Paul’s goal was to showcase local dance and introduce dancers from across southeast Michigan to each other as part of a program called Linking Communities Through Dance. Paul, a former Joffrey Ballet dancer and Broadway hoofer, invites professionals from New York to come and partner with students from metro Detroit for a night of talent, beauty and stunning fun.


The third anniversary program last night was, in a word, awesome. Where else could you get, on a single stage, a beautiful excerpt from “Swan Lake,” and a medley from Lee Roy Reams, the actor, choreographer and director who gave us selections from “Mame” decades after he first appeared in it in Detroit?

Taking this clever dual approach to the next level is William Forsythe, whose fascinating Workwithinwork fits Scottish Ballet like a glove. Dressed in relatively simple costumes, with little in the way of lighting design, the dancers had nothing to hide behind but their talent, and Forsythe's fiendishly difficult moves. You can't fake work like this.

By contrast, Krzysztof Pastor's In Light and Shadow makes superb use of costumes and lighting. And, after the wonderful but rather more challenging sounds of Stravinsky and Berio in the first two pieces, Bach's Goldberg Variations wafts over us like a silk cloak. As does Pastor's choreography, which has a smooth, luxurious quality it's virtually impossible to dislike.

French music, ranging from classical ballet accompaniments to accordion-drive dramatics to an unlikely surprise of French hip-hop in one of the show’s most fascinating and frankly unforgettable dances, worked well to stamp the passport of imagination. Clumsily projected images of Paris landmarks from the steps of Montmartre to La Tour Eiffel, however, didn’t achieve their goal because the tiny images looked haphazard.

Costumes were both inspired and an issue. The preponderance of black was intentional and conveyed fashion capital Paris in the ’60s, but the black tights and costumes against the black floor stymied viewers’ ability to appreciate each intricate dance movement and gesture.

A mix of ballet, folk steps, theater, flamenco and popular melodies heavy with percussion and strings, “Carmen” is more a major theatrical event than a ballet, said Kimberly Cowen, who is reprising her performance in the title role.

“We are dancing pretty much the entire time, but we still have to portray the story line through our dance movements and with some old-fashioned acting with your face and body language,” she said. “I would say it’s a very powerful piece, and the music makes you feel empowered. You just stand up taller when you hear it, and that makes the audience feel a part of it.”