Review: Atlanta Ballet explores three different worlds in Man in Black

New mixed program allows the company to dive into distinct styles

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  • Photo by C. McCullers, Courtesy of Atl Ballet
  • Dancer Peng Yu Chen in “1st Flash” by Jorma Elo.

Man in Black, the Atlanta Ballet’s new mixed program of three contemporary works, takes the stage this weekend at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. The program provides an engaging glimpse at three distinct and wildly diverse styles of movement, which the Atlanta Ballet takes on with commitment and energy.

The opening piece “Moments of Dis,” choreographed by young emerging Atlanta choreographer Juel Lane, is an energetic tour-de-force combining hip-hop moves with broadly expressive, graceful, even classically-tinged gestures. Lane has said that he likes to utilize fast movement, and the piece certainly provides: dancers move from one movement to the next with lightning-like agility, and one composition or physical pattern will emerge and then fade almost as soon as it’s glimpsed. The kaleidoscopic opening segment with its shifting arrangements of dancers, occasionally clicking into synchronous movement and then snapping out and merging into another pattern, focuses on the theme of “discombobulation.” Lane’s movement style certainly suggests a strong influence from beat-driven, full-bodied hip-hop, but there’s also a really interesting vein of theatricality that hints more towards Broadway and Fosse. Composer Quentin “EQ” Johnson’s score with its driving baseline and funky, detailed variations is a delight from the top of the piece to the end. Dancer Heath Gill is a standout in the third section with his natural grasp of the piece’s melding of funk, drama and cool. In all, it’s such a disjunct in style from ballet, it truly opens your eyes to the grace and skill of the company.

The work’s premiere is especially exciting because Lane is the first independent Atlanta-based choreographer commissioned by the Atlanta Ballet, and the work also represents Lane’s first major commission. Lane’s work seems right at home set on the Atlanta Ballet alongside pieces by more experienced, internationally-established choreographers, and the young artist will be a fascinating talent to watch as his career develops.