Ballet for everyone

The Ohio Ballet's performance Friday will combine dance and gospel music.
By NANCILYNN GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Going to a production of "The Nutcracker" doesn't mean you've seen everything that ballet has to offer. If you attend Ohio Ballet's performance at Powers Auditorium on Friday, you will realize that there is so much more.
"One of the great things is that everybody performs 'Nutcracker.' For a lot of audiences, they think, 'Well I've seen the ballet.' That's just one ballet, but that's not everything that's been done," said Jeffrey Graham Hughes, the ballet's artistic director. "It's a very creative art form. There's more ballet being created on an annual basis all across the world than there is new opera."
He believes that Americans as a whole are not used to experiencing a ballet, which is a group of short choreographed pieces.
"There's a trend in our country to present story ballets. Many people, once they get into the theater, they have to give it a chance," said Hughes.
Ohio Ballet will present its winter repertory program, which consists of 12 short pieces. Choreography is set to music ranging from bossa nova to Franz Schubert's "Winterreise" to gospel.
Background
Hughes is in his fifth year as artistic director of the northeast Ohio professional dance company. The 36-year-old performing dance group presents 20th- and 21st-century works. It is the resident company of Playhouse Square Center in Cleveland and in residence at The University of Akron.
Hughes brought up numerous reasons for bringing his dance company to Youngstown.
"We wanted to expand our performing base," he said. "It seemed like a natural to come to Youngstown. It's not that far away. We are called Ohio Ballet. In northeast Ohio, we're the only ballet company that performs the kinds of ballets that we do, story ballets, ballets en pointe [wearing toe shoes].
"What we're striving to do is build up the kind of fan base that understands that every time they come to see Ohio Ballet, they're going to get some things that they've never, ever seen, get some things that maybe they've seen once or twice before and getting lots of new experiences. All done by really good dancers," said Hughes.
Merging ballet, gospel
This performance will offer an unusual melding of styles, as a gospel choir sings onstage as the ballet unfolds.
Charles J. Myricks Jr., founding member of the gospel group Divine Hope from Arlington Church of God in Akron, wrote the music for the ballet "Transformation," which showcases excerpts from his musical "Paul."
Myricks is pleased with the final collaboration of his music with Hughes' dance interpretation of the work. The singers share the stage with the dancers during the performances and are an integral part of the four excerpts.
"He interpreted it in the same spirit of the music. Everybody maintained the integrity of their art and in so doing, we lifted both of the arts to a higher level," said Myricks.
Both composer and choreographer view the coming together of the two art forms, dance and gospel music, as a great success.
Myricks commented, "We have built a bridge and the thing that's gratifying is to watch how many people are crossing it now. That spirit of collaboration was so much deeper than just coming together to do something."
With the variety of music, dance and entertainment, Hughes hopes that the audience realizes after the performance that ballet is not an elitist art form, that it is very accessible for everyone.
Ohio Ballet will also offer an interactive arts education program for Youngstown-area children titled KidSteps.