Arts Review | Nine Sinatra Songs
Reviewed by: Katherine Brodsky

MODA MAG.COM -- Anything with "Sinatra" in the title is an easy sell to a  true Sinatra lover, but ballet with nine Sinatra songs and costumes by Oscar de la Renta?  That's even an easier sell.

But when the curtain went up, for the next hour or so - nothing sounded even remotely close to a Sinatra tune.  Nervous theatre-goers checked their programs, certain that they have somehow arrived at the wrong show.  But sure enough, they were in the right place.

Ballet British Columbia decided to do it their way and opened the program at Queen Elizabeth Theatre with Mark Godden's 1996 "Conversation Piece," which depicts the gossipy and scandalous nature of society when they discover that a man has a mistress. They consider themselves righteous, but as we discover later, have their own dark secrets. The dancers fared fairly well, however the choreography was much too repetitious and the story unexciting.  Next was Jean Grand-Maître's Tema Celesta from 2000.  It was an interesting piece that uses a mix of quick and slow gestures.  Dominique Dumais' "A Way Inside" from 1999 followed and focused on heartbreak -- a bit depressing for the numerous pairs gathered as a Valentine treat -- but also a very interesting mix of heavy and quick gestures.

Two intermissions later, we finally got to the promised treat of the evening: "Nine Sinatra Songs."  Twyla Tharp is a rightfully lauded choreographer, with her most recent endeavor on Broadway being the popular "Moving Out," set-- not surprisingly- to Billy Joel songs.  "Moving Out" is an incredibly strong show, in choreography, mood, story -- and of course, Billy Joel's music.  With "Nine Songs" Tharp opts to leave the story aside, however.  Instead she focuses on the glitter and spectacle of what pretty much amounts to beautifully choreographed ballroom dancing- with a few ballet steps thrown in for effect. 

Nothing wrong with that, however. Set to Old' Blue Eye's tunes, Tharp combines the waltz, foxtrot, ragtime and tango, to create a very elegant and fun effect that perfectly compliments Sinatra's style. There are a few moments in the show when even humor makes a very welcome surprise guest appearance. Some highlights include "Softly As I Leave You," which is set up to look as if the dancers were actually floating.  And the especially saucy "That's Life", which sparkled with life and sensuality. Another fun number was "Forget Domani," a fast-based twirl through music.

All in all, it was a treat.  Not the kind that was expected, but as Forrest Gump once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."  This just happens to be a more diverse chocolate.