DAWN KELLY TO DANCE IN FINAL CINCINNATI BALLET PERFORMANCES TONIGHT & TOMORROW

I’ve always loved this snap I took of Cincinnati Ballet soloist Dawn Kelly at a Ballet and Beer because it reminds me of a Degas depiction of a dancer. There is no way anyone could see this snap and think anything else than “ballerina”! Tonight and this weekend she will dance for the last time as a member of Cincinnati Ballet. I believe she has, among other roles, a solo. We should all pay special attention.

I’ve been watching Dawn Kelly on stage for twelve years now. She is one of my very favorite dancers. She has awesome technique and stamina, and can display both ethereal grace and fierce intensity. In fact, she does whatever is required of her: she is the very essence of professionalism. In Peter Mueller’s “Swan Lake, 2009” photo (currently on display in the Mickey Jarson Kaplan Performance Space) she stands front and center. Her downcast expression and the exact certitude of her arms express to me “the one among many. . . . “

A few random memories come to mind:  Dawn, with giant teased hair in “Chasing Squirrel” as a leggy Latin lady leaving her eager macho suitor trembling in her wake; Dawn as a fiery Spanish dancer in “Nutcracker;” playing Carabosse in “The Sleeping Beauty” to the hilt as a kind of D-list fairy; as the doomed Chosen One in “Periapt.” I won’t forget the jewel-like perfection of her off-balance mechanical grace as the Dancing Doll in Nut, or the powerful emotionally based organic style she displayed in Heather Britt’s New Works choreography, or her riveting intensity as a soloist.

In his recent article on Dawn’s retirement, Cincinnati Enquirer dance writer David Lyman cites some of her favorite modern ballets – Jorma Elo’s “Plan to B,” Alejandro Cerrudo’s “Extremely Close,” Adam Hougland’s “Mozart’s Requiem,” Val Caniparoli’s “Vivace,” and “almost anything by choreographers Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard.

How about her performance in Giselle’s Act I Peasant pas de deux with Cervilio Miguel Amador?  Classic perfection.

Once when I interviewed her for my blog, I asked her what she thought of just before she went on stage. “I tell myself to relax and let go and trust that my body knows what to do. I tell myself I have perfect strength and confidence. I cross my fingers and say to myself ‘Let me have a good show.’”

Well, it’s been better than good, Dawn.

It’s been great!

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