On Saturday, March 26, 2016, the dancers of the The Atlantic City Ballet graced the stage at The Strand Theater in Lakewood, NJ, with a dynamic original dance performance entitled Visions.
Founded in 1982 by international ballerina, Phyllis Papa, the Atlantic City Ballet is composed of professional dancers from around the world who have earned acclaim for their energetic stage presence and technical expertise. Currently the ACB consists of ten members, six apprentices, and four trainees representing 12 countries spanning the globe. Only three dancers are from the United States. The rest come from Japan, Brazil, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Spain, The Netherlands, Venezuela, Taiwan, and England.
Reflecting their international composition, the ACB entertained The Strand audience with Visions, a spirited dance performance cheorographed by Papa which spotlights four unique regions and cultures around the world in four separate ballets.
The first ballet, “Haupongo,” is an alluring piece full of life and color which represents a Mexican town at Fiesta time.
The second ballet, “Drums,” is an energetic interpretation of an African festival packed with abundant visual appeal, including that of tribal pole dancers vigorously swinging their bodies about in mid-air!
In “Drums,” Ms. Papa’s vision also features dancers in colorful costumes soaring through time and space and thrusting their bodies high to the sky to the furious pulsing of highly-syncopated African rhythms.
The third ballet, “Tango,” is a work in three movements which captures the essence of this passionate dance. In this piece, international dance couples Kristaps Kikulis (Latvia) and Tsubasa Nozaki (Japan) and Tullio Cata (Italy) and Nagisa Suzuki (Japan) bring Papa’s choreography to life on the Strand stage with athletic precision.
Performed en pointe with both contemporary and classical movements, Papa choreographed her version of the tango, a traditional Latin-inspired dance, to one of the world’s most famous classic tango pieces, “La Cumparsita,” by Gerardo Matos Rodriquez. As Rodriquez’ music soars, dance couple Sara Lonngren (USA) and Ionet Zahario (Romania) sparkle along with the stage lights.
The final ballet, “Come Join the Dance,” is a piece which brings the excitement of dance and music from the Scottish Highlands to life. Featured within this piece is a vigorous display of Scottish sword dancing!
In “Come Join the Dance,” Ms. Papa celebrates the sights and sounds of Scottish culture through her unique vision which features Scottish-inspired costumes, music, and dance. All of her movements are brought to life via the enterprising work of the ACB troupe members, a dedicated group of professionals who strive for perfection in an effort to inspire their audiences.
According to Ms. Papa, her initial inspiration for the Visions program came in 2005 when the ACB premiered a three-piece performance entitled Visions Around the World. In 2006, she added more pieces to the original and did so again as recently as 2014. Currently, the Visions program consists of nine separate ballets, four of which the ACB so elegantly performed at The Strand.
Along with Visions, the ACB’s repertoire of original works also includes such audience favorites as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sleeping Beauty, Carmen, and Swan Lake. Although many of their performances take place at the ACB’s home base, Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, others are performed at venues all along the East Coast of the US.
For more information on The Atlantic City Ballet — including their upcoming production of Papa’s Swan Lake at the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City on May 22 & 23, 2016 — go to www.acballet.org. For more on The Strand — which features such future performances as Plainsong on April 9, 2016 — go to www.strand.org.
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