On Dance: PBT premieres Rhoden's vision of '7th Heaven'

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On Dance: PBT premieres Rhoden's vision of '7th Heaven'

Sunday, March 11, 2001

By Jane Vranish, Post-Gazette Dance and Music Critic

No sooner have the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancers descended from the ethereal heights of "Giselle," where spirits lighter than air share the stage with men of nobility, then Dwight Rhoden begins making demands.

Steven Annegarn, Terence Marling and Ying Li rehearse Dwight Rhoden's new work, "The 7th Heaven," at the company's Strip District studios. PBT will premiere the ballet on the same program with "Mighty Casey." (Martha Rial, Post-Gazette)

The acclaimed choreographer, back in town, asks them to carve a place in the air and plunge into turbulent patterns.

"'Giselle' is not about showing how you get there, but the effortlessness of it," says Rhoden, wearing an easy-going smile. "I like to see the effort."

Last time around, Rhoden had them moving and grooving to Billy Strayhorn, the climax of PBT's hit jazz ballet "Indigo in Motion." This time, he's delving into Ludwig von Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, a monumental classical piece that abounds with dancerly themes.

"I've been familiar with the Seventh forever," Rhoden says. "It's one of those pieces where there's not one section that doesn't have rhythm. Beethoven was like a heavy-metal performer today. He was a radical pioneer of his age. But it's really about the passion."

No wonder he's calling his latest work "7th Heaven." It will get its world premiere this week at the Benedum in a PBT program that also features a restaged "The Mighty Casey."

Choreographer Dwight Rhoden demonstrates positioning for dancers Terence Marling and Rachel Foster. (Martha Rial, Post-Gazette)

In the studio, Rhoden's idea of heaven is a ferociously winding pattern for the men.

"There's a boatload of talent here," he says. "They can jump and change the lightbulbs in the studio. But I use the torso, hands and arms all in one package. Yet, the dancers know that I am classically based, but quirky, with lots of detail. The trust element is a big factor."

So the men repeat the surging jumps over and over while delicately negotiating the dance traffic around them. They understand that, since the Strayhorn piece, Rhoden remains a hot commodity. He has worked with the Alvin Ailey company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Arizona and his own company, Complexions. Coming up is a choreographic assignment in the latest Patrick Swayze movie, "Without a Word," to be filmed in Canada.

Rhoden knows these dancers have done it before. He deliberately challenges them.

"I look at the big picture, at the music moving on the pages with its peaks and valleys. At first the movement looks busy ... on purpose. Then we'll work until it's exceptionally clean."

So clean, it's heavenly.