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Kelly Roth, director of dance at Community College of Southern Nevada, has choreographed another provocative work with his customary focus and sincerity. Tales From the Folk premiered last weekend at CCSN's Nicholas Horn Theatre to a live performance of 44 Duos for Two Violins by Hungarian composer Bela Bartok.
Some of the duos are as short as 30 seconds, few much longer than two minutes, but each is fully developed and, as an ensemble, interrelated. Infusing the dance with those virtues and avoiding a fragmented look were Roth's major challenges, ones he generally overcame.
It wasn't Roth's intention to create an ethnic dance, and though a sultry Gypsy might occasionally suggest bohemia with an alluring swing of her hips, the medium was mostly freestyle modern, not reminiscent of any particular discipline, some miming and a smattering of ballet-influenced turns and leaps. In the first few numbers, the choreography was out of touch with the music, which whirled around the dancers rather than being visually realized through them. Soon, however, steps and music mated and remained compatible.
The dances—all 44 of them—were surprisingly varied, and while there was no overall plot, each vignette tried to convey an element of drama, love or humor, though not always successfully. The playbill's promised vampires and werewolves were neither discernible nor missed, and appetites for exotica were probably satisfied by other treats such as Rusalka, a siren luring men to their doom with a moonlit dance; a soothsayer in contact with the supernatural; a harlot's seductions; and the ghosts of an old man and a child.
Most roles were taken by student dancers, of whom Noel Brown, portraying Rusalka, Jaime Velilla as a haughty peasant and Daniel Mendoza as an impish, Puck-like character were especially impressive. All the dancers performed well, except in partnering. Lifts and transferring bodies from one partner to another were executed with an effort and clumsiness that consistently marred the flow of the dance. Awkward choreographic preparations were mostly to blame, though occasionally, a dancer's ineptness was at fault.
Catherine Irving's sets and costumes rate high praise. Responding to folkloric elements in the music, she staged a Gypsy camp bathed in dark hues of light and hung with transparent, multicolored fabrics evoking a palm reader's lair.
The Bartok music, and a suite by Aubert, were performed by Olivia Hajioff and Marc Ramirez. Both played exceedingly well, but Hajioff's supple wrist technique and her visible enjoyment making music were a plus. Ramirez, dressed in plaid shirt and baggy, wrinkled trousers, was incongruous alongside his graceful, beautifully gowned partner. Appearances, though they may have nothing to do with the quality of playing, do matter.
Two short dance works rounded out the program: Shakti, an original, elegantly sensual Indian dance, was choreographed by Sruti Das and performed by her and Victoria Pavlenko. Slowly and sinuously, their bodies intertwined in yoga postures and then separated as one dancer knelt in supplication to the other who, like a mythic goddess, represented the body and spirit of Woman. It was hypnotic. Leslie Roth's Playing With Elements made clever use of hula hoops, often linking together the six dancers. Special mention must be made of Kelly Roth's eloquent, witty program notes; playbills are rarely so readable.