Review: CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA YOUTH BALLET's 60th Anniversary Celebration

"We're the lucky ones," said Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) CEO Nicholas Ade as he introduced the company's 60th Anniversary Celebration at the Sunoco Theater in the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg on June 25th, 2016. Ade acknowledged the tremendous accomplishment in sustaining a dance institution at such a high level in tribute to Founding Artistic Director Marcia Dale Weary and the company's national profile. Associate Artistic Director Darla Hoover joined Ade and described Weary's indelible impact on dancers and dance education. Weary finally stood - looking the same as always (from my own recollections of my time in "the barn") dressed in a long loose pink dress, pink glittery cardigan, and ballet pink character shoes - and received a standing ovation at the announcement of an Outstanding Citizen Award from the Mayor of Carlisle.

Perhaps as recognition of the many CPYB alumni in the ranks of New York City Ballet and experienced in Balanchine repertoire, the evening opened with Serenade. Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) soloist and CPYB alumna Leta Biasucci returned to perform, joined by guest artists Zachary Boresow and Enrico Hippolito. Biasucci's presence provided an eerie vision of possibility; the performance showed the trajectory she assumed as a dancer and what may come for those after her (specifically Emerson Dayton, Amy Jayne DeAngelo, EmmaRose Atwood, Ayla O'Day, Madeline Rogers, and Alyssa Schroeder). Through Serenade, Weary showed her dancers' strength and textbook technique. The opening port de bras with maximally opened chests elicited sighs from the audience. Hoover and Weary rightly captured the history of the work as it was performed by Balanchine's first class of American students in their "debut" to society. The energy brought by young dancers, more in command of their technique than their profession, reframed the work. Young dancers lowered and lifted Biasucci towards the final flyaway pose. She acquiesced and stretched backward. Spurred by the challenge of maintaining Biasucci's elastic feat, they victoriously raised their worshipped leader aloft.

Hineline's de l'innocence showed the magic of Weary's "barn babies". They moved perfectly in sync with painstaking technical devotion. Partnering training begins early at CPYB. Dressed in all white, Braden Hart gamely took the challenge as he rotated among the girls, all in light pink dresses. Hineline relied on the mastery of technique and ballet vocabulary in this work, with frequent "position checks" for dancers in full rotations through attitude; popping in and out of exacting fifth positions; brief reaches to passé in rush of bourrées; and piqués in swivel turns where the leg is extended to the front. The dancers took joy in their precision (especially a cheeky Lauren Fisher), luxuriated in their épaulement, and delighted in their adoring audience.

The second movement of Balanchine's Western Symphony (although they recently staged the full work this year) gave Ayla O'Day and Ethan Boresow an indulgent romp together. O'Day reminded me of Ashley Bouder, a blend of cocky technique and playful grace. CPYB students greatly benefit from being coached to the hilt by Balanchine dancers and the Balanchine Trust repetiteurs on faculty. Boresow and O'Day gave every movement, every wink, every headlong plunging dip equal attention. The CPYB pedagogy set them up for a home run and they claimed the win.

Hineline introduced his Roseland Pictures, gratefully stating that Weary "builds people". Backed by the Roseland Big Band, senior dancers attacked Hineline's jazzy obstacle course. He managed to maintain the integrity of vernacular framing (such as a Lindy swing out) and positioned it within the ballet language (what his dancers know). The swing out maintained its shape and dense footwork, but as piqué rond de jambes. Charleston patterns appeared within these piqué parades. Body rolls became heavily nuanced temps lies as demonstrated by Antonio Lopez. Bodies leaned forward in closed position so the feet could fly in all directions. In short burgundy dresses, female dancers glided across the floor en relevé propelled by their male peers dressed in black and dropped from supported arabesques into swinging grand pliés unfolding their legs through a pas de chat. Schroeder and Brennan Benson flirted through blind, breath-catching lifts - the final shoulder sit of their pas de deux especially striking. Lopez charmed his way through a salsa section, languidly finding deep lunges in fourth position. The technical and performative demands of this work warrant its presentation on professional companies. With works like this under their belt, Weary's dancers will continue to define the dance field far beyond a barn and a warehouse in Central Pennsylvania.

Photo credit: Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet performing Roseland Pictures by Rosalie O'Connor Photography.

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