Camino Real

Camino Real  
Atlanta Ballet
final performance May 14, 2017

As often said, Art Isn’t Easy . . . and this is a prime example.  A huge amount of work has gone into designing this ballet, which has a run of 3 days only.   Note that the closing performance on the 14th, is a matinee.

With a score by Peter Salem, choreography by Helen Pickett and an intriguing set by David Finn and Emma Kingsbury, this is not your Swan Lake, nor Nutcracker kind of production.

Tennessee Williams was a weird-o and this is based upon his strange opus of some 60+ years ago, when he has a WWII cartoon character, Kilroy (Heath Gill), coming to the Camino Real (Royal Highway), which is somewhere between here and nowhere; and perhaps loosely derived from US-101 which ran down the California coast toward Baja.

The other lead dancers are Tara Lee as Esmeralda, Nadia Mara as Marguerite, Christian Clark as the Casanova and Jacob Busch as the Gutman guy.   There are more then 20 dancers, great costumes and set; and a story line (if you want to call it that) which is VERY convoluted and leaves you wondering what is going on and why.  You will see a couple of unfortunates removed from the stage, like a passenger from a recent flight.

It is also unusual in that there are spoken lines and some of the dancers are miked.  Alas, this is one time when you might wish there were projected titles so you got every word.  But, don’t sweat it, for the dance is what ballet is about.

This is a reprise of the Atlanta Ballet’s world premiere, staged in 2015, and we salute all who dedicated their work and talents to it.    It is an adventure of dealing with reality and existence and getting from nowhere to somewhere.  Maybe.

Performances are at Cobb Energy Center and more info at AtlantaBallet.com