He’s Staging the Inner Thoughts of Dancers

At a recent rehearsal in an Anaheim studio, choreographer Benoit-Swan Pouffer poured himself into his own dance, collapsing into a low crouch, running across the floor with his hands reaching out as if grasping for a lifeline.

The Alvin Ailey dancer is in Orange County to set his modern work “Untitled I” on two of Anaheim Ballet’s dancers. Pouffer caught the attention of the company’s artistic directors, Larry and Sarma Lapenieks Rosenberg, when he taught a master class for their company in March during a stop in Alvin Ailey’s recent tour. They invited him back to stage “Untitled I” after viewing a tape of the work.

“You see classical lines everywhere, but combined with a free form of expression,” Rosenberg said. “Plus, it’s always nice to give a young choreographer a leg up.”

Pouffer’s duet is one of three pieces to be performed Saturday in a concert at Pearson Park Amphitheatre in Anaheim. Two works by Sarma Lapenieks Rosenberg will round out the program: the World Premiere of “Martini Ballet,” a Bauhaus-inspired take on the lounge scene of the ‘60s and early ‘70s; and “Peter and the Wolf 2001,” an update of the Prokofiev classic, set in graffiti-strewn urban streets with live accompaniment by L.A.’s Freeway Philharmonic.

“I not only love his dancing but I love what he brings to the dancers as a coach--he’s demanding in the best way,” Larry Rosenberg says of Pouffer, who studied ballet for four years at the Paris Conservatory where he absorbed modern techniques of choreographers Merce Cunningham and Jose Limon, before heading to the United States eight years ago. He joined New York’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1997.

Set to music by Lisa Gerard and United State of Ambience, “Untitled I” was first performed by Ailey company dancers a year ago at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, and again at New York’s Joyce Theater in June 2001. It’s the first work in the 26-year-old dancer’s choreographic career.

“This piece goes beyond the technical. It’s about the state of mind you’re in while you’re dancing,” says Pouffer, taking a brief rehearsal break. “Sometimes charisma and character must carry a piece. That’s its challenge.”

Which is why Pouffer asked the Rosenbergs for experienced dancers. “What I have to say can’t be taught in a few days,” he said.

“It’s been a great opportunity for me to come here, because I’m still buffing the piece. It gives me the chance to adapt it to these dancers and allow them to respond to it, and watch them, and it, evolve.”

Pouffer said the dance takes on subtle changes with each cast. “My best friend was the first to perform in it. It’s been danced three times by three different couples, and each time it’s completely different. I sometimes feel the piece is not mine anymore; I give it as a gift.”

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The Anaheim Ballet performs on Saturday, at 8 p.m. at Pearson Park Amphitheatre in Anaheim. Regular seating $5 for adults, $3 for seniors/children. VIP tickets at $25-$35 include extras such as a “Meet the Dancers” reception, priority reserved seating and dinner. Tickets and further information: (714) 490-6150.