Seuss En Pointe

I don't think that I'll ever get tired of BalletX. They are probably the most consistent performing arts group in Philadelphia, and even their older pieces, the ones that I've seen two or three times, deliver.

Their latest performance, onstage through tomorrow at the Wilma Theater, is certainly no exception to the rule. With two world premiere pieces and an old favorite, BalletX artistic directors Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan produced a solid evening of contemporary ballet.

The first piece of the evening, "The Striped Hat," served as Cox's homage to Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat. Mixing traditional ballet, modern dance, and Cirque du Soleil-like clowning (think Jerry Robbins-meets-Bob Fossee-meets-George Balanchine, with a little Three Stooges mixed in), the dance captured the spirit of its source material without infringing on copyright (it's an unlicensed adaptation). I wondered at first why there were five "Friends" when we're so used to having only "Thing One" and "Thing Two," but then I realized that the havoc wreaked by the two illustrated characters could not be done justice by just two performers in the time allowed. Far easier for the mess onstage to be made by five.

"Things" aside, though, the real star of this piece is Tara Keating, whose "Lady in the Hat" was performed with enviable skill and more acting chops than one is used to seeing in the world of dance (so often, even the most talented dancers perform with completely blank expressions). Keating is infinitely charming, even off pointe as she is in this role, and it's little wonder that the siblings in this piece (Laura Feig and Kevin Yee-Chan—both excellent dancers in their own right) were so enchanted by her. I would have been, too—stick-up-her-ass goldfish (Anitra Nurnberger) be damned.

Following a brief intermission, the audience was treated to the second and final premiere of the night, Edward Liang's "Largo." Charming as "The Striped Hat" was, this was the piece of the night. Performed by six dancers, the Bach-accompanied piece was modern ballet at its finest, showing off the beautiful lines and shapes dancers can make with their bodies without allowing us to forget, as classical ballet often does, that there is real, physical work going on down on the Wilma's stage. There is no effortless pointed-toe lifting here, no athletic displays of leaping prowess. The majority of the choreography was pelvic-centered and low-to-the-ground—fluid, sure, but also sharp. I could have watched this combination of dancers doing that combination of movements for hours, and I can only hope that "Largo" makes it into BalletX's repertoire for good.

Finishing up the evening was Matthew Neenan's "Wonder Why," which I first caught at DanceBOOM! in 2006. Slightly retooled from its original incarnation, but still no less impressive, the movement here is set to a number of Sinead O'Connor songs, beloved and obscure alike. Her music is so loaded with strong lyrics that the dancers have to compete with it—and the dancers win, every single time. I was happy to see this piece—which was the perfect ending to a perfect evening of dance, just as it had been the perfect ending to an imperfect evening of dance three years ago—again, and will be happy to see it every time BalletX performs it in the future.

Laura Feig, Anitra Nurnberger, Tara Keating, and Kevin Yee-Chan appear in BalletX's "The Striped Hat." Photograph by Alexander Iziliaev. BalletX's spring performance continues through tomorrow. Tickets are available online.