Pilobolus — TRIPS at the Mahalia Jackson Theater
The New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) kicked off its season with the return of the beloved dance troupe Pilobolus. As I approached the Mahalia Jackson Theater, I thought I had seen them fairly recently but it turned out I hadn’t enjoyed them since 2003. (I was actually thinking of their spin-off company MOMIX which had visited here in 2023.) It was good to see this now 55-year-old company again.
Pilobolus, which takes its name from a shape-shifting fungus, offered a 90-minute program under the collective heading of TRIPS of four works, two classic, one relatively new, and one a stand-out.
The stand-out was Lamentation Variations which was conceived by Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Center, and premiered in New York on September 11, 2007, to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. The work is based on a film from the early 1940s of the legendary dancer/choreographer performing movements from her then new, and now iconic, solo, Lamentation.
In Lamentation Variations, Costume Designer Márion Talán de la Rosa takes inspiration from the stretchy body stocking worn by Graham in Lamentation and clothes the six dancers in similar outfits. This allows images of Graham’s face from the aforementioned film to be projected on the fabric as the performers undulate, referencing Graham’s original choreography, to mesmerizing effect.
The dancers then break apart and, bathed in fuchsias, blues and greens by Lighting Design Brian Tovar, move sinuously in solo, duo and trio combinations to create an eerie, mysterious and very cool homage that functions as a very satisfying dance work even if you have no knowledge of Graham and her Lamentation.
Pilobolus performing Lamentation Variations
The evening opened with Bloodlines created by Renée Jaworski and Matt Kent in collaboration with Marlon Feliz and Hannah Klinkman, in which Anouk Otsea and Kalyan Sayre metamorphosed through various figurations that recalled humans, animals, machines and even amoebae. It’s a minor Pilobolus work, but still a lovely one.
The second half of the program was taken up by Day Two (1981), directed by Moses Pendleton, one of Pilobolus’ founding members. In its different segments, the choreography, as the work’s title implies, has a primeval feel, a sense reinforced by the dancers wearing nothing but flesh-colored undergarments. To a propulsive score of Talking Heads songs by David Byrne and Brian Eno, we see a series of marvelous visual effects–one dancer stands on another’s upraised soles; a quartet of kneeling men bow down and rise up as in some ancient ritual; two women are draped on poles each carried/tilted by two men for a wondrous sculptural effect–culminating in a joyously exuberant finale as the dancers, in various combinations, slide across a surface strip coated with water.
Sandwiched between Bloodlines and Lamentation Variations was Walklyndon, choreographed by Robby Barnett, Lee Harris, Moses Pendleton, and Jonathan Wolken, that captures the playful essence of the company’s early days. Inspired by silly walks and slapstick, this is a one-note joke but a funny one with many variations as five dancers keep crossing the stage and bumping into each other, avoiding each other, getting entangled with each other, etc., etc.
Walklyndon did provide the evening’s absolute highlight. We were told during Executive Director Jenny Hamilton’s and Board Chair Gregory Curtis’ curtain speech to look for some community members on stage during the course of the evening. Well, who should traverse the stage during Walklyndon? Three members of the 610 Stompers in their iconic outfits–bravo! Only in New Orleans.
In addition to Otsea and Sayre, the company included Alexis Cruz-Castro, Quncy Ellis, Ryan Hayes and Isaac Huerta, all of whom have amazingly limber bodies that they use to fabulous effect.
Hope it won’t be another 23 years before I see Pilobolus again.
[NOBA continues its season on November 14 with Alonzo King LINES Ballet. For tickets and more information, go to https://nobadance.com/performances/2026-alonzo-king-lines-ballet/]
Dracula at The Orpheum Theater October 30 and 31
[New Orleans Ballet Theatre’s Dracula returns for a limited Halloween run. Here are excerpts from my October 2025 review of it.]
The last time I attended a New Orleans Ballet Theatre (NOBT) performance was in the spring of 2019. I noted then that it had been a while since I had seen one of their presentations and, watching its glorious production of Cinderella made me realize how much I missed taking in live classical ballet.
I felt the same way after seeing NOBT’s splendid Dracula recently at The Orpheum Theater. Granted, the pandemic and unavoidable scheduling conflicts have kept me away, but, in the future, I hope NOBT will be a regular part of my cultural activities here. It should be for you too.
NOBT premiered Dracula in May 2024 and brought this two-act ballet back for the 2025 Halloween season. Wise move.
Oliver Halkowich’s appropriately moody production delivers the highlights of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel with a pinch of camp, some melodrama, a soupçon of humor, and a good dose of romanticism all of which you’d expect in any contemporary retelling of this vampire tale.
To a score that interweaves classical music with such pop songs as Come On-A My House, Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s Strange Things Happening Every Day, and an arrangement for strings of Fever, Peggy Lee’s signature tune, Halkowich provides choreography that is intelligent, sophisticated and beautiful to look at. Images range from a lovely horse carriage ride to some homoerotic coupling to strange goings-on involving apparently mechanized dolls that reminded me of Stepford wives. It all culminates with a powerful ending, though a brief epilogue did seem unnecessary.
The 2025 cast of NOBT’s Dracula
Josh Reynolds made a suitably sexy Count Dracula, and the entire rest of the cast was excellent: Jackson Rankin as the lawyer Harker who’s drawn to Transylvania; Sara Falstad as his adored Mina; Lily Mangiaruga as Lucy, an innocent victim of the vampire; Sterling Waterfield and Jo-Ann Sundermeier, as two very different rivals for Lucy’s affections; Aaron Wiggins as the insane Renfield; and Nicholas Gaifullin as a hunkier than usual Van Helsing, the vampire slayer. Special mention must be made of the superb corps de ballet with Kaylin Wilson a particular standout. [I’m not sure of the 2026 cast.]
The ballet’s potent soundscape included yapping dogs, clanking doors, and spoken passages as well as the aforementioned music. On a stage occasionally swathed in fog or smoke, Duncan Becker added just-right fluid, expressionistic lighting.
It’s possible that NOBT’s Dracula will become an annual Halloween season event like The Nutcracker at Christmas. I hope it does. If you go, you may want to read (or reread) the novel (or its Wiki page) beforehand just to be able to keep all the characters straight, but, whether you do or don’t, it would be an absolutely bloody shame to miss this outstanding dance program.
[For more information and tickets, go to https://www.neworleansballettheatre.com/]
