A Choreographer's Showcase or A Professional Dance Recital

Photo taken by Lyndsay Fuller

Last night there was a combined performance with Orlando Ballet & Cirque du Soleil at the La Nouba Theater in the West Side Downtown Disney. Not marketed well, many had shown up for this exciting event. SO many had shown that the performance started 20 minutes late and the theater continued to fill after the first number had started. Robert Hill had joked that the "Disney Police" was called to control the riot.
The "riot" he was speaking of was due to the inability to buy tickets from the Orlando Ballet Box Office over the phone. I personally had great difficulty trying to get tickets for this performance. I called Orlando Ballet's Box Office a week in advance with no luck to eventually cause me to call Disney to find out if we could get tickets at the door. Orlando Ballet, if your reading this, if you need people to voluteer to work in your box office, I would be more than thrilled to help you out on this one. I am sure parents from dances studios across the Central Florida area would love to help your cause.

The performance itself, which only lasted a little less than an hour, left me disappointed. Some dances were more contemporary than others. Most had acro integrated into the choreography. Some used the tricks of the stage like the silk and the lyra. The last production piece was hilarious. It was a spoof on Swan Lake which Orlando Ballet does its adaptation of the ballet at the end of the month. Swans: Black and White But all and all not as impressive as I expected. More like a "professional dance recitial" than a showcase of talent. 

A bystander stated "You have one of the most amazing stages in the state, and you just lay marley on it and dance around for 50 minutes? Insulting to the creator of this theater." Others had more positive things to say as they left the theater. My suggestion is, if you have no expectation other-than mediocre dancing and amazing ability AND can not afford to see either company, this was a good opportunity and a good price. If you have seen Cirque du Soleil shows, this was embarrassing to their reputation of being nothing but perfection.

Link: http://orlandoballet.org/2012/a-choreographers-showcase/