Choreographer Kenneth Tindall pushes the company to new heights

It is always exciting to watch a ballet company grow artistically, and that is precisely what is happening at Colorado Ballet. But this doesn’t occur by chance; for it to happen, a company needs to perform new productions by accomplished choreographers who push the dancers – and the entire production team. – to greater heights.

In Casanova, Colorado Ballet’s Artistic Director Gil Boggs has chosen a ballet that does exactly that. With choreography by Kenneth Tindall, propulsive music by Kerry Muzzey and stunning production design (sets, costumes and lighting) Casanova provides a dazzling evening that grabs hold of the audience from the stunning opening sequence and never lets go.

Most importantly, it propels the company members forward technically. Tindall’s demanding, contemporary movement style, with its whiplash leaps, jumps and contortions, forces the dancers to expand their classical training and dramatic talents.

From the searingly beautiful solos, pas de deux and pas de trois to the expansive ensemble scenes, company members master with gusto every physical challenge Tindall throws at them. At the performance I saw (there are several casts throughout the run), Jonnathan Ramirez was a compelling Casanova, capturing in Tindall’s athletic movements the libertine’s evolution from a gentle young swain into a passionate adult lover. He flits from one conquest (male and female) to another, ending up as a mature if despondent writer who has nothing left at the end of his life but memories of great loves lost.

Erotically charged costumes fuel the narrative of ‘Casanova.’ | Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

A range of moods

Tindall’s choreography for Casanova requires a range of moods and feelings and Ramirez captures them all. At times, he rolled on the floor in an ecstatic embrace of his partners while at others he leapt over, under and on top of  tables and other platforms as he dealt with intense lust or the anguish of despair. It’s a tour de force performance which Ramirez completely threw himself into, demonstrating both the physical prowess and emotional depth the role demands.

As his various female lovers Ariel McCarty (M.M.), Asuka Sasaki (Bellino) and Leah McFadden (Henriette) were perfect foils for Ramirez’s antics, each one of them moving into intricate sculptural contortions during their trysts.

Jessica Payne and Sarah Tryon as sisters whom Casanova courts in his early years were lithe and flirtatious. The rest of the cast was equally believable in their respective solo roles and, except for a few shaky moments in the opening scene, the male and female corps handled Tindall’s challenging steps with aplomb.

Perhaps more than anything it’s the overall effect of the shimmering production design that creates the most lasting memory of Casanova. This is thanks to the creative team from England’s Northern Ballet, Tindall’s home company where the ballet was developed.

Set designer Christopher Oram’s shining gold columns of the first act transform in the second act into a hall of mirrors resembling the Palace of Versailles, enveloping the narrative, while Alastair West’s dramatic lighting effects enhance the ups and downs of the various human interactions playing out before us. Oram’s costumes – garter belts, see-through fabrics and thigh high stockings – convey a raunchy, no-holds-barred world of ever-changing couplings while Muzzey’s powerful score – beautifully played by the Ballet’s resident orchestra — reinforces the emotional intensity of this gorgeous, luxurious ballet.

Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography