The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 24, 2003, Page 7, Image 7
• Ballet through a video gamer’s eyes
With its leaps and battles, ‘Aladdin’ resembles the classic Disney game
BY COREY GARRIOTT
THE GAMECOCK
The Columbia City Ballet
Company performed “Aladdin” in
the Roger Center on Friday and
Saturday. Although it’s best
known as an Arabian fairy tale,
as I watched the dancing, I
couldn’t help viewing the ballet
through the eyes of a video gamer.
The company’s phenomenal in
ternational cast, including Jose
Serrano and Evgueny Tourdiev,
had a new take on Player 1,
“Aladdin,” and end boss “Vizier.”
^ In Stage 1, peasants and rogues
pranced in the marketplace until
Aladdin arrived.
The rogues obviously fought in
the same party; they were dressed
alike in the familiar abbreviated
vest and silk pants. Aladdin was
clearly the rogue squad leader —
his vest was a royal-purple hue.
Aladdin was played by Serrano,
who is quite the acrobat. Serrano
can jump as high as Luigi, or at
least Mario. His tornado spin
earned applause throughout the
night.
The production was clever.
While Aladdin led the others in a
series of exercises, strong work
ers toted four carpets in the back
ground, inconspicuous in the
background until the stage
i # cleared. They were dropped on the
ground and unrolled to reveal
four scantily dressed gypsies
smuggled into town.
So the first challenge of Stage 1
was to flirt with the gypsies.
Aladdin and three of his rogues
I
partnered with the girls for a se
ries of dueling dances. The men
and women executed harder and
still harder moves and lifts, prob
ably scoring millions of points,
only to be interrupted by the royal
parade.
As in the game, he would go on
to pursue the princess using mag
ic powers discovered in a genie’s
lamp, winning the princess’s hand
just before Vizier was to marry
her.
Tourdiev was majestic in his
role as the evil Vizier. It is strik
ing how powerful male dancers
have to be — he can lift and hold
effortlessly, as if Ganondorf ex
changed his desert boots for a pair
of slippers. Tourdiev certainly
PHOTOS 8Y AISHA AHKAWALA/THE GAMECOCK
Top and above: “Aladdin” featured the gravity-defying,
acrobatic jumps of an International cast.
seems like Ganondorf of Zelda
fame — he doesn’t seem to oper
ate by real-world laws of physics.
His jumps are way powered up;
they have too much hang time.
A Russian, Tourdiev is from
Samara, Russia, and learned bal
let at the State Academic Opera
and Ballet Theatre before coming
to the United States. As for
Serrano, he trained in Puerto Rico
and found his way to Columbia
through the School of American
Ballet in New York City.
Stage 2, the Harem, was an ex
cellent excuse for many of the
troupe’s dancers without starring
roles to have solo performances.
Just like Parappa the Rappa, they
leap and balance to the sound
track.
In the end, Aladdin and Vizier
engage in a battle of swords.
Aladdin hasn’t leveled up enough,
so he lacks the hit points neces
sary to succeed—so in a last-ditch
effort, he summons the genie for
one last wish to beat the game.
In the ending sequence,
Aladdin is held up as the maypole
in the middle of several concen
tric circles of dancers.
In the ballet, choreographers
Mazilier, Petipa, and Starrett fo
cus a lot on concentric circles;
Aladdin and his rogues run in cir
cles through most of the first
stage. Perhaps the circles explore
a sci-fi theme — though it would
tire your thumbs to spin the con
trol pad for the whole play.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
CD REVIEW
Mattea comes up
short on‘Roses’
“ROSES"
Kathy Mattea
★* out of ☆☆☆☆☆
BY MARIANNE PARRISH
THE GAMECOCK
Kathy Mattea’s new album,
“Roses,” is her first release for
the Narada label. It includes
songs about both spiritual and
romantic love. She will be stop
ping at the Newberry Opera
House on tour to promote this
latest offering.
On “Roses,” she taps Celtic,
folk and country music springs
to interpret some rather un
orthodox musical pieces.
Mattea’s vocal style is reminis
cent of Anne Murray, the 1970s
songstress whose hits compila
tion is advertised endlessly on
late-night TV. With a deep, vel
vety, sing-babies-to-sleep quali
ty, Kathy Mattea’s voice mingles
with the simplistic musician
ship also displayed.
Not that there is much oppor
tunity for display, since the mu
sic is all but trivial, but it is ap
parent that these songs were cho
sen for their lyrical content, not
the profundity of their composi
tion. After all, it is folk music.
This record could reasonably
be labeled as contemporary
Christian, and many of the songs
are about clinging to God or be
ing tempted by sin. Many other
religious images are also used to
interpret spiritual life, but the
strong thread of self-deprecation
and tense, fearful longing for vin
dication that is written in the
lyrics of some tracks contrasts
highly with the unassuming,
calm mood of the music.
All or the songs seem pretty se
date, until you listen to the words
and find some surprises. If you
could take a song like “Till I Turn
to You” and replace the words
“Lord,” “God” and “Jesus” with
the name “Kenny,” it would
sound a lot less spiritual and a lot
more like begging for domina
tion. “Blind my eyes... break my
stride ... tie my hands ... ”
Overall, this S-and-M-type prayer
does not sit well with the Celtic
fiddles and mandolin, but that’s
just one opinion.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@notmail.com
Garrett
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
too much confusion. The seeds of
spontaneity are germinated and
fertilized, but it’s not chaotic.
There is strong continuity and
intention here. The middle of the
album has a minimalist slant.
The composition is unveiled and
uncovered, ending with a sax solo
by Kenny Garrett called “Just a
Second to Catch my Breath.” It’s
slow and sweet, but it sets your
ears up to be bombarded by
“Gendai,” a modem, quick, chal
lenging piece that heightens the
pace just before the three-part
“Standard of Language,” which
closes the record.
If you want to get a feel for
what’s current and relevant in
jazz music today, this is a good,
intelligent element to include.
Skill; composition; and good,
spontaneous interpretations are
all evidenced on Garrett’s latest
release. Cheers to “Standard of
Language.”
Comments on this story?E-mail
zamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
I
• ••
• Thank You, Sponsors!
^ The 2003 University Housing Sign Up
f Carnival was a huge success, thanks to you!
i — " "■ ..n
This year’s sponsors
included:
Gold Sponsors
B 106.7 WTCB
Carolina Alumni Association
Carolina Collegiate Federal Credit Unior
Residence Hall Association (RHA)
Russell House Bookstore
Sodexho
Silver Sponsors
Columbia Place
Domino’s Pizza
Sonic
WEB Laundry Services
Bronze Sponsors
Target
Additional Sponsors Included:
Capital City Bombers
Career Center
Frankie’s Fun Park
GoodYear
New Orleans Riverfront Restaurant
Regal Cinemas
i
(\ COUCcf
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Than to Live at Carodna 0