Impressive dance gala shows promise for Waterville center

A long line of theatergoers wrapped around the outside of the Waterville Opera House Saturday night in the hopes of getting tickets for the premiere gala benefit of the Waterville Performing Arts Centre. There was a buzz of excitement rising from the crowd as people raved about the possibilities contained in the new Centre, which will open in the former Sterns building early next year. When the curtain finally opened, the performers played to a standing-room-only house of more than 700 supporters.

The two-hour event, which was followed by an open reception at the Centre’s temporary headquarters across the outdoor square, primarily consisted of dance pieces. The performers, selected from the Centre’s staff and students, as well as members of area dance companies, ranged in talent from world-class to local-best.

At the top of the scale, was the Centre’s artistic director of ballet and dance, Andrei Bossov. In “Wesendonk Lieder,” the first piece of the evening, Bossov partnered Portland Ballet Company’s Karen Hurll-Montanaro, while on-stage soprano Lynne Cox sang leider to music by Richard Wagner (performed by Cheryl Tschanz). Bossov wore a black cape which, when opened, revealed Hurll-Montanaro in a crouched position from which she emerged for this modern pas de deux. While Cox gracefully and forcefully sang the tender art songs, Hurll-Montanaro and Bossov acted out mini-dramas in a series of sculpture-like poses and acrobatic ballet. The arduous tableaux were filled with passion, but never overdone and always controlled with impeccable technique. Hurll-Montanaro is among the best dancers in Maine, and it’s about time she was paired with a dancer of Bossov’s caliber.

Bossov also choreographed and danced in Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” which was primarily a solo jazz piece with a brief appearance by local dance teacher Heather Collins. Bossov’s fluid and funky movements had the fluidity and looseness of drunkenness and the careful restraint of a masterful mover. The choreography of “Maple Leaf,” and in the all-female group number “Bolero,” showed Bossov’s clear handle on current trends and sensibilities in dance. In a mixture of robotic movements, MTV hip-hop, everyday gestures, and good old ballet formality, Bossov proved himself to be a refreshingly new force in Maine’s dance scene.

The six other dance pieces in the program involved local talent from various dance schools such as Encore Dance Company in Augusta and Studio One For Dancers in Oakland.

Scott Stevens, owner and instructor at the latter school, whirled through two tap solos, which he performed and choreographed. At least as fascinating as any of his flowery dancing was his head-to-toe gold-sequined outfit for “42nd Street.”

Keltie Collins choreographed several pieces in the second half of the evening.”Uniting,” a large-group number about the relationships between classical ballet and modern jazz, was fun, but quickly became redundant. And “Broadway Medley,” featuring student dancers Holly Collins and Alyssa Farrell, was everything you expect from a presentational recital piece, including silver sequined hats, shoulder-high kicks, and apple-pie smiles.

Pre-teen dancers Andrea Michaud and Peter Chamberlain stole the show with “Electirc Momentum,” a synthesized dance-music piece in which these two youngsters were transformed into dance machines. Michaud was particularly outstanding for the control and accuracy she showed with her young body. She is a young dancer whose future seems quite bright.

Executive producer Charles Blaisdell gave the only non-dance performance of the program with “Mark Twain’s Tall Tales,” a one-person presentation from the writings of America’s best-known humorist. Although Blaisdell couldn’t pass for a Mark Twain look-alike, his presentation of the writer’s words was theatrically entertaining and amusing.

As with several of the other performances of the evening, Blaisdell’s whet our appetites for things to come at the Waterville Performing Arts Centre. If Saturday’s turnout was any kind of a measure of local support for the venture, then we can be assured that both the professional and community talents will find a happy home in Waterville.