By BRUCE DENNILL
Mzansi Ballet: Sean Bovim’s Private Presley Ballet / Choreographed by Sean Bovim / Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre, Fourways, Johannesburg
Sean Bovim’s original production of Private Presley (then called Private Presley: A Salute To The King) was staged in the choreographer’s native Cape Town in 2013. This revival by Mzansi Ballet has tweaked the original formula somewhat, notably in the addition of live singers where the first version was danced to recorded music only. The storyline has also been slightly adjusted to allow for the appearance of Elvis’ daughter Lisa-Marie Presley, which in turn allows young dancers from the Mzansi Ballet School to showcase their skills in a professional production.
The narrative is clever – major events in Elvis’ life (both his successes and his challenges and shortfalls) depicted via dance sequences backed by a string of the King’s many, many hits. There is the singer’s rise to enormous fame, his romances, his military service, his film career and, ultimately, the move to his renowned Las Vegas residency.
The use of live singers adds a pleasing energy to proceedings, though there are mixed levels of effectiveness. Patience Mahema does a solid job with her contributions, but part of Elvis’ enduring appeal is the feral masculinity he brought to his performances, particularly in the early years, and Mahema’s measured tones don’t quite match that feel. Logan James is a great fit for the role, confident without being cocky, offering a physical look that reflects Elvis’ at a glance, and singing with excellent tone and range (noticeable particularly in the lower parts of some of the songs).
Also recalling Elvis in a physical sense is muscled, dark-haired Mexican dancer Jorge Wade, who handles the movement part of the role while James handles the vocals. This double act is a clever mechanism, adding facets to the depiction of the character at the centre of the piece.
David Hutt’s colourful costumes fill the space with brightness to accentuate the ebb and flow of the dancers’ collective movement.
Mood-wise, much of the piece is relatively slow and considered, which is s little difficult to come to terms with given the vitality of Elvis’ music and so much early rock ‘n roll. While many of the songs chosen for the soundtrack are from the slower side of the singer’s catalogue, the pacing of the choreography often does little to progress the story through each segment of the story, with the narrative rather jumping ahead courtesy of the scene changes rather than the dancing. There are exceptions, though, with a solo from Wade (during Elvis’ wedding night!) and the pas de deux featuring him and Angela Revie featuring strong technical execution.
