As its name suggests, Ballet Nouveau Colorado has gained a regional and even national reputation for inventive, collaborative programming with a fresh, contemporary flair.
Its latest production, which opened Friday at the Lakewood Cultural Center and continues for three performances this weekend at the Pinnacle Charter School in north Denver, is a case in point.
The Broomfield-based company has teamed with the Denver folk band Paper Bird for an ambitious new work, “Carry On,” which takes both groups in directions that neither might have predicted.
Although the artistic results are mixed, it’s easy to be impressed by the energy and initiative that has gone into this venture. And it’s impossible to deny the work’s audience appeal, made clear by the enthusiastic cheers Saturday evening.
Ballet Nouveau has accomplished what many arts organizations are urgently trying but largely failing to do: attract the elusive 20s and 30s demographic. And it does so in large part through creative collaborations like this one.
“Live Jazz,” the company’s season- opening presentation in October, featured a jazz quartet providing live accompaniment on stage. This time, Ballet Nouveau has upped the ante, inviting Paper Bird to create and perform live an original score for this event.
And it was hardly a surprise that a sizable portion of Saturday’s attendees were the fine band’s young fans — exactly the kind of audience crossover Ballet Nouveau was no doubt hoping for when it entered into this partnership.
The nine members of Paper Bird sing and perform on a wide range of familiar instruments, such as the piano, guitar, bass and drums, as well as more unlikely ones like the trombone and bass clarinet.
Its style is best described as Americana or roots, but it is not a musical museum. While it evokes nostalgic echoes of the past, the group also channels a contemporary, pop-tinged vibe, with a distinctive sound that is affecting and at times even haunting.
Paper Bird’s score for “Carry On,” composed of 15 distinct sections that flow together as a cohesive, evocative whole, serves the dance well, and the group’s involved, emotional performance makes it a memorable experience.
Less successful is Ballet Nouveau’s contribution. Artistic director Garrett Ammon certainly understands the nuts and bolts of choreography, and he deserves credit for pulling off a high-energy piece of this size.
But there is an over-abundance of repetition and an over-reliance on dance cliches — too many twirling arms, walk-on entrances from the side and lone dancers set against the group.
While Ammon has developed some good ideas and striking motifs, such as a finger pointing downward or the back of a hand gently sliding across a turning head, too often he does not develop them. Instead, he cuts away to another section in a kind of fast-edit approach that can seem herky-jerky.
There is a suggestion of a narrative, a couple torn apart perhaps by tragedy or distance, but it remains frustratingly elusive, and the sporadic rear projections of everything from clouds to steam trains, just come off as arbitrary and confusing.
While one always wishes for more clarity and precision from this 10-member company, it turns in a solid effort overall, with especially strong performances from the two central dancers, Julie King and Sean Watson.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
——————————————————————————————————————-
“Carry On.”
Dance. Performing Arts Complex at Pinnacle Charter School, 1001 W. 84th Ave., Federal Heights. Ballet Nouveau Colorado teams with the Denver band Paper Bird in a new 65-minute multimedia work by artistic director Garrett Ammon. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. 1 hour, 30 minutes. $17-$44, 303-466-5685 or .
