Dance Spotlight - a night with the Boston Ballet Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer

The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University brought an evening of dance, inspiration and discussion about the world of dance for free.

Last night at 6:30 p.m. I left my dance rehearsal early to the disappointment of my choreographer and headed to the Tsai Performance Arts Center on the BU East T stop (my mistake from a previous post, I incorrectly wrote BU Central T stop).

The "show" was essentially Jorma Elo (pronounced Yorma) conducting a rehearsal for sections from the world premiere "Brake the Eyes" which will be showcased in "New Visions" in two weeks. This was followed by a question and answer with the associate director for PR at the Boston Ballet Sheryl Flatow and Elo and Mikko Nissinen, the Artistic Director for the Boston Ballet.

One of the most interesting things I found out is that Nissinen and Elo met when they were 10 and 11 years old (respectively) on their way to a ballet school in Finland, and they are lifelong friends that get to work together and collaborate at one of the world's most renowned ballet companies.

The dancers were in practice clothing, relaxed and attentive, sometimes even joking with Elo.

It was a bit unnerving and I felt almost starstrck as Larissa Ponomarenko, a principal dancer for the Boston Ballet, practiced a bit of choreography that was far from what I expected from the frail-looking blonde.

She used her small body to portray powerful and "heavy" movement as Elo called it.

The pas de deux's were interesting and unique, and the dancers moved with ease, never flinching or making a mistake. It seemed to be what dance should be.

During the discussion, both Nissenen and Elo, Finland natives, made comments that stayed with me, and probably will for the rest of my life.

Elo seems to be a simple yet driven man who realized that he loved choreography more than dance, even after being a professional dancer for a long time. He expressed enthusiasm about working with dancers and feeling inspired by them.

Elo has world premiered several pieces with the Boston Ballet including "Plan to B" which he described as his struggle between choosing two remain a dancer or becoming a full-time choreographer. He choreographed the piece at a time when he still was a dancer, and it really reflected a certain point in his life.

Elo's choreography is focused and personal. He always has a clear point and all his movement goes together, and is its own style.

My night out was well-worth the $3.40 round-trip T ride from BU's campus, because being in an environment to hear professionals discussing what they do, how they do it and why they do it is fantastic.

Because dance is something very hard to explain, even to other dancers.