Home of the ‘Brave’

Apologies to Aldous.

This "Brave New World" opts for artistic dance over a classic novel.

"A brave new world is what we're trying to be, that we are moving forward with bravery into this world of dance we live in here in Las Vegas," says James Canfield, artistic director of Nevada Ballet Theatre. The group presents a program this weekend with the same title of Aldous Huxley's landmark book, but it emphasizes the company's message of creative utopia, not Huxley's portrait of social dystopia.

In other words: Relax and enjoy the show.

"Brave New World" is a world-premiere triple play of original works created for NBT, staged at Artemus Ham Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Heralded by The New York Times for her "vivid, bizarre imagination," guest choreographer Gail Gilbert, an ex-New Yorker-turned-Las Vegan, contributes "Song of the Nightingale," a story ballet based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale.

An emperor is entranced by the gorgeous voice of a nightingale in his kingdom. When he's presented with a mechanical, jewel-embedded version, he loses interest in the genuine one. The fake eventually breaks, and as the monarch approaches death, he comes to regret ignoring the real deal.

Strong visuals and symbolism combine as Gilbert's foundation for the work. "Igor Stravinsky wrote this music originally as an opera, somewhere in the 1920s, then it was recommissioned as a ballet, and I think it's beautiful," says Gilbert, a former performer in "Ka" at the MGM Grand.

"We go in and out of this kinetic pace that the score supports. There are these moments of humor and sometimes drama and pathos, where you can be swept up on an emotional level, too. I want to approach the audience from both angles."

Another guest creation is "An Incandescent Start," a contemporary piece by guest artist Thaddeus Davis that, he says, concentrates on the theme of extremism. "One of the things I've been exploring with my own company is extremes in emotion, extremes in physicality, extremes in sensitivity," says Davis, who is artistic director of the Wideman/Davis Dance Company in New York.

"As I name works and think of concepts I'm working in, I use the thesaurus a lot. I looked up 'incandescent,' and it said something swells until it creates heat. Like an incandescent light bulb, it turns on and it's so bright that it gives off heat. That's the same way movement is. You start to move and the body warms up and takes on a different physicality. Passion and desire and all those emotions we explore in dance are the same way."

Finally, Canfield mounts "Cyclical Night," his debut original ballet for NBT. Set to the music of Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, "Cyclical" celebrates the sensuality of the tango. "What I love about the influence of the tango is its history and how it was forbidden, yet today it's danced by the entire world," he says, adding that he felt compelled to rebel against the tango-ballet trend until now.

"It had sort of a rebirth in the last six to eight years with all of the social dancing that has come back," Canfield says. "Every choreographer was jumping on a tango ballet. But I wanted to do it when I was ready and not forced into it. I have to do the research and see what aspects I can grab onto to create something more with my style."

Bracketing "Brave New World" will be new "Insights" and "Talk Back" segments to add audience interactivity to NBT performances. "Insights," scheduled for 45 minutes prior to curtain time in the Ham Hall lobby, will offer a pre-performance perspective on what ballet fans are about to see, followed up by "Talk Back," a post-performance Q&A with the artists.

"It's an overview, maybe hear from the artist, but we're a little cautious about how much information we give away prior to a performance," Canfield says. "I want to allow for questions to only a certain level, then they can go as far-reaching as they want after because then everybody has the same point of departure."

Conversation should pertain to "Brave New World," not ... "Brave New World."

Aldous would understand.

Preview

"Brave New World"
by Nevada Ballet Theatre

8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Artemus Ham Hall,
University of Nevada, Las Vegas,
4505 S. Maryland Parkway

$10-$75 (895-2787; www.nevadaballet.com)

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.