Ballet Builders, March 23

[Farrell Fan]

This was the 12th annual showcase put on by an organization called New Choreographers on Point. There were 8 short works. The most successful, I thought, was the first, Blue Bulb Sweep, choreographed by Ryan Kelly to Benjamin Britten's Young Apollo, a work I'd never heard. Kelly is a member of NYCB's corps, as were his six dancers. In familiar NYCB fashion, two dancers were replaced by others. The lone male among them was Amar Ramassar, a striking-looking dancer who commands attention even standing still.

There was an interesting piece, Neruda, performed to spoken poems, featuring three women including Gabriela Poler, the choreographer. One of the women, Kitty Lunn, scooted about in her wheelchair. The two others got her out of it and supported her variously. The program said that Lunn "has founded Infinity Dance Theater, a non-traditional dance company for dancers with disabilities." It was a good performance and there was nothing freakish about it.

There were three pas de deux. One, Desire, looked like an ad for Calvin Klein underwear. There was a fine solo, Impatient, by Colleen Cavanaugh for Maria Riccetto, an ABT corps member. I was disappointed in a three-person work, Cut on the Bias, by Penelope Freeh, whose dances I've seen and liked in the past. The last piece, Pangea, was as ambitious as the first, with a cast of seven. I didn't like it. The choreographer is named Salim Gauwloos (Slam) and works with Madonna. His bio in the program noted: "Slam has been interviewed by Joan Rivers and Robin Leach."