Wisconsin State Journal – The Edward Morgan Ballet First Tour – Taking A Chance On Dance – Thursday, September 25, 1997
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in 1935 danced a delightful number, “Cheek to Cheek,” in the knock-out musical, Top Hat.” A new version of that dance, a tribute to Astaire and Rogers, will be part of a Friday night program by the MorganScott Ballet Company at the MATC Theater. Set to orchestral tunes by Youmans, Berlin, Gershwin and Kern, the choreography is derived from old movie, Broadway and nightclub routines. When danced in New York City last May, a New York Times review called “Cheek to Cheek” “the delight of the evening.” Popular dance by a ballet company? “This group does lots of different things – ballet, jazz, contemporary,” said D. Corey Helser, manager of the Mitby Theater. This will be a very accessible evening of dance, not just ballet. There will be variety. “This is a very good dance company, but without a recognized name. I think two to three years down the Line, this will be a company you’ll hear about.” Without a recognized name. That’s a problem. New no-name dance companies probably can’t ex- pect large audiences in Madison, Wis. Heiser said he does not expect the company to fill the 976-seat MATC theater – probably the most comfortable the- ater in Madison to watch and listen to just about any- thing but hopes to do reasonably well. How did this group arrive in Madison on relatively short notice, gambling on success here? The answer begins with the name. Edward Mor- gan was once a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, out of Chicago, one of the better known dance companies on the country. In 1996 the Joffrey founded a troupe in New York, the Joffrey II Concert Dancers, as a training company for young dancers and as a company that would allow choreographers to prepare new works. That seemed to work, at least for a while. “But then that second company did some touring, got some press and was seen by the parent com- pany as confusing people,” Helser said. “So the Joffrey company broke off the connection. And so Daniel Scott, the producer-director, and Morgan, the artistic director, decided to form their own company, hence the MorganScott name.‘They have done some really great things.” Helser said. “Morgan has done wonderful choreo- graphy, from classical to neoclassical to contempo- rary to jazz, and the variety will be part of the show here. (In his busy career, Morgan has choreo- graphed and directed dance across the country; he even choreographed nearly 30 works for a television show, Club MTV.) The dancers seem to have acquired a good, if limited, reputation; they will perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall with noted rhythm and blues singer Al Jarreau on Oct. 31. But right now, a problem arose from the loss of the familiar Joffrey name. The company already had a date in Waukesha and had planned to travel from there to Indiana for another show. After the name change, however, the theater in Indiana canceled. So the new company had a gap in dates. Scott (“a dynamic young man,” according to Helser) is a 1984 UW-Madison graduate, from Wau- kesha. He had ties here, and wanted to book an act into Madison, but couldn’t get one. Helser finally agreed to a show date here, with a split of the gate. MATC makes expenses, then splits the rest. “So we are trying very hard to have a week for them so that they can live out on the road,” Helser said. “We are a ballet company,” Scott said in Madison this week. “We dance on point (the position of being on the tip of the toe), but we also dance barefoot, in shoes, doing jazz, contemporary, many different things. “And we’re making it work. We performed in Rockford (I1I.) and in Waukesha and received stand- ing ovations. We premiered a jazz ballet with Al Jarreau in August that led to the Carnegie Hall booking. We are already known in the small world of the dance community, where there is an amazing word of-mouth network.” The 10 dancers have been in town this week, working with dancers at several Madison dance schools. MetroDance, for example, had Morgan hold an advanced ballet master class on Monday. Members of the group visited at least nine schools and dance classes during the week “lots of community outreach,” as Scott said. He added that he expected those appearances to generate interest in their Friday performance. Helser noted that the Mitby Theater hasn’t brought in many dance companies over the years. and said, “It’s good for us to bring in this group for our students, and interested people in the community, without assuming a huge risk. “We’re not trying to make money; we’re trying to bring something good to Madison.
