Pop Smart - The way they move: A little more big

As I walk to my seat, I can’t help but notice the palpable static of expectancy and excitement running through this very atypical crowd of ballet-goers. Age, race, gender and money is of little apparent importance to the make-up of the human spectrum filing through the Fox’s gilded doors. It’s refreshing and unique, setting the tone for the evening of dance.

Several minutes from the show opening, dancers in various forms of costume and warm-up clothes preen across the stage, stretching, talking, moving — essentially rehearsing — in full view of the filling theater. Classical ballet merges with modern-influenced choreography to form a hodge-podge of movement, serving as a preview of what’s to come. And suddenly … there is that lull unique to theater, where the crowd has settled in and somewhere a stage manager has signaled a beginning.

Big Boi struts onstage in full Southern I’m-on-my-own-time style replete with hoodie and bright yellow socks. All bravado and bass, he’s in stark contrast to the array of dancers clad all in white behind him. The lights go out, the curtain falls and all I can think is showtime.

From the start, the ballet is a mix of confusing imagery, characters and concepts. One thing I was most curious (and concerned) about was how this performance would flow, what thread would tie the songs together and make a coherent story. It seems those producing the show had the same concerns but also had no answers.