Big International Gala VI rocked the house, the final piece in a night of superb dance from virtuoso ballet dancers.
BIG Live is a brand-new production company from Australia, formed in the wake of the viral madness which engulfed the world in 2020 (Year Zero), and continues to reverberate with its aftershocks.
The two principals are Joel Burke from Brisbane, and Khalid Tarabay, originally from Glasgow Scotland.
Burke first learnt to tap dance age 3, before becoming a dancer with the Queensland Ballet Academy, and the first to represent that company and Australia at the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. He is the chief choreographer and artistic director.
Khalid Tarabay is an entertainment lawyer and producer and leads the company in opening ballet and dance to a wider and more commercial audience.
I would like to broaden the base to people who would not traditionally be the typical ballet audience.
The company are visionary in seeing synergy between modern contemporary music which encompasses Rock’n’roll, Jazz, Folk and all manner of Americana, that being one of America’s greatest gifts to the planet.
Musical events are already approaching that synergy from the Popular music end. Just to name the big extravaganzas that have hit this small island nation in the last few years (and by extension the much bigger brother Australia).
Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, 50 Cent, P!nk, Kendrick Lamarr, Dua Lipa. Big shows with multiple dancers and extravagant choreography. Capped by laser lights, pyrotechnics, massive screens as back drops with stunning visual effects.
BIG Live is funded with no government support. This is an important distinction as we all saw how precarious this funding model can be with the pandemic restrictions and how the Arts can be sacrificed by governments.
Being born in this environment may be a strength. Already the company has had success with attendances to big productions like Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker and Dracula which will be presented here in October this year.
The opening piece is Summertime, the classic timeless Pop song with its strong connection to the antebellum South, written by DuBose Heyward, George and Ira Gershwin.
A dreamy flowing dance made lyrical by the chief choreographer Joel Burke paired with principal dancer Abbey Hansen from Brisbane
The BIG band are present on this number, but we hear them in all their heavy Rock glory with the Finale.
The band gets to cut loose and power up with dynamic power chords hinting vaguely at the improvising riff merchants that was Cream in their heyday.
The dancers translate this into fluid seamless flowing performance which is taken a step beyond the aerobic styles of afore-mentioned shows.
Erotic and sensual is built in. The performers already have great bodies and physiques, and seduction has always been a part of traditional ballet.
Between those two book-ending performances we enjoy items from Swan Lake. Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote, Diana and Acteon.
One of the most arresting pieces is Sola, performed by celebrated ballerina Iana Solenko, principal dancer with the Kyiv Ballet, and with Marian Walter, a German dancer highly regarded for his perfection of technique.
A study in psychological torment. The story of a gifted ballerina becoming lost in her own deteriorating mental state and searching for a lifeline back. One of the most emotional pieces of the presentation.
There is a compelling preview of the coming Dracula, with Abbey Hansen and Huw Pritchard. Pritchard is a Queenslander but became a professional dancer in New Zealand with Ballet Collective Aotearoa.
The BIG Gala VI was a masterful show with stunning virtuoso performers that continually thrilled the packed Civic Theatre.
Rev. Orange Peel
