Charlotte Ballet goes 'Beyond the Surface' with enigmatic performances
"Beyond the Surface” runs through Oct. 26 at Charlotte Ballet's McBride-Bonnefoux Center, 701 N. Tryon St.
This review by longtime Charlotte arts critic Lawrence Toppman was published by The Charlotte Ledger on October 6, 2024. You can find out more about The Charlotte Ledger’s commitment to smart local news and information and sign up for our newsletter for free here. And check out this link for Toppman’s archive of reviews in the Ledger.
Review: In 'Beyond the Surface,' Charlotte Ballet delves deep with three works that inspire appreciation, puzzlement and surprise
Charlotte Ballet’s “Beyond the Surface” includes two premieres and one performance that the company last presented to audiences in 2023. (Photo by Taylor Jones courtesy of Charlotte Ballet)
by Lawrence Toppman
“Beyond the Surface” starts with a storm, ends with a strut and veers in the middle to a … well, I’ll come to that in a bit. I’m still trying to digest that second piece, because it left me just as puzzled (though still interested) after a second viewing.
Charlotte Ballet’s season-opening show at McBride-Bonnefoux Dance Center contains two premieres: Omar Román De Jesús’ “Balúm” and Mthuthuzeli November’s “Vibes and Vibrations.” In between comes Jennifer Archibald’s “HdrM,” which premiered here in the Innovative Works concert of February 2023.
Titles in modern dance can be painfully oblique, making us wrack our brains without success. (Choreographers’ statements or lack thereof in playbills often serve the same function.) What, for example, does “Beyond the Surface” mean? If you go beyond the surface of our planet — not beneath it — you lift off into space. Is that the idea?
Search online for “Balúm,” and you get a misspelled name for a Mayan jaguar god. The title “HdrM” is impenetrable: Does it stand for “hold down and release mechanisms” that maintain satellite components? But attempts to find meaning and appreciation of fine movement needn’t go hand in hand.
Or, sometimes, lack of movement. One character in De Jesús’ piece remains completely still, holding an umbrella, until she performs a brief, crucial action at last. “Balúm” may seem especially poignant to a state crippled last week by a terrible deluge: It’s about the way the elements have their way with us, forcing us to stand together or be blown away alone.
As a mostly minimalist electronic score howls and crackles, dancers creep, tremble, sway, spring up from recumbent positions, run in pairs with arms extended as if preparing to launch each other like kites. His choreographer’s note (the only one in the playbill) refers to air as “an ever-present but stealthy boss,” and he explores the result of boreal benevolence and malevolence. Here rain blesses, rather than destroys, and his vision is whimsically benign overall.
Archibald’s piece, like De Jesus’, uses eight dancers. They begin, dressed entirely in gray, lying at center stage in a pitiless square of bright light, like prisoners waiting for a moment of release in an exercise yard. But as the thrumming music and Michael Korsch’s lighting design soften and warm up, what looks grave at first takes on a more positive energy.
The choreographer set this piece mostly for couples and, toward the end, ensembles, whose lifts and group movements reveal emotional solidarity. (I didn’t recall it being this touching in 2023.) None of the works in this concert has star parts for any soloists, which means each dancer has to be — and is — as strong as all the others.
November won fans last season with the valentine “From Africa with Love.” He introduced “Vibes” in a murmured voice-over that disingenuously said he “wanted to make something nice ... the dancers would enjoy dancing.” I bet they did, but there’s more to it than that.
November works bits of classical technique into this freewheeling piece: women occasionally en pointe, supported pirouettes, a flicker of an arabesque. The women come out in bodices, modified tutus, socks and dance shoes, looking like ballet cheerleaders and whirling with joy. The men wear loose, flowing pants that make them bandit-like and dangerous.
When the music takes on a clanking, industrial power, the piece acquires more weight. The dancers’ ebullience seems more like a frenzied desperation, marked by quick robotic moves. Then the upbeat mood returns with a sudden, final burst that comes as a happy surprise.
If You’re Going: “Beyond the Surface” runs through Oct. 26 at McBride-Bonnefoux Center, 701 N. Tryon St. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, plus a 2 p.m. matinee on Oct. 12.
Lawrence Toppman covered the arts for 40 years at The Charlotte Observer before retiring in 2020. Now, he’s back in the critic’s chair for the Charlotte Ledger — look for his reviews several times each month in the Charlotte Ledger.
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer a free version, as well as paid memberships for full access to all 4 of our local newsletters:
➡️ Opt in or out of different newsletters on your “My Account” page.
➡️ Learn more about The Charlotte Ledger
The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news through e-newsletters and on a website. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
Social media: On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Sponsorship information/customer service: email support@cltledger.com.
Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman, BC Creative