Word: balletically
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Much of his invention is fresh and to the point. As usual with Morris, the production is gender-blind. Mother Stahlbaum is played with zest by a man (Peter Wing Healey), who doubles as a portly Dewdrop in The Waltz of the Flowers. The corps de ballet comprises both males and females, some on pointe, some not. The Snowflake Waltz, without doubt the show's highlight, is performed by this motley assemblage of 22 in an ingenious parody of classical choreography. But instead of the snow drifting down from the rafters, the dancers carry it onstage by the fistful...
During the 1970s, when the pair discovered each other, it seemed like a bizarre match: Baryshnikov, the supreme classical-ballet stylist, and Tharp, whose roots were in '60s rock and pop. But together they stretched the boundaries of dance. Tharp was one of many choreographers who were trying to harness their talents to the Russian's genius, and mostly these efforts flopped. But her Push Comes to Shove (1976) showed a different, up-to-the- minute Baryshnikov -- impish, racy and reckless -- and a new idiom for classical ballet...
...worst comes first. A medley all too aptly titled Schtick is stale, botched Broadway, except for a fleeting, funny solo for Baryshnikov composed of stock classical-ballet flourishes. This kind of parody is familiar, but Tharp wisely keeps it light and witty. The heart of the evening is a suite for the two stars set to Pergolesi -- dreamy, deeply musical, full of surprising yet harmonious moves. In a zippy finale, the stars cavort, and six fine young backup dancers finally get to strut some very flashy stuff...
After graduation, the members of the Society continued their involvement in the arts. "These men who were in the Society--one of them went on to found the New York City Ballet, and they were responsible for a lot of foreign artists immigrating to the United States. So they were real revolutionaries," Dreifus says...
...Nutcracker is being performed by the Ballet Theater of Boston in December. Call 262-0961 for further information...