Chosen: finding yourself in the dark.

Posted on by Thor

I went to a dress rehearsal of Chosen being presented by Marshall Ellis of ME Dance Inc. This production is incredibly urban, hip and edgy. This is an original new show created by Marshall. His fusion of
contemporary, ballet, hip hop and jazz dance will give audiences a new
fresh perspective to live performance art.

The entire back wall of the stage was used as a movie screen to open the show. A camera zoomed back through skyscrapers before settling in on a lone man in a hoodie walking in a parking lot. The rap music lyrics were about a life in which everything seems to go wrong.

A light spray of stage smoke caused the lights to showcase their cones of influence. The entire show was set largely in darkness. The dancers would become slivers of warm and cool highlights with their bodies blending into the darkness. The cast was mostly women with just two male dancers dressed in hoodies. I wondered if this was in some way a tribute to Trayvon Martin who was shot up in Sanford for walking through a white neighborhood with a hoodie on.

There was sensual dance along with spiritual yearning and the dancers stoically faced the future. The music echoed regrets of a relationship that didn’t last and the singers rise in a music industry which is blood thirsty. Sketching so much, I probably missed some of the more subtle story elements in the show. In general the theme involved the cast aspiring for greatness and always finding an endless struggle in the pursuit.

Performances of Chosen are on March 9th – 11th, 2018 at ME Theatre (1300 La Quinta Drive Orlando FL 3209.) Tickets are $20.

Dance Theatre of Orlando presents Change

Posted on by Thor

I went to a rehearsal for Change at ME Theatre (Marshall Ellis Theatre)
1300 La Quinta Drive #3, Orlando, Florida 32809. The choreography was by Marshall Ellis, and the show featured the popular hard hitting music of Bon Jovi. I recognized every tune. Many of the stage lights pointed right out at the audience, so my baseball hat was critical in blocking my eyes from the direct light. Light mist made the rays visible.

No more excuses. No more magical thinking. No more self-sabotage. You
know it won’t be easy, but so what? You’re committed to the goal. Love
is the only thing that can make a change in your life. The story line was supported by original video sequences, many of which were shot in the neighborhood. The story followed,a young man who was breaking out and starting life on his own. He lived loud and spiraled as he frequented dance halls. He eventually found true love which is how his life got back on track. The most beautiful dance sequence feature the female lead. Her performance was powerful and lyrical, truly inspired.

There are two more performances of Change.

Tickets are available.

Tonight, Saturday March 25 at 8:30pm.

Sunday March 26 at 8:30pm.

Dance Theater of Orlando Presents Touch.

Posted on by Thor

I went to a tech rehearsal for Dance Theater of Orlando‘s presentation of Touch, The Human Experience. The Dance Theater of Orlando is funded by ME Dance a not-for-profit organization founded by Marshall Ellis in 2011. The ME Theater is located at 1300 La Quinta Drive Orlando Florida which is 2 short drive so of the Florida Mall. I arrived just as Alex Schudde Ellis was opening the theater. The dancers stretched in preparation of the run through of the show.

Touch follows the lives of twelve people who are dealing with their vulnerable lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during the Great Depression. In the pre-show, video was projected of a UPA era cartoon that encouraged people to invest in the stock market. What followed was a montage of black and white photos from the Great Depression. The minimal set gave hints of a shanty town. A narrator related the history as President Roosevelt created New Deal programs to help raise the country from it poverty.

As the story unfolds, we are first introduced to Billy (Abram Garcia)
and Diamond Jackie (Alex Schudde), the lead couple whose story is
interwoven throughout the show to showcase how they handle their
relationship struggle through trying times after Billy develops a
fascination for the Fish Lady (Sara Rose Smith). The dynamic chemistry
portrayed during their introductory dance will have the audience fall in
love with these characters and cheer for the recuperation of their
relationship throughout the struggles, but only time will tell what will
become of their relationship.

As the show continues, the audience is continually introduced to a
cast of new characters who all hold endearing traits that
evolve through the show as they each try to figure out how to survive
the Great Depression and find their true selves. The wide assortment of
personalities include: Vibes Man (Christopher McKenzie) who is searching
for his lost soul; Frank and Mary (Nathan Greenberg and Lauren
Sherwood), the wide-eyed, innocent and bashful coming-of-age couple in
the countryside; and many others who represent different social and
economic classes.

As all of their lives come together, there is one inevitable factor
that continues to motivate them to push through: the human touch. Despite their own
struggles, they make an effort to help raise each other up it ultimately
leads to each character reawakening. Each song from Bruce
Springsteen is specifically selected to represent the emotions and
current hardships of the characters, which creates a smooth, consistent
transition between all of the different stories as they blend together.



Charlie Chaplin as The Dictator filled the theater with his speech that stressed peace and compassion. After seeing so many images of suffering during the depression his speech stressed that war is never the answer.  I have seen the Dictator on TV, but seeing it larger than life certainly makes an impression like OZ’s visage in smoke.

By the last number, it becomes clear that love conquers all. All twelve dancers  filled the stage with their energy. Lauren Sherwood leaped and flew with endless grace supported by a male dancer. This is when dance seems magical as it defies gravity’s pull. Couples united and hope endured as Springsteen’s music roared it’s approval.

Mark Your Calendars. 

Touch, the Human Experience runs…

March 4-6 at 8:30pm and March 11-13 at 8:30pm

ME Theater 1300 La Quinta Drive Orlando FL 32809

Tickets are $20

Bella: The Beauty of ME Dance

Posted on by Thor

ME Dance, Inc. is the Newest Professional Dance Organization located in the heart of
Central Florida.
I went to one of the final dress rehearsals for Bella by the Marshall Ellis Dance Company.  Bella is the second series of performances by this dance company. When I arrived, dancers were stretching and Marshall was sweeping the stage and applying what I’m guessing was a liquid wax to the flooring.  One dancer was wearing a white tutu and of course I felt compelled to sketch her. She was the first dancer to perform a solo. A large screen was set up onto which a video of this dancer was projected. She walked through a park and then began writing in her note book about life’s challenges and emotions. Each dance was preceded by one of these video segments in which she wrote about various aspects of life as she grew and matured. The human experience of love is designed for the sole purpose of showing you
who you truly are and it is expressed vibrantly through dance.

After a full run through, Marshall Ellis asked the dancers if they could recite the dance company’s mission statement. It is, “To introduce innovative ideas through
dance to create growth in the arts community. Our goal is to enrich the
arts community by providing an outlet to feature talent in art through
entertainment.”  He felt the first run was technically amazing but he wanted to feel that undefinable spark, the magic and joy of fully expressed emotion through entertainment. It wasn’t just about a smile, but about absolute commitment to artistic expression. With another hour to rehearse, the dancers performed a second time. This time they performed “all out”. A high energy 80’s dance number had all the dancers trying to catch their breath. Marshall has invested so much of himself to make ME Dance, the premiere dance company in Central Florida. That takes plenty of blood sweat and tears. As I left around 11PM, the dancers were still hard at work. Art isn’t easy.

Show Times:

November 23, 2012 – 8pm

November 24, 2012 – 8pm

November 25, 2012 – 7:30pm

Ticket Prices:
$20 General Admission 

Venue:
John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, The Mandell Theatre
Orlando Shakespeare Theater 812 E. Rollins St. Orlando, FL 32803