by Stephanie Manning
BlueWater Chamber Orchestra opened their sixteenth season last weekend with a doubly enticing concept. Not only would audience members hear works by Elgar, Albinoni, and Handel, but they would also see these works brought to life by the dancers of Ohio Contemporary Ballet.
This collaboration between the two organizations isn’t new. Back in 2020, when Ohio Contemporary Ballet was known as Verb Ballets, the pandemic derailed plans for a similar concert, resulting in a pivot to video.
That admirable broadcast succeeded even though the musicians and dancers never performed in the same room. But as their October 4 event at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium reaffirmed, there’s nothing quite like the magic of live, in-person performance.
Sehnsucht, choreographed by Nicholas Rose to Edward Elgar’s Serenade for Strings, gracefully set the tone by featuring the full nine-person company. Conductor Daniel Meyer coaxed a sweet sound out of the Orchestra as the dancers elegantly partnered up, creating cascading ripples of movement in their color-coordinated outfits.
Later, that polished and charismatic style was echoed in the Orchestra’s solo work, Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. Sensitive contributions from the wind players combined with the refined playing of the strings. However, the piece ultimately left less of an impression given its placement between the two more memorable performances of the night.
Preceding the Schubert was Adagio for Two, choreographed by Heinz Poll and featuring dancers Kelly Korfhage and Isaac Hileman in a sentimental conversation of movement. As the musicians played Tomaso Albinoni’s Adagio in G minor for Strings and Organ, the pair gently embraced and rearranged themselves into positions under warm, dappled light.
The projection of a stained glass window on the back wall, as well as the presence of a (synthesized) organ, gave the impression that the two were dancing alone in a church, absorbed in one another throughout the swells of music and the occasional cadenzas from violinist Ken Johnston.
Following the Schubert, seven dancers returned to the stage to close out the evening with a work by choreographer Paul Taylor. That’s quite a famous name in the dance world — but for anyone who wasn’t familiar with Taylor, this performance proved that they should be. His keen sense of rhythm and lyricism makes works like Airs particularly satisfying.
Set to a collection of excerpts by Georg Frederic Handel, Airs showcased the dancers’ approach to a contemporary style — more grounded and angular, but still fluid. Without shoes, their swirling steps were virtually silent, and Kelly Korfhage’s turns were impressively smooth.
Kia Jimmy and Joseph Dang won over the crowd with the “Alla Gavotta” from the Overture to Ariodante, trading off sections of cheerful footwork and powerful twisting jumps to awed applause. During Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, instrumental and dance solos were perfectly in sync for a very satisfying effect — a reminder that these two art forms can be even better together.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com October 9, 2025.
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