Celebratory show has rough edges

Orlando Ballet has had a rough time lately. Forced from its longtime home by a mold infestation, the troupe’s dancers have been working out of multiple temporary locations — not ideal circumstances by any means.

“Tribute,” the season-opening program, was designed as a double celebration of the ballet company’s 40th anniversary and the fifth anniversary of artistic director Robert Hill’s tenure — a chance to again see favorite works from the past.

It would be theatrically satisfying to put a happy ending on the company’s recent travails by reporting that “Tribute” showed the ballet at its best. But real life, alas, doesn’t always mimic an inspirational movie or feelgood musical.

On Friday’s opening night, “Tribute” reached for the proverbial brass ring, but it just never quite got there. The ballet displayed its usual athletic thrills — leaps, pirouettes, the works— but there was a raggedness around the edges.

Synchronized movements weren’t quite locked in place, a few lifts looked shaky. Most telling: In a program full of classical pas de deux, too often the dancers didn’t seem especially connected to their characters — or each other.

“Isn’t it a Pity,” danced by Andrea Harvey and David Kiyak, especially felt like a pale imitation of its previous incarnation. A “Carmen” segmenthadthe requisite eye-catching cape work, but fuzzy characterizations from Kiyak and Areum Chung. Yet there were moments to celebrate. The corps work in the opening “Swan Lake” segment was both dainty and elegant. Even occasional speaker distortion of the recorded music couldn’t break the mood. The “Little Swans” dance (by Harvey, KateLynn Robichaux, Melissa Gelfin and Anama-

Review

What: Orlando Ballet’s ‘Tribute’ Where: Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, 401 W. Livingston St., Orlando When: 2 p.m today Tickets: $30 and higher Call: 407-426-1739 rie McGinn) was precisely and stylishly executed.

A pair of couples’ dances in Act 2 shone with simple charm and joy. Chiaki Yasukawa and Telmo Moreira had a lovely lightness of spirit dancing to music from “Cinema Paradiso.” In a “Romeo and Juliet” number, Harvey and Sebastian Serra’s love story was overlaid with sadness, a palpable feeling that love is fleeting.

Chung and Kiyak gave a solid rendition of the “Innocent Duet from Vampire’s Ball.” But having Kiyak forgo this dance’s usual open white shirt, billowing around the graceful moves, reduced its visual impact, somehow making it less tender.

The younger dancers contributed some of the most memorable moments. Briana Berrios demonstrated top-notch technique and charisma to spare in a trio from “Vampire’s Ball.” Her partners, Austen Acevedo and Blake Kessler, dazzled with their spins and footwork.

Youngest company member Arcadian Broad, 17, brought a deeper maturity to “Time,” a piece he choreographed and performed on an Orlando Ballet program just eight months ago. Man’s struggle against the inevitable was etched in every move.

Broad and Gelfin turned the pas de deux from “Don Quixote” into a lively battle of the sexes. Moments such as that showed there will be muchmore to celebrate in the future.