UNION COUNTY LOCALSOURCE LOCALSOURCE.COM THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010— PAGE 29 NJ Ballet Co. dances with beauty By Bea Smith Staff Writer • An international array of ballet excellence was presented with "A Repertory Concert" Saturday evening by the New Jersey Ballet Co. at the company's old testing grounds. The Wilkins Theater at Kean University, Union, and its devoted audience welcomed Artis- tic Director Carolyn Clark's mas- terpiece offerings with enormous delight. The fact that the New Jersey Ballet Co., located in Livingston, is changing as it brings more Russian, European and Asian performers and artists to its American reper- toire. In the first part, 'four glorious segments of a variety of ballets had the audience in a state of awe. The first, "La Vivandiere, Pas de Six," was wonderfully interpreted by Michelle deFremery, Andre Luis Teixeira, Carmen Gonzalez, Ste- fanie Truppi, Kelly Lands and Kit Nemecek. It was beautifully chore- ographed by Arthur Sant-Leon, staged by Leonid Kozlov, with music by Cesare Pugni and cos- tumes by A. Christina Gianni. • One of the more popular ballets, "The Fairy Doll," with its comedic significance, boasted of a mar- velous • dancer with a wonderfully expressive face that taunted, teased and seduced two defeated young clowns, splendidly played by Andrees F. Neira and Vitaly Vert- erich. She is Kotoe Kojima-Noa, who is genuine proof -that ballets need no dialogue as she dances her > \ ., L :.'! I'. \ ; I.---.: 'V'\\ &-.v.v .,';^-;..• ..... -• • : . :->^ :. A-\ Kotoe Kojima-Noa and Alberty Davydov performing the worldwide favorite 'Flames of Paris.' way in an imaginative one-act bal- let about a toyshop where mechan- ical dolls come to life. Nicolai and Segei Legat served as choreogra- phers, with music by Riccardo Drigo. Luba Gulyaeva staged the pas de trois offering. Man Sugawa and Kuei-Hsien Chu — he is a welcomed newcom- er to the company — dance beauti- fully as a Pas de Deux in "Le Cor- saire," which was inspired by a poem by Lord Byron about a princess and a pirate shipwrecked on a desert island. Choreography is after Marius Petipa with music by Riccardo Drigo. "Para Dois," delightfully danced by Ana Luiza Luizi and Junio Teix- eira, was choreographed by Crinia Helena and Teixeira, with music by Tom Ze and costumes by Paul H. McRae. In the second part of the pro- gram, the ever popular "Esmeral- ihi." .1 P.is de Sk. JJl'ihrai 11K- Kean audience with dancers Ekate- rina Smurova, Sergio Amarante, Sarah Pennie, Ana Luiza Luizi, Lands and Kit Nemecek. The cho- reography was by Agrippina Vaganova after Petipa with music by Cesare Pugni and Riccardo Drigo. The audience welcomed Andrei Jouravlev, the tall, handsome expert dancer,, who paired with Kerry Mara Cox in "Poco Adagio." It was choreographed by the Sate George Tornal with music from Saint Saens, Symphony No. 3 and costumes by Vasia Benusi. It has, been on television as part of the Governor's Awards Program. The classical "Grand Pas Clas- sique," was beautifully performed by Mari ^Sugawa and Vladimir Roje. It was choreographed by Vic- tor GsoVsky with music by Fran- cois Auber and first-staged by the Royal Ballet in .1963. A worldwide audience favorite, "Flames of Paris," is set in the time of the French Revolution. And how wonderful to see Kojima-Noa, the many faceted performer, perform again — this time with Albert Davydov. What makes the New Jersey Ballet Co. so unique is that it has very little competition from the other national companies. Thanks to its artistic director, Clark, it has everything for which the other ballet groups are known —- with a little something extra to stimulate the cultural aspects of its company, its performers and 'its nppreeiarre audiences UC artistic workers show off paintings Ninth annual Union County art show highlights employees' work Since 2002, employees of the County of Union and their families have participated in a unique pro- gram that gives them the opportuni- ty to display their artistic creations. "What a pleasure it is to see the outstanding artwork done by Union County employees and their fami- lies," said Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski, liaison to the Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board. "Whether it's people who have exhibited before or new artists, the participants display a wide variety of work that always impresses with its quality." Entries will be accepted in the categories of painting, photogra- phy, artworks on paper, sculpture and crafts. Recognized artists and art pro- fessionals will serve as judges, selecting entrants for cash awards and honorable mention in the exhi- bition's five artistic classifications: amateur, intermediate, profession- al, teens 13 to 18 years old and youths age 12 and under. "We are happy to extend the invitation to enter the program to Union County College "employees and tlieir relatives again this year," said Freeholder Chairman Daniel P. Sulliyan. "We share the goal of The National Arts Program to reach as many people as possible of all ages, offering them a chance to display their artistic talents in a pubjic exhibition," he added The National Arts Program runs 84 annual programs reaching 450 cities in 44 states. The National Arts Program allows ail artists to upload their art- work, free of charge, to their online Interactive Gallery. To request a registration form and information, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Her- itage Affairs, 633 Pearl St., Eliza- beth, 908-558-2550. •' Si I I" $ '••>•:& - -\ 1 -•».' • • ' V STATE'S TOP TRUMPETER — At the Central Jersey Music Educators Association Symphonic Band concert, Nate Figueroa, a sophomore at Rahway High School was selected as one-of 15 of the best 100 trumpet players in the state. Af the high school, Nate performs in Marching Band, Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble. , Auppella 1 ! Bostgn^inal voul Pop band, i ^ April 25 M STEVE SOLOMONS M¥ MOTHER'S EWISH vmm Friday -April 30 -8PM HOSTED ROOT Friday -May 21 • 8PM America's celebrated harbinger of jam music fuses world rock, folk, and international percussion in a genre-bending perfoimanee.