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DANCE
A Dancer’s Perspective on
Swing
Review by Julia Holland
Show Business, Inc.
Swing! is a music and dance lover’s dream, filled with scenes hopping with dance and live music. The production is definitely appealing: it takes us to an era where elegant night clubs filled ballrooms with people swinging to the thrilling music of a ten-piece orchestra. The musical reminds us of evenings spent dancing, the toe tapping rhythms of the music and the excitement of watching great couples bop across the floor.
Performer Everett Bradley sparkles like a gem on stage, adding a touch of funk to his polished role with his singing and dancing. In contrast, Swing!’s leading lady, Ann Hampton Calloway looks as stiff as a schoolmarm in her business suits. Her voice does not inspire the rich jazzy tones of a torch singer such as Dinah Washington; she moves uncomfortably, much like a wooden soldier (she might try Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular). She shines when she finally sits down at the piano keys and performs as she usually does, singing and playing cabaret style.
Some of the individuality that makes swing and other types of social dancing so exciting is of course lost in the choreographed Broadway production. In fact, many of the numbers in the first act are not swing style dance. Several scenes of dance were merely regurgitated standard commercial jazz dance. High kicks, quick patters of the feet and flicks of jazz hands all disappoint. One sassy and seductive soloist flirts with a string bass –not the musician but the instrument. She rolls her hips, all movements are slinky: a wonderful performance, but we miss the stomping rhythms and exquisite partnering of swing style.
Fortunately, the delightful husband and wife team of Erik Robison and Sylvia Skylar come along, moving with ease and individuality in their own choreography. Left with the stage to themselves, they bop around each other in perfect rhythm, Ms. Skylar swinging into lofty lifts in her beaded pink cardigan and skirt.
On the brighter side, the second act introduces the four-time world champions of country swing, Laureen Baldovi and Robert Royston. Decked out in cowboy boots and hat, the duo spins and twirls quickly and smoothly in this country style. They impress with their constant tangle and untangle of arms, sliding over heads and hats in luxurious fluidity. The orchestra also captivates with an electric guitar version of "Caravan," one of Duke Ellington’s most fascinating pieces. Enchanting also is "Bill’s Bounce" in which the women are attached to spring harnesses. They fly ten feet above their partners’ heads and accomplish triple flips before touching down. The scene is lively, brimming with enthusiastic energy.
Swing!, while colorful, well choreographed and creative, lacks a certain sense of diversity important to social dance. Both the music and dance need more personal flair and individual style rather than cookie cutter perfection. Most of the dance numbers are of similar tempo, thus restricting the chance to see truly fast-footed, ground-shaking jives or more peaceful, playful slow steps.
