Boy Wonder by R.M. Pink


Ballet BC Misses Mark on World Premiere

By R.M. Pink

For a ballet that reached to capture the hero's journey, in essence the hero in everyone, the Ballet BC premiere of 'Boy Wonder' was a disappointment of great proportions.

Despite the artistic and creative talents of company AD John Alleyne and a collection of supporting guest artists to assist in the production: choreographers Serge Bennathan and Jean Grand-Maitre, stage director Roy Surette, Environmental designer Tiko Kerr, the performance was flat and spiritless.

Most glaring of all was that a ballet that was supposed to portray the heroic journey failed to enlighten and uplift and seemed to lack the maturity required for such an undertaking.

If anything, with so much to tackle, 'Boy Wonder' was a failure of grand ambition rather than talent.

To their credit, the dancers performed with energy and skill but it was not enough to save a production that seemed to lack direction, synthesis and most of all, depth.

Many in the sellout audience were left wondering if something in the performance had been missed and the overall response was decidedly tepid and cautious. Such an opportunity to launch a major production with a captive audience does not come along often and many felt that a great opportunity to showcase new creativity and art was lost.

Ballet BC, like most ballet companies , are in a constant battle to maintain audience and financial support.

One hopes that this flawed production will not diminish the loyal and supportive audience that Ballet BC has enjoyed to date.