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Review/Dance; Joffrey Offers a Rock Ballet to Songs by Prince
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By ANNA KISSELGOFF
Published: November 11, 1993
"Billboards" is four choreographers' ballets rolled into one, danced magnificently by the Joffrey Ballet to the recorded music of a composer identified in the Brooklyn Academy of Music's current program as Prince Rogers Nelson.

Yes, that's how he wishes to be billed, although an asterisk on the same program reveals the open secret that he uses the "stage name, Prince."

Whatever you call him or "Billboards," the entire production was given a dynamic New York premiere on Tuesday night at the opening of a weeklong run, part of the Next Wave festival at the Academy (30 Lafayette Avenue, at Ashland Place, Fort Greene).

Long before Prince became a star or sold 10 million copies of "Purple Rain," the Joffrey had pioneered the most successful rock ballets of the 1960's and early 70's. If not a pop ballet to end all pop ballets, "Billboards" -- even by the Joffrey's standards -- is a mammoth enterprise within the genre.

Here is the ultimate crossover ballet: a sprawling, clever reflection of the uneasy cultural mix of our time. Classical and popular dance styles meet in "Billboards" as if there were no borders; images of sexual bravado beat a cautious retreat; trendy attitudes carry their built-in irony.

In many ways, "Billboards" is more of a must for mainstream audiences than for the diehard Prince fan. True, the latter will discover how four experimental choreographers can march so differently to the same drummer. Laura Dean, Charles Moulton, Margo Sappington and Peter Pucci were invited by Gerald Arpino, the Joffrey's artistic director, to give their takes on Prince's music.

But more significantly, the quartet of choreographers (although unevenly matched), has translated the era of MTV into their own terms. A true rock ballet of the 1990's, "Billboards" looks askance at the popular culture that it also celebrates. The sheer energy of the Joffrey dancers, many of whom have not been seen since the company was last in New York in 1991, is astounding.

But that exuberance is tempered with caution in the four choreographers' own themes. Sexual liberation's excess, after AIDS, is not a message to be trumpeted, despite Madonna. As a result, Prince's own themes of sex and salvation (including salvation through sex) are muted in the ballet.

At other times, they are treated with a wink, notably in the mock-kinky moment when Mr. Pucci has Jodie Gates aim her foot, red toe shoe and all, toward her partner's mouth as he kneels on the floor. Think of all the dental bills.

Most of the choreographers have fun with all the posturing on the rock scene. But at other times, a dance style like voguing, derived from fashion models' poses, is treated sympathetically and actively woven into the ballet's idiom.

New York is the ninth city to see "Billboards" since it had its world premiere last January in Iowa City, at Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa. Since then a new number has been added, bringing the total of Prince songs or excerpts to 14. Then as now, the first segment, by Ms. Dean, "Sometimes It Snows in April," offers the strongest choreography.

Ingeniously, Ms. Dean has remained herself: the trademark repeated phrases, dissolving patterns and clear spatial diagrams, filled in with large ballet steps, are familiar, but she has obviously also listened to the music.

The title song is not visualized as Prince's ambiguous lament for a dead friend but becomes a lyrical abstraction, performed by 18 dancers in Rosemarie Worton's glamorous white costumes. Ms. Dean shifts into contrasting gear when a rapid beat accompanies the other songs, "Trust" and "Baby I'm a Star." Her concern is to transmute rhythm into pure energy. This she does sensationally, especially with four main couples.

Mr. Moulton hears the song "Thunder," to which Prince has added some more music, as a disco in hell. Like Charles Atlas, his designer, he once worked with Merce Cunningham, which might account for his many non sequiturs. There is more than meets the confused eye here in a parody of period styles, but sorting out one punklike troll from another takes some work. Valerie Madonia is an engaging queen of the night while Elizabeth Parkinson shows eye-riveting power as the pained Pierrot in "Purple Rain."

Ms. Sappington's "Slide" transforms the explicitness of Prince's lyrics into metaphors for attitudinizing. Beatriz Rodriguez, Deborah Dawn and Lissette Salgado preen on toe in George Ramos's bikinis covered with transparent hose, to the tune of "Computer Blue." Ms. Rodriguez parades around wittily as Tom Mossbrucker's self-absorbed dream girl. Gregory Russell and Todd Stickney, two terrific bravura dancers, join Ms. Salgado in a high-flying trio. Ms. Sappington turns calisthenics into an art for the male ensembles in "The Beautiful Ones" and "Release It."

In "Willing and Able," Mr. Pucci uses the title song and an excerpt from "Gett Off" for a huge voguing ensemble. Convention, rather than invention, holds sway here, but the first part (set to "For You," "The Question of U" and "It") has the advantage of the aforementioned duet for Mr. Mossbrucker and Ms. Gates, complete with foot in mouth. The costumes, mostly bare midriff, are by Christine Joly.

Howell Binkley did the essential lighting and Herbert Migdoll designed the panels that announce each segment, the billboards or signposts of a specific time.

i for one realy enjoy this occasionaly!
[Edited 8/14/08 0:05am]

Hey that's kinda cool.

I saw it at Lincoln Center, NYC on April 16, 1994

maybe he'll hit em with a lawsuit after all this time?. a backdated one. u never can tell
[Edited 8/14/08 6:01am]

I went to the premiere in Iowa City and loved it. This was such a cool thing for Prince, and his turning down of the royalties was not only very generous but it also made the whole ballet possible. The extended remix of Thunder is cool too. I think I watch my DVD of this more than I do most of my other Prince DVDs.

Efan said:

My fave was "A Question of U".
It didn't translate as well on tape, but the live performance was so good, IMO.

chocolate1 said:

That was great, wasn't it?

I didn't really like "Willing and Able" until I saw Billboards. I thought it really captured the song beautifully.

The pitter pata of their feet from the very begining sent chills down my spine.
My 1st ballet... Loved it

I also saw this performance, My girlfriend and I had a great time.

I saw this in San Francisco and enjoyed it. Also own the VHS
Is it on DVD?

SUPRMAN said:

No, but I converted my laserdisc to a DVD.

I remember watching this when it came on PBS and I really liked it. I wish I could have gone and seen it live but TV was cool too. The Thunder part was hot. I remembered thinking, "there's more to this song?" Great stuff.

the end was cool-GETT OFF-when the lights were on and everyone was dancing

yeah thunder was fantastic

anybody wanna wing me the dvd

This was my 1st Ballet and it was absolutely Wonderful saw it in LA at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion

I loved it live but I recently watched it on VHS and was disappointed. It hasn't aged well at all.