Evolution Dance turned into “Revolution Dance” Sunday night in the Savannah Center.
Diane Vargas, the former prima ballerina and director of Evolution Dance, pushed the envelope to the edge with a dynamic blend of ballet, jazz, tap and lyrical dance. Vargas and her colleagues demonstrated what the art of dance is all about: putting life experience on stage and creating the movements and emotion to make it real.
It was all part of an aptly-titled program called, “Dancing on the Edge.”
Watch video from last night’s program here:
Another performance was scheduled for Monday night at Savannah Center. Money raised goes to Operation Helping Hand to support families of wounded veterans.
Vargas and her crew of about 25 dancers – with lots of help from master of ceremonies/singer Petrina – delivered a remarkably entertaining show, with glittering costumes, stunning production numbers and elegant music.
On a night filled with breath-taking performances, two stood out.
The first came near the end of the first half of the show, with “Bolero.”
The number lasted for an almost 9 minutes and 40 seconds of stage time. About two-dozen dancers turned the Savannah stage into a Spanish battlefield; a kind of combat ring where warriors savaged one another until, at last, came a quest for peace.
Vargas spent nearly a year choreographing “Bolero” and the hard work paid off. Dancers moved with precision, grace and unity.
“That was the toughest number we’ve ever done,” an excited and somewhat exhausted Vargas said after the show. “It took one year to put the people and music together. We made it work tonight and I’m happy and proud.”
“It took a tremendous effort from everyone,” added Carter Poust, one of the lead dancers. “We were on stage over nine minutes and it’s a challenge to be out there that long for one number. You never know how an audience will respond. There was a lot of ballet and precise movements. I could tell from the audience reaction that it turned out great.”
Another number called “Eternal,” touched the heart with mournful, yet uplifting emotions. Dolores Pittaro and Poust combined to demonstrate how love of a spouse can transcend even death.
The instrumental, “Unchained Melody” played as Pittaro, wearing a purple dress, gently placed an urn on the side of the stage. Then, out of the darkness, came Poust, dressed all in white, moving in ghostly slow motion. There were no jumps, lifts or jarring movements in this number. It was reverent, spiritual and absolutely transcendent.
The heavy mood was lightened by Petrina, who sang, danced and made sure the audience had a good time all night long.
Petrina put on her own fashion show during the two –hour program, which was divided into two acts and five scenes.
The show opened with Petrina dressed in black with an oversized, silver-sequined-feathered headdress that looked like a giant metal flower in bloom. Petrina and the dancers romped through Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory.”
“I just went out there and had fun,” Petrina said after the program. “These dancers are so great that people didn’t notice my mistakes. I love being on stage with them.”
The first act of the program was called “on the edge of love.” It started out with Petrina singing the old doo-wop classic, “A Sunday Kind of Love.”
Then, female dancers – Bonnie Felicicchia, Mollie McCarthy, Violet Ray, Leslie Rosenberg and Rosie Theiss — embraced “young love.” They wore yellow skirts, white blouses and raced about the stage to “Walking On Sunshine.”
Next came a more adult theme of love called “passion,” featuring Vargas and Phip Fuller. Classical ballet made the atmosphere and feeling of the song come alive. Sally Spieth and Chip Fuller (Phip’s twin brother) showed the give and take of daily married life on “Accustomed to Her Face.”
Petrina kicked off the “Classics” part of the show singing an Elvis Presley song “It’s Now or Never.” The song is based on the operatic “O Solo Mio.”
“I’m not used to singing classical music,” said Petrina, wearing a flowing, red-sequined gown.
Next came “Humoresque,” featuring Richard Blanchard as a clown, being delightfully entertained by sprightly ballerina Judy Jonas.
The scene shifted to New York and Broadway for the second act. Petrina came out in a pink gown this time and offered a jazzy, swinging version of “Lullaby of Broadway.”
The spirit of Gene Kelly was everywhere in this section of the show. First came a tribute to “American in Paris,” with the Fuller brothers and Vargas. That was followed by a rollicking tribute to “On The Town,” with the song “New York New York.” The tap crew then took over the stage as Linda Berthiaume sang and danced her way through “Anything Goes.”
A more contemporary atmosphere came with a couple of scenes from the musical “Wicked.” Mollie McCarthy was wonderfully catty in singing “Popular” to green-faced, witchy-woman Kristin Miller.
Sue Schuler looked ready to flee Oz and fly away – with some help from Terri Fox — on the song, “Defying Gravity.”
What would a trip to New York be without Sinatra?
Poust, Richard Blanchard, the Fullers and Frank Olive turned up for a defiant dance number by Old Blue Eyes, “That’s Life.”
The final section was about patriotism. Petrina, a native of England, told how she became a citizen a couple of years ago. She wore a frilly American-flag style dress and sang a rousing version of “God Bless America.” Those in the audience stood up and joined in.
There was more red, white and blue dancing spirit on “Yankee Doodle” and “Strike Up the Band.” Frank Olive, wearing a flag-designed shirt, delivered a powerful and patriotic soliloquy, “I Am Flag.”
The finale included a sitting-in-chairs dance routine, “Our Favorite Son,” from “The Will Rogers Follies.”
It was a fitting finish to a glorious evening of Evolution Dance. Vargas summed up the evening this way: “We gave it our all.”