing Aura.


I had the very good fortune of being able to attend a rehearsal for two performances at the New York City Center, Studio 4, February 5th and 6th. This may the first rehearsal of this kind that I have ever attended. It was extremely interesting and wonderful to watch.

The first work is being choreographed by Emery LeCrone, who is also a dancer with the company.

There were only three female dancers in this work and Emery LeCrone, being a woman and a dancer, was able to Literally transmit her moves to them. What fascinated me was the detail in each sequence of moves and how Emery LeCrone was so clearly able to explain each of these and the dancers were so able to understand and interpret them.

It is a very friendly environment with much cooperation and understanding. Emery LeCrone was totally on top of every moment and nuance. She and the dancers would seek a complete sense of comfort and rightness in each move. Timing and positioning were exact.

As highly detailed as the work is, there is also a sense of gentle flow. It was almost like choreographing a series of individually breaking waves.

There was a second partial work rehearsed by Miro Magloire, the company director. His work had a more 'varied' feel to it. It was explained that the work is to music by Joseph Haydn and tries to capture the many distinct elements that Haydn was able to masterfully tie together in his compositions.

Miro Magloire, as previously mentioned, is very committed to 'illustrating' the music. He seems to be quite successful at this and for me his works are a real pleasure to experience.

Emery LeCrone seems similar in approach.* Having briefly scanned some internet video clips to see more of her work I am Very Impressed with some of the visual imagery, through motion, that she is able to create.

I look forward to seeing much more from Miro Magloire and Emery LeCrone.

Victoria North and another lady appeared in both works. Victoria North has a very nice sympathetic aura and the second lady has a very pleasant openness to her personality. One other lady danced in one of the works and still another lady danced in the second. I don't know their names, but Madeline Davenport may have danced in both works and Lauren Toole is also mentioned. Emily SoRelle Adams was there but did not dance this time. I have seen her dance before. All these ladies dance beautifully, very professionally, and seem to be very capable of totally grasping the many aspects of the choreography. Melody Fader played a fine piano. All these ladies seemed like lovely individuals as well.


* PS--Having briefly scanned some video clips for a second time I also notice what seems to be a lot of physical character expression.

Lyrical Beauty and Grace

For me this is the Heart and Soul of ballet and 'lyrical' dancing in general.

This is also what makes groups such as Miro Magloire's New Chamber Ballet and Christopher Wheeldon's Morphoses so interesting to me.

They are starting from a foundation of ballet and exploring the extension of technical and expressive possibilities while remaining highly sensitive to the essential feeling of beauty that exists in ballet.

Morphoses, New Chamber Ballet and other similar groups such as the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, where Emery LeCrone also works, are gaining a substantial audience and even enthusiastic critical support in New York City, a city that many consider to be the cultural capital of the world at the moment.

In a New York Times video about the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, "Breaking In: Life After Ballet" (referring to its founders who are retired, university attending ballet dancers), one lady says, "What we do is not modern dance, but it's definitely not, I'm in bare feet, I'm not in point shoes."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/arts/ ... ive&st=cse

I think that these groups will be fascinating to follow and I find their work to be very interesting and often very beautiful.


[paragraph about New York Times video added to and later the name of the Columbia Ballet Collaborative is corrected above]

For those of you in the New York City area there will be performances April 17th & 18th in Midtown Manhattan (NY City Center, Studio 4). They are very intimate in scale, high in quality and very reasonable in price--a great way to enjoy a couple of hours!

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/ren ... 5cVRXraBn8

In addition to the New Chamber Ballet performances, April 17th & 18th, (noted above), the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, mentioned here before, will be performing this weekend in New York City. Note: "Special guest performances by NYCB principals Tess Reichlin and Craig Hall!!".


"Just a reminder to for this weekend's performances of Columbia Ballet Collaborative.  Get Tickets Here! 

Columbia Ballet Collaborative (CBC) proudly presents an engaging program of contemporary ballet works in its return to Miller Theatre.  Featured in The New York Times, Dance Magazine, Vanity Fair and TimeOut NY, CBC provides a platform for the collaboration between professionals in the New York dance community and students of Columbia University.  Special guest performances by NYCB principals Tess Reichlin and Craig Hall!!   


Friday, April 9th, 2010 @ 8p.m.

Saturday, April 10th, 2010 @ 8 p.m.


THE COLUMBIA BALLET COLLABORATIVE @ THE MILLER THEATRE

Miller Theatre 2960 Broadway (at 116th Street) 
Phone: 212-854-7799

This exciting program features a world premiere by resident choreographer Emery LeCrone to Felix Mendelssohn's Songs without Words.  Other choreographers include:  Lauren Birbaum, Monique Meunier, John-Mark Owen, Justin Peck, and Claudia Schreier."


[added mention of Tess Reichlin and Craig Hall appearances in first paragraph]  

Gia Kourlas reviews New Chamber Ballet's performance at City Center Studios on Friday, November 19, 2010 in the New York Times.

NY Times