LUMINARIO BALLET AT THE WALLIS

I just saw a full evening of the Luminario Ballet at The Wallis this past week-end, and I’m proud to say that I’m the person who actually started the ball rolling of bringing them to my favorite theatre.

A handful of years ago, the director of the company asked me to introduce her to one of the people in charge there, and to talk Luminario up so they could get their own night at the theatre, both of which I did, of course. I always worry about getting involved in giving recommendations, (which is why I rarely do it anymore,) but The Wallis is so good to the dance community that I figured they’d be receptive to it, and, of course, I was correct.

I love that Luminario combines two of my favorite things—ballet and aerial. To be honest, the aerials (outside of those performed by Jamal Story,) were not exactly Cirque du Soleil-quality, (and, in most cases, not even those of AGT,) but it was great to see them so up-close, and on a real stage, (as opposed to a circus one.) And, despite the company’s moniker, there was very little actual ballet in this evening of multiple programs. There were only two girls occasionally on toe in the whole show! It was more contemporary dance than ballet, which is still a joy to witness live.

And this was an excellent show with superior dancers. My friend Carolyn, a former dancer herself, loved most of it. (Although, some in the audience did not. I’ll explain at the bottom of this review.)

The first half consisted of seven short dances, (the diversity of which I appreciated,) while the second half was one full presentation I had reviewed favorably before. And I have thoughts on all of it! Of course.

The dancing in the first number, Hard as a Rock, was wonderful, but the choreography didn’t go to the music, at all. It was very strange. It would have been better to see it with no music.

The second was a replacement number, with the exquisite Jamal Story soloing to a recording of Barack Obama speaking about homeless veterans. I quickly realized that you can never go wrong with anything Jamal does!

Tend, a number danced by three guys, (one who replaced someone with just a few days rehearsal!,) was especially good.

Conversely, WRYD Tango was not only a waste of time, but the supposed “singing” in it was dreadful! It was just painful noise! I wanted that time back.

And then the evening picked back up right away with the very next number, set to the music of the tragically-late reggae star, Peter Tosh. Just about everything about it was wonderful–the music, choreography, and dancing. Except when the screen showed way too much movement, like trains on tracks. Actually, most of the videos in the entire Luminario program were superfluous; they overwhelmed the dancing we were trying to concentrate on.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I abhor talking in dance shows! So Hexenstucke, a number with a trio of women moving around in white mesh that was suspended from the ceiling, while the oldest one talked about her life, was not my favorite. But the use of the nylon itself was interesting, if a bit stifling to me. And it was also a revelation to see such a mature performer doing a bit of ariels. That was impressive. Many people can barely even move at that age! You go, girl!

Next up was a video of a number that could have easily been performed on the stage instead that night. And it would have been more powerful that way. It seemed like the too-long-but-short film was produced for a previous event, and they just wanted to get extra use out of it, like a bridesmaid’s dress. But we were there to see a live show, not a video, so that section of the show was disappointing. And it received a very tepid response.

If The Walls Could Scream was reduced to solely a pas de deux because of the absence of one of the regular dancers due to Covid, but it was lovely. And the perfect ending to Act I.

The entire second half was taken up by The Last Supper, which is the Luminario’s presentation I had seen before. Back then, it was performed on the dance floor of an alternative club in an area of LA that I had never even known of before. So I was more than happy to see it again in the classy and beautiful environs of the Wallis in Beverly Hills! It was excellent the first time I saw it, but it was even better here, on a real stage.

The star of the multi-scene dance was Jamal Story, as Jesus. He received the most applause from the knowledgeable audience in a pre-show introduction of all the choreographers, so we knew we were in for something special that night. Besides all his incredible talent, Jamal is what every guy should look like! (And probably wish they did!)

I loved everything about this act, especially, a number with three girls in shiny capes. Boy, could they twirl those things!

But to be fair, I have to say that we saw a lot of audience members leave during The Last Supper. Of course, part of that exodus could be attributed to the fact that the entire program began much later than planned, therefore, people might have had other post-show commitments the had to get to, (i.e. dinner reservations, baby-sitters who had to leave, or just a plain old meet-up with the sandman.) But Carolyn wondered if perhaps the uber-classy Wallis was the wrong venue for a dance company that pantomimed many sex acts and featured very loud music. She might just be correct.

But we enjoyed seeing it all, as my entire retinue and I do just about everything at the Wallis!

So, to join us in all that specialness, please click here to see their upcoming schedule: www.thewallis.org.