Don’t worry, you aren’t nodding off, and no one needs to poke you in the ribs at Friday’s show hosted by the Ballet Society of Colorado Springs. You really are seeing ballerinas in Nazi uniforms. This is “Hiding Place,” a dance drama presented by the professional troupe Ballet Magnificat, on tour from its Jackson, Miss., headquarters. The true story is adapted from the life of Corrie ten Boom and her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in the 1940s.
“Hiding Place,” was choreographed by Czech-born Jiri Sebastian Voborsky, Ballet Magnificat’s resident choreographer. Erin Beaver, Magnificat’s tour director, says that “Voborsky has pushed the envelope of classical ballet in ‘Hiding Place’ by incorporating more stylized elements.”
The music is an eclectic blend of Christian, classical and contemporary.
Ballet Magnificat is unabashedly a Christian organization, and the two-hour show is followed by an “addendum” that explicitly dissects the Christian themes in the show. What separates Ballet Magnificat from other Christian arts organizations, Beaver says, in its level of professionalism. Indeed, the promotional trailer to “Hiding Place” shows some breath-stoppingly beautiful moves.
The Holocaust has become a forge of inspiration for artists depicting the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable cruelty. “Hiding Place” comes on the heels of “Bent,” last month’s offering by Upstart Theater, which depicted the suffering of homosexuals under the Nazis.
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Poster Comment:
Words fail me.