Forum Dance Ensemble Schedules Revamped Favorites

On paper, the Forum Dance Ensemble program this weekend at the Forum Theater in Yorba Linda looks enticing.

Familiar titles include the Dream Ballet from “Oklahoma!” and “Cakewalk” in a concert dubbed “Ballet Americana.”

But you won’t be seeing Agnes de Mille’s choreography for “Oklahoma!” which revolutionized American musical theater, or Ruthanna Boris’ witty evocation of old-time minstrel shows created for the New York City Ballet in 1951 and later danced by the Joffrey Ballet.

Instead, you will be seeing choreography by the ensemble’s artistic director, Tricia Coran, who has been with the troupe since its inception five years ago.

Coran was born in Los Angeles, has lived in Orange County for the past 12 years and has been a free-lance dancer locally. She says she has choreographed approximately 30 ballets.

Still, Coran is not claiming that her versions are replacements for those of De Mille and Boris, instead saying that she recast those works to accommodate her mostly non-professional student dancers.

“Some of (the original) choreography did not lend itself to showing them off in the best light. It was great for mature dancers, mature in technique,” Coran said in a recent interview.

At the Forum Dance Ensemble, however, “we’re doing community theater. The dancers are young, strong, energetic and capable. . . . I have re-choreographed (those works) to show off each dancer,” she said.

Coran believes that people who are familiar with the other choreography will “still see their expectations.”

“Certain things about story line, feeling, emotions, even some of the dance sequences you expect to see (are there),” she said. “The essence of what those ballets are (are the same).”

Coran’s predicament is common to community groups that want to make artistic statements while also fulfilling their educational functions.

“We’re an outgrowth program of the North Orange County Community College system,” she said. Coran’s 44 dancers, ranging in age from 5 to in their 40s, receive no college credit for their work. But Coran insists the involvement is a learning situation.

“It isn’t a class per se,” Coran said. “It’s more like a workshop situation. We set it up as a company from the beginning. We audition our dancers, and I won’t take anyone with less than a year’s training.”

Despite having a certain amount of discretion in accepting students, Coran, because of the ensemble’s educational ties, frequently is faced with problems that come in creating a company with dancers of widely varying abilities, background and training.

In addition to drawing from Orange County, Coran said, “we have people coming in from Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles,” representing eight dance studios.

“Coming from different schools does present real problems most choreographers don’t have to deal with,” she said. “At times, I have to say, ‘Your teacher may teach port de bras this way or tell you to put your foot that way, but we’re going to do it this way so that everyone looks together.’

“In our case we really have to rehearse in order to get everyone to dance and look like we are a company, so that it will come off as it should to look like a production.”

And when it comes time to mount those productions, Coran must work with a shoestring budget.

“Being community theater, we try to be (economically) conservative, which is another reason parents get involved. They help with costuming, props, even helping with simple parts of the rehearsal.

“The budget for this (production) is between $5,000 and $10,000, which is really low. But that does not mean this is a skimpy production at all. There are about 125 costumes in this production. Most are brand-new. A good part of your money is right there.”

As a result, the troupe offers just two productions a year, the annual “Nutcracker” at Christmas and various works on the spring concert.

“Last (spring) we did ‘Cinderella,’ ” Coran said. “The year before, we did a collection of short pieces giving a number of local choreographers a chance to show their work. The year before that, we did ‘Aesop’s Fables.’ ”

After the concerts are finished, her dancers usually disperse.

“Certainly, not everyone (of our dancers) will go on as a professional,” Coran said. “But every one of them is getting something they are going to remember for the rest of their lives, and, I would hope and believe, something that will change their lives for the better.”

The Forum Dance Ensemble will present “Ballet Americana” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Forum Theater, 4175 Fairmont Blvd., Yorba Linda. Emcee for the evening will be magician David Hoag. Featured works are the Dream Ballet from “Oklahoma!”, “Cakewalk” and the premiere of “Johnny Appleseed.” Tickets are $7. For further information, call (714) 779-8591.