By Burt Saidel
Theatrical experiences can surpass all norms of virtuosity. These transcendent episodes are rare but their effect is indelible.
Danny Beaty is a Daytonian. He attended the Miami Valley School. While there, he became a National Forensic Champion. His speeches, characterizations and dramatic monologues went leagues beyond any high school expectations.After Miami Valley, Danny attended Yale. There, his forensic talents were respected, but the diagnosis was that he was an opera singer. He studied under some of the renowned teachers in the Yale Music School. After graduation, an Artist-in-Residence contract with San Francisco Opera led to a residency in Italy.
His heart was always, in spite of this splendid array of opportunities, in the world of drama. Now in New York, he has become a playwright creating dramatic evocations for his favorite actor – himself.
Danny’s acute dramatic sense is wed to an elegant education and a piercing view of the human condition. This has led to the creation of a series of one-man shows. These are explorations into life, into philosophy and history. All aspects of that ephemeral and yet perpetual spirit of life become rare looks into the soul of the author, the soul of the actor and the souls of the audience.
Danny draws on the black experience for his latest work Emergence-See! The premise draws on the surreal. A slave ship suddenly appears on the Hudson River in front of the Statue of Liberty. The time – the present.
Danny’s prose and his dramatic delivery take the form of some forty characters. With changes in voice, posture and physical power, each character emerges with individuality and with its own message. The characterizations weave a fabric that transcends the black experience and emerges into a philosophy as broad and insightful as works of Shakespeare and O’Neil.
What is next for Danny is as much a mystery as his uncanny ability to deliver his own manuscript with mesmerizing dramatic power. We can only guess what is next. What is certain is that the scope of his writing will grow and that his dramatic talents will keep pace with it.
On the other end of the dramatic scale are the works of Dayton’s Rhythm in Shoes. This teeming bunch of talented artists bills themselves as a “traditional dance company.” Their tradition, rich in the dance and music of America, was drawn from those cultures which fed this great nation.
They tap, clog, reel, jig and do any form of movement which expresses the fertile imaginations of Artistic Directors Sharon Leahy and Rick Good. The opening concert of the 2005-06 season brought Rhythm in Shoes to the Victoria stage with a gathering of old greats.
The company, dancers and musicians, was augmented by the return of alumni such as Nate Cooper, Abby Ladin, Beth Butler Wright and John Timm. The conclave also revived many memorable moments of past performances.
John Timm, a world champion Irish step dancer, performed with RIS regularly in the “great old days.” Time stands still as John still looks as youthful and handsome as ever. His feet move with perpetual motion and remarkable grace as he does his Irish specialty.
Nate Cooper is also timeless and tireless in his pursuit of comedy and dance energy. I have always considered him a double clone of Gene Kelly and Ray Bolger. His dancing and natural zaniness reinforce that conception each time I have the opportunity to enjoy his performances.
The last time we saw Abby Ladin dance with the company, she was nearly to term with her first pregnancy. Now her son is four years old and she still dances like a teenager. Beth Butler Wright continued that tradition by returning to Dayton and the RIS concert visibly with child. Like Abby , her energies and her talents are unchanged.
The regular dancers, Sharon Leahy, Gina Burgei, Emma Leahy-Good, Tina DeAlderete and Janet Schroeder, continue to use the music of Rick Good’s band to the absolute maximum. The program displayed every remembered jewel of the past and a bunch of new ones.
The comedy routines remain crystalline. Hearing Rick Good recite the list of salad dressings in the timeless skit, Ladies Lunch, is like watching the audience during a film showing of The Sound of Music. Nearly everyone’s lips were moving synchronously with the riotous dialogue.
The evening did not end with the concert. Patrons transferred to the Rhythm in Shoes fourth floor studios in the Metropolitan Arts Center for the Shuffle Ball. There, lavished with good food and libations, the dancing continued.
There were brave audience members who danced with the company dancers. I was not one of those as my two left feet would have been too obvious. When in the rarified company of these great entertainers and artists, I am quite content to be a wall flower.
For the first time Dayton Ballet, with support from C & O Printing and The Digital Fringe, will host an art contest where children ages 3-12 can enter their own original artwork of THE NUTCRACKER for the opportunity of having their art on the cover of the 2005 Dayton Ballet NUTCRACKER program. Entries will be accepted through Oct. 15, 2005. All entries must be drawn vertically on an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of blank white paper to be eligible. Each piece must include, on the reverse side, the child’s and parent’s name, address, phone number and age of the child on the reverse side. Entries should be sent to the Dayton Ballet at 140 N. Main Street, Dayton, OH 45402. Only one entry per child will be accepted.
The winner of the contest will have their artwork reproduced as the cover of every 2005 Dayton Ballet THE NUTCRACKER Program. In addition, the winning child will receive 4 complimentary tickets to THE NUTCRACKER and dinner ($100 gift card) at UNO Chicago Grill. The winner will be announced on November 1, 2005 and each family of the 200 eligible entries will be informed of their child’s artwork being on display. The first 200 entries received will be displayed at the Schuster Center during every performance of THE NUTCRACKER, December 16-23, 2005.
OHS alumna Jane A. (Sherriff) Black, executive director of the Dayton Visual Arts Center (DVAC), will be the judge of the art contest.
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