CASA - the contemporary a cappella society - A Cappella And Ballet Face Off

A Cappella And Ballet Face Off

Written by Dave Brown

Wednesday, 28 December 2005

In Colorado, a cappella is dancing in a new direction.

This spring, the seven men of the popular a cappella group Face will not only provide the all-vocal, live rock accompaniment for the 15 professional dancers of the Ballet Nouveau Colorado, but the singers will also be performing on stage and interacting with the dancers.

“This is not going to be your local dinner theatre, college production, community fund-raiser,” says Face’s Mark Megibow. “With apologies to those entities, this is going to be world-class.”

Ballet Nouveau Colorado is a dance company based in traditional techniques, but with a modern, hip edge. They dance to many types of music and use varied costume styles. The second largest ballet company in the state, BNC has been called “a bright, talented, energetic company” by the Rocky Mountain News and “skilled and charismatic” by the Denver Post.

Face is equally edgy, resting proudly on the rock end of the a cappella spectrum, regularly selling out concerts with hundreds of screaming fans. They recently won the Rocky Mountain Region of the Harmony Sweepstakes, and went on to place second in the National Finals, taking home the award for “Audience Favorite.”

The combination of the two groups promises to be dazzling.

The idea to combine these genres came a few summers ago, when a friend of the band named Katherine Board invited the group to come participate with her studio/dance school, where she was working as a ballet dancer and instructor. Her idea was to choreograph her student dancers to Face’s live music. The group stood on blocks at the back of the stage and sang as the kids danced in front of them. It was a hit.

Shortly thereafter, Board joined the professional dancing company of Ballet Nouveau Colorado. She shared the video of her student project with Robert Mills, BNC’s new Artistic Director. He immediately saw the potential of doing a similar collaboration with professional dancers.

“So from the Face point of view, we've already had a taste of what it could be,” says Megibow. “We're excited to be able to do it again, but with the professionals.”

Some of the details of the show are still being worked out, but Megibow says that there will be much more interaction between the singers and dancers. Face is confident in BNC, and delighted with Mills’s work so far.

While the group is reluctant to let out too many details, they have said that the show will open with Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” and will be very sexy.

“Tell me when a project like this has ever been done,” Megibow insists. “We may not be the first, but it can't be common, and considering the level of talent that will be on stage between the two professional groups, this might be the BEST that's ever been done.”

The show will run in four different Colorado cities on 11 different days in late March and early April. For more information on this remarkable collaboration, visit http://www.faceonline.biz/bnc.html.

Dave Brown is a graduate of BYU, where he sang with Vocal Point, and co-founded and directed Noteworthy. When he doesn't have his nose buried in his UVa Law books, he sings and records with his wife in their home studio, and directs the local church choir.