There’s a homecoming moment in “Twyla Tharp’s The Princess and the Goblin.” About a dozen children sprint across the stage into the arms of their parents, reunited after Goblins have held them captive in the underworld. The adults embrace them, lift them up and rotate them overhead in individual orbits.
The moment caps an emotional roller-coaster ride, at times scary, humorous and mysterious, culminating in forgiveness and redemption between parents and children. In a kingdom blinded by vanity, innocence is restored.
“The Princess and the Goblin,” co-produced by Atlanta Ballet and Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, received its world premiere on Feb. 10 at the Cobb Energy Centre and runs through Sunday.
Appropriate for all ages, it is not to be missed.
Tharp, a historic dance figure at 70, continues to push boundaries with a story, adapted from George MacDonald’s 19th-century fantasy, which has never been tapped for ballet before. Though most of Tharp’s works tend toward abstraction with a strong theatrical bent, she has tackled stories in her Broadway shows; her last narrative ballet, Mr. Worldly Wise for London’s Royal Ballet, dates back to 1995. None of these have focused on children. Consistent with much of her 47-year career, even as a crowd-pleaser, she’s an innovator.
Tharp has pushed Atlanta Ballet’s dancers to make enormous artistic strides. Her choreography – intricate rhythm, quick direction changes and daredevil partnering – combine with nuanced acting through 70 minutes of nonstop action.
Under Ari Pelto’s direction, the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra plays a score orchestrated and arranged by Richard Burke. The mix of Franz Schubert’s and Burke’s music recalls the era in which Schubert lived, when ballerinas began rising onto the tips of their toes.
It’s a fitting context for the tale of Princess Irene, a girl on the verge of womanhood. Alessa Rogers, whose supple feet are as responsive as her spontaneous facial expressions, dances as the young heroine who rises onto pointe as she matures.
In her quest to rescue her sisters, Stella (Stella McFall) and Blu (Flannery Bogost), Irene’s friend Curdie (Jacob Bush) and Eleven Stolen Children, Irene uses her hard-tipped shoes, first as a weapon on Goblins’ tender feet, and later to teach them grace and compassion.
John Welker plays both Irene’s King Papa and his doppelganger, the Goblin King. Clad in a gold-trimmed, black velvet suit designed by Anne Armit, he is part haughty aristocrat, part rock star, and all consummate performer.
Aided by designer Caleb Levengood’s billowing white fabric, under Don Holder’s magical lighting, Christine Winker as Irene’s ethereal Great-Great-Grandmother appears with her chorus of Companions, bringing Irene strength to overcome each obstacle.
Tara Lee doubles as Lootie, the nanny, and as Goblin Queen, whose tightly wound personality changes moment by moment from flirtatious to flippant to grandiose. In a bravura pas de deux with Welker, she skids across the floor, whips through turns and shoots into a Black Swan arabesque.
Dual worlds and doppelganger roles could be the product of a real child’s imagination. It’s refreshing to see that an artist of Tharp’s stature, who could rest on her laurels, would create a vision of a world seen through a child’s eyes. It’s a delightful paradox that a work as complex, detailed and multilayered as “The Princess and the Goblin” restores innocence and wonder to the stage.
Cynthia Bond Perry is dance critic at ArtsCriticATL.com.
Dance Review
“Twyla Tharp's The Princess and the Goblin”. Atlanta Ballet. 8 p.m. Feb. 17-18; 2 p.m. Feb.19. $20-$120. Cobb Energy Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway. 1-800-982-2787, www.atlantaballet.com.
About the Author
