HQ Reveiw: Ballet 314 presents THE ACCUSED

For their final production to wrap up their 6th season, Ballet 314 presented The Accused at the Skip Viragh Center of the Arts. The night was a triple bill with The Lark Ascending, Envy of Angels, and the headliner, The Accused.  The three pieces presented did not have a general theme that created a tether between each piece. But that did not matter as they were strong as standalone pieces, highlighting different strengths of the dancers.

The first piece of the night, The Lark Ascending, choreographed by William Smith and set to the music of the same title by Ralph Vaughn Williams and Sir Neville Mariner, was a great opener to begin the night.   Before the curtain even rose, Artistic Director and Co-founder of Ballet 314, Robert Poe, recited the famous poem by George Meredith to help set the tone for what we were about to witness.  As the curtain opened, we were welcomed with 8 dancers in black leotards and long blue skirts, awakening with the stage lights brightening, much like a sunrise, before they entered and exited the stage multiple times in “x” formations. From here on out, the 8 dancers interweave between group sections, solos, duets, pas de trios, in seemingly gentle manners, giving almost every dancer a moment to shine on stage. Dancers Abigail Hindrich and Emily Low were exceptionally wonderful showcasing their technique by sustaining grace even while executing an en dedan turn. From the costumes, minimal sets, and flowing neo-classical choreography with no set linear plot, one cannot help but see the similarities, or possible homage, to the famous 1934 ballet Serenade choreographed by George Balanchine. There are even subtle nods to famous formations from the ballet, from a pyramid formation set in the upstage left in the first quarter of the piece to even the ending with a dancer, in this case Kendall Dietrich, being ascended to the sky by her fellow dancers. This does not take away from some of the pieces' more original concepts used in the dancers’ use of port de bras. William Smith found a way to convey a sophisticated use of the arms to portray flight through pantomime and sign language.  The Lark Ascending was a smart opener. With cool tones, soft score, and almost meditative choreography, it juxtaposes the heavier and darker topics of the following pieces. 

Envy of Angels tries to interpret the ancient fascination with the afterlife. Set in three sections, Wake, Cleanse, and Breathe, we follow the wanderer's journey, danced by Mikayla Fields, as she navigates the process of joining souls into the afterlife. In Wake, the wanderer is surrounded by guards and her guide, performed by Megan Buckley. The Wanderer seems lost and confused, but with the help of her guide, she begins to dance alongside the guards. The scene ends with her guide awakening the wanderer as she watches two ancients dance a pas de deux. In Cleanse, water music is played in the background as the two ancients offer the wanderer the center stage, signifying her being washed from her mortal husk and joining the souls dancing linearly across the upstage. In the final section, Breathe, the full company joins in as they all dance in unison, supporting each other if any dancer breaks out of the formation or the choreography. There was a powerful moment in the end when dancer Josiah Gundersen breaks down center stage, as if in mourning or pain, and the whole company surrounds him in support. This scene ends with the wanderer helping him up and directing his eyes towards the audience as he looks upward as if seeing light for the first time. Although the titles of each section suggest a linear storyline, what Envy of Angels does exceptionally well is not set a literal or direct storyline relating to the topic. Instead, it sets an impactful emotional tone. The beige costumes, dark set, and rather simple melodies of the music choices give the piece an otherworldly feeling, almost alien. The only relatable aspect the audience can latch onto is the emotions that the dancers express solely through the choreography. This, in turn, makes the emotional moments in the piece hit even harder. Trying to imagine or comprehend something as complicated as the afterlife is almost always derived from stark emotional moments in one's life, so feelings are the only things we can even vaguely use to relate to seeing ideas of death or life after death. Giving the ballet no tangible manifestations of death and leaving us only to relate to the emotional input of the dancers is an intelligent move by choreographer Robert Poe that makes the piece wonderful and memorable.

The final piece of the night, The Accused, is a mini-drama ballet set to the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller and the novel I Tituba by Maryse Conde. It follows the story of a slave named Tituba and a Puritan woman named Abigail Williams and how their paths intertwined to create the events of the infamous Salem witch trials. The plot closely follows the play, The Crucible, but also takes a deeper plunge into exploring Tituba’s life and the relationship between Elizabeth and John Proctor.  

We begin the ballet in the woods with only the image of a campfire upstage center, a subtle nod to what most people think of when they think of the Salem Witch trials, innocent women being burned at the stake. We then see many women in nightgowns running on and off stage as if sneaking around, not trying to get caught being out so late. These women run into Tituba, danced by Jamila Scales, who is at the campfire, and they offer her flowers and herbs in exchange for joining Tituba in her practice in Hoodoo. One of these women is Abigail, danced by Kendall Dietrich, who offers Tituba a bloodied bag, and what is in the bag, the audience is left to their imagination. Tituba refuses the gift, which enrages Abigail and leads her to steal a talisman from Tituba. We then enter the next scene in a Puritan village where Tituba takes care of a house run by Reverend Parris and Mrs. Parris. Tituba recites her memory of her upbringing in Barbados to Abigail, the Parris’ daughter, Betty, and the other village women.  The Parris’ caught the women in the woods thanks to John Proctor and disciplined Abigail and the women for disobeying them. Still angry at the events in the woods and wanting to avoid further blame, Abigail hatches a plan to get Tituba in trouble and tells the other women her plot as they head to the church. Before entering the church, we are introduced to John and Elizabeth Proctor, a devoted Puritan couple. Once in the church, the villagers pray while Abigail plants the stolen talisman under a bench. Reverend Parris eventually discovers the talisman and immediately accuses the women who snuck out earlier. Abigail quickly lies to the Reverend and blames Tituba. To aid her lie, she pretends to fall prey to the talisman's “magic” and lurch at John Proctor in a lustful fever as if possessed. This was the “evidence” the Reverend needed, and he grabbed Tituba and placed her in jail. While in jail, Tituba reflects on her childhood in Barbados, from her parents leaving her to being raised by a conjurer woman. Meanwhile, we find out that Abigail used the talisman to get closer to John Proctor, whom she fancies. John is torn but ultimately refuses Abigail's advances. In a state of anger, Abigail creates hysteria as she accuses two women who tried to oust her of lust towards John, a witch, which sends them also to jail with Tituba. We then entered the Trial scene, where each accused woman is given a solo where they try to defend themselves, but ultimately lose thanks to the chaos of hysteria that Abigail left in her wake. In this scene, dancer Nathan Krueger, playing the Reverend Parris, shone as his sharp and dynamic jumps and precise and powerful port de bras helped create the mood of unbridled anger. When the final accused, Tituba, enters the courtroom, the courtroom dances in a frenzy.  After an intense exchange between Tituba and Reverend Parris, the reverend begins to attack Tituba. John quickly comes to defend Tituba, but unfortunately, he is apprehended and joins the accused. In the end, all the accused are found guilty, and as they are sent to their doom, Abigail, abandoning her secrecy, embraces John in front of the court, which reveals her plot to her friends, making them lose faith in her. We then witness a rather gruesome yet impactful scene of the accused being hanged. Luckily, Tituba escaped during John’s arrest in the courtroom and returned to Barbados. We end the ballet with Abigail crying over the destruction she created as the dead walk upstage as they ascend into the afterlife.

The most impressive aspect of this ballet was not the sets or even the wonderful dancing. Instead, it is the acting of all the performers. Dancer Kendall Dietrich, who portrayed Abigail, stood out in her compelling performance as the conniving Puritan. Her wide acting range, from sinister smiles to tear-jerking screams from losing her lover, made her irresistible to watch. Although elaborate and impressive, the dancing itself had its place as a vessel to drive the plot forward, and never to showcase technical prowess. This made the story easier to follow and let the acting shine. The Accused succeeded in its mission to retell the story of the Crucible and add Tituba back into the history of the Salem Witch Trials, thanks to the wonderful acting of the dancers and the use of dance as an aide to the story, not the star.  

To conclude, Ballet 314 did not provide a show with a general theme. Instead, they created a show to demonstrate the versatility of their dancers. The Lark Ascending showcases the dancers’ technical expertise, Envy of Angels their emotional quality of movement, and The Accused their acting capabilities. The night was truly about the dancers, and they delivered.