BWW Reviews: Houston Ballet's CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKSHOP - A Showcase of Exquisite, Astonishing Talents

In MOLTO ESPRESSIVO, Ilya Kozadaev choreographed Emily Bowen, Sara Webb, Christopher Coomer, and Aaron Sharratt to John Field's Nocturne no. 2. For this piece, the choreography was sublimely beautiful and haunting. The movements were smooth, lyrical even.

In ZEPHYR, Simon Ball choreographed Katharine Precourt, Katelyn May, and Brian Walker to music by Federico Mompou with recordings from the Library of Congress. The stirring, emotional choreography for this piece seemed to tell the story of the dissolving of a family. The melancholic tone carried from beginning to end.

In METAMORPHOSIS TWO, Connor Walsh choreographed Jessica Collado, Nozomi Iijima, Melody Mennite, and Ian Casady to Philip Glass' Metamorphosis Two. Connor Walsh cites his metamorphosis from dancer to choreographer as his inspiration for the piece. The choreography was very sharp, angular, and crisp, creating a powerful yet gorgeously aggressive tone. The dance perfectly fit the music and was visually stunning.

In CONSTANT, Joseph Walsh choreographed Karina Gonzalez and Rhodes Elliott to Andrew Bird's Swedish Wedding March. This was Joseph Walsh's voice applied to traditional ballet styles. The end product was a warm, romantic, sentimental ballet. I was taken by the sheer amount of emphasis placed on the arms.

In NEXT OF KIN, Melody Mennite choreographed Emily Bowen, Nozomi Iijima, and herself to Rebecca West's Next of Kin. Due to an injury, Melody Mennite had to step into her own piece. Her voice perfectly matched the song about genocide with angry, powerful angular movements that easily radiated off the stage with sheer emotional impact.

In UNTITLED, Ian Casady choreographed Sara Webb and Brian Waldrep to Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suite no. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: Sarabande. He expertly matched the Baroque sound to the piece with Baroque costuming and traditional ballet style. As the male dancer helped undress the female dancer and then dress her again, there was a felling of classic sensuality and romance.

In FREEDEOM TRAIN, Linnar Looris choreographed Kathrine Precourt, Madeline Skelly, Natalie Varnum, Derek Dunn, Rupert Edwards, Ilya Kozadayev, Zecheng Liang, Jim Nowakowski, and Harper Watters to Laurel Aitken's Freedom Train. Linnar Looris created three differing and fantastic characters that danced with and through the rest of the group. The piece was comical and infused with inspired mixes of ballet and jazz styles. The piece was filled with heart and was a lively and uplifting piece in performance.

In RED BANDANA, James Gotesky choreographed Melissa Hough, Christopher Coomer, and Rhodes Elliott to The Coasters' Down in Mexico. This story of this piece was easy to interpret and fun to watch. His voice in the piece was reminiscent of Peter Darling's voice in Billy ElliotT: THE MUSICAL. The piece was infused with a fun sense of modern ballet dance styles.