Christopher Fleming’s Myth and the Madness of Edgar Allan Poe depicts an abstract re-telling of the life of Edgar Allan Poe and his dissension into madness. A short painful life reared by the heavy hands of desertion and death. Abandoned by his father and disowned by his foster father, Edgar Allan Poe retreated to the women in his life to find emotional stability and comfort, but it was not to be. Disease was common, and seemingly all who held Poe’s adoration and chance at emotional salvation, all succumb fatal epidemics.
Without these demons, crushing poverty, and his own haunting discontentment, one can scarcely imagine that the depths of Poe’s dark genius and macabre visions would have ever seen the light of day. But now for the first time, in more than just prose and poetry on a page, the lifework and spirit of Edgar Allan Poe are transporting someplace new…the ballet stage. While the uniting of the written word and the movement of ballet is nothing new, renowned ballet choreographer Christopher Fleming has created a new ballet that will take word and dance into an eerie and mysterious direction and onto the stage.
About Ballet Fleming
The goal of Ballet Fleming is to inspire, engage, entertain and educate the public through the works of its Artistic Director, Christopher Fleming. Established in 2010, the company is guided by this purpose in its performances, teaching, outreach activities and commitment to the community. In creating works by choreographer, writer and director Christopher Fleming, we will explore innovative approaches to storytelling, musical theatre and symphonic expositions. By drawing upon the emotional and artistic aspirations of movement, music and drama to bring that to life, we produce dance that is visually striking, innately musical and inherent to the human condition and our deepest of realms of expression.
Ballet Fleming The Myth and The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe
Friday March 9th at 8PM
Saturday March 10th at 2PM & 7PM
Mandell Theatre, Drexel Campus, Philadelphia, PA
Info: 215-454-2858 or [email protected]
Tickets www.tix.com Keyword:Fleming
***Photo Credit: Brian Mengini
Steven is currently the CEO of Delaware Valley on Line, one of the first regional Internet Service Provides that now focuses on business-class web hosting, design, and internet marketing. He is president and founder of Rainbow Promotions Inc., a special events and entertainment agency established in the late 70’s, that services corporate and retail accounts both locally and nationally.
Steven is the Founder of PhiladelphiaDANCE.org,the largest web presence and resource for the dance community in the greater Philadelphia region, and the Founder and Editor of The Dance Journal. His involvement in the dance community extends to being Director of Graffito Works, an international platform for dancers and performing artists to create site-specific work and to make it readily accessible to the public.
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Tonight I saw the best dance performance I’ve ever seen.
What drew me to go see the performance was a misconception and assumption on my part that was wrong. There was no interspersing of poetry with dance. There was no need. The “poetry” was in the dance. Simultaneously visually loud and silently beautiful but for the music.
The performance of “The Myth and the Madness of Edgar Allan Poe” by BalletFleming at the Mandell Theatre at Drexel University was introduced by “The Spirit of Poe” who said, “These words are for those who feel rather than think.”
…And that was evident from the white cloth that evoked “spirits in the graveyard” to the choreography that repeatedly depicted the rejection, isolation and separation of Poe from his loved ones. The sad story of his life played out depicting the tragic losses of his mother, his father, his surrogate father, his lover, and his wife. These losses ultimately led him to descend into madness but oh the wonderful poetic images as the choreography showed us his pain.
The star of this production is truly the choreographer Christopher Fleming. In scene after scene, his ensemble numbers, duets or trios evoke emotion.
Of special note is the delightfully evil Black Raven perfectly portrayed by Holly Curran. Also, Poe’s wife, danced by Adrianna de Svastich, showed her exquisite artistry.
The musical score by David Goldstein MD is appropriately hauntingly beautiful and laced with anguish.
Choreographer Christopher Fleming, a former New York City Ballet member, upon encouragement by George Balanchine, began his career as a choreographer. In 2010 he formed BalletFleming here in Philadelphia.
Tonight’s choreography and the perfectly executed performances by this new and exciting company means supporters should be lining up for the privilege of donating money to BalletFleming to create more new original works of art.
If you don’t have BalletFleming on your radar please adjust your priorities.
Karen Harlin
Wayne PA
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