Artistic Experiment A Spirited Success

“The Graceful Ghost” Dance Theatre Northwest and String Jam, Saturday, Oct. 28, The Met

Here’s one enthusiastic vote in favor of electrified orchestras, energized dancers and the sparks generated between the two.

“The Graceful Ghost,” a collaboration between Dance Theatre Northwest and a new ensemble called String Jam, The Electric Orchestra, was a thrilling evening of artistic experimentation, made even more thrilling because it was so unexpected.

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into The Met on Saturday with a few hundred other seekers. What I saw was a small bandstand with six musicians - two violinists, one violist, one cellist, one bass player and one drummer. There was an audible buzz in the hall, not just from anticipation, but from the amplifiers these instruments were plugged into.

Then the lights went down, the dancers emerged from the trapdoor on stage, and the orchestra kicked in with a blast.

The evening raced by. It was a whirl of motion and music - and what music.

William Berry, a Spokane Symphony trumpeter, founded String Jam and wrote or arranged all of the music on the program except for two prerecorded pieces. His arrangements included a brilliant Duke Ellington medley that swung hard and a furious Dave Matthews number called “Monkey See, Monkey Do.”

And we heard an infectious medley of Irish fiddle tunes which sounded as if they had been played in pubs for 300 years, but were also written by Berry. (One of these tunes had the delightful title of “Comb Your Hair and Curl It.”) Lead violinist Tana Bachman was the instrumental star. She, too, is a symphony performer, but she proved she was a master of two earthier forms on Saturday. She played Thelonius Monk’s “`Round Midnight” with a moody, jazzy virtuosity. Later she took the lead on Berry’s terrific “String Jam Blues” and proved that the blues can sound down and dirty on an electric violin.

Bachman, in shiny black vinyl pants, didn’t look much like a symphony performer, either. She was playing a stylized white wasp-waisted violin, more Fender than Stradivarius.

The rest of the orchestra was equally impressive. I loved the sound that Helen Byrne coaxed from her electric cello; a warm fuzz tone, almost like a ‘60s electric guitar.

The dancers, mostly area high school students, were polished and inspired throughout. Artistic director Janet Wilder’s choreography was ethereal and spooky in two numbers: “The Graceful Ghost Rag” and Saint Saens’ “Danse Macabre.”

The most visually arresting numbers were “Proudest Monkey,” featuring Marcy Ray as a primate engaged in funny but precise “Curious George” shenanigans; and “Time Steps,” a wildly imaginative abstract piece featuring Caroline Francis. With its amorphous forms on the floor, blossoming out in time, it reminded me of something from “Fantasia 2000.”

Two competitive ballroom dancers, Miguel Cortez and Marianna Seney, performed an energetic swing dance number and fiery tango.

Taken together, “The Graceful Ghost” was superior to the sum of its parts. The music was helped by the visual whirlwind on stage; the dance was energized by this outstanding new music.

This is one experiment that worked.