In a metropolitan area with an abundance, perhaps even an over-abundance, of ballet companies large and small, the Boulder Ballet deserves not to be overlooked.
The 29-year-old troupe, which transitioned from a pickup company to a professional one in 2000, caters to Boulder, as well as nearby suburban communities on Denver’s western fringes.
Though they cannot match the skill and artistry of the far larger Colorado Ballet or the core members of Ballet Nouveau Colorado, the company’s 10 dancers are solid, committed performers who seem game for anything.
They look well-rehearsed and prepared in the company’s latest program, an adventurous lineup of five new works by five choreographers from near and far.
These offerings vary considerably in quality and interest, but only one, “The Loudest Whisper,” falls flat. The work by Gabriel Masson, a guest artist at the University of Colorado at Boulder, quickly becomes monotonous.
He repeats a small set of basic motifs, including multiple poles of action and slow-motion movement, but never really develops them or gives the audience any reason to invest in the choreography or the dancers.
Other knocks against this work include a decidedly unartistic and distasteful lift, in which the men wrap arms under the women’s crotches, and the unflattering sweats Masson has oddly chosen as costumes.
It is hard to understand what ties together the three sections in “Infernal Suite,” an ambitious work by Ben Goodman, a member of the Eugene (Ore.) Ballet. They range from humorous monkey imitations in the opening to the dark final section, with its feeling of isolation.
One extraordinary image emerges from the last, elusive section — a kind of disheveled mound of seven dancers rising and lowering en masse like the inhalation and exhalation of breath.
The program’s centerpiece is the second-half selection, “Ragtime,” by the company’s co-artistic director Peter Davison.
Dance works set to vernacular music of this kind are ubiquitous, but Davison brings an imaginative, entertaining approach to this piece, justifying his receipt of the 2009 Ballet Builders Award from the New Choreographers on Pointe in New York City.
Although the piece hangs together well, each of the seven sections has a surprisingly distinctive identity, with Davison making ample but not excessive use of props, such as bicycle tires in “Rolling Along.”
In this creative section, which easily could be performed alone, the nine dancers roll, catch, dodge and manipulate the tires with amazing precision, never letting them fall flat on the floor.
Even more innovative are Davison’s hilarious interludes, which he performs himself between the four pieces on the first half. Drawing on his varied background, these little nuggets combine dance, vaudeville, circus, mime and performance art.
The first interlude opens with a ball rolling onto the stage and continues with Davison’s fervent efforts to corral the recalcitrant object that has a seeming mind of its own.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
“Momentum”
Ballet. The Boulder Ballet presents a program with five premieres by five choreographers.7:30 p.m.Friday and Saturday, Estes Park High School Theater, 1500 Manford Ave., Estes Park; 8 p.m. March 6 and 7, Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway; 7 p.m. March 21, Legacy High School Theater, 2701 W. 136th Ave., Broomfield. 90 minutes. $17-$25. Friday and Saturday, 970-586-3450; March 6 and 7, 303-987-7845 or ; March 21, .
