Dance Review | Winter Suite Is a Delightful Holiday Treat

Meredith Ventura is nothing short of amazing. When a showcase in which her dancers were scheduled to perform on December 6 was suddenly cancelled two weeks before the show, the indomitable, soon-to-be Dr. Ventura stepped up and filled the evening. She pulled together her companies — the powerful dancers of Selah and the delightful young contemporary ballerinas of Novus, brought in ready-to-go works by other local companies, and created the Winter Suite. All in under two weeks, yet the show looked as polished as ever.

As stated in the publicity materials, the program reflected “Ventura’s signature style — athletic, human, reflective, and rooted in personal and collective storytelling.” I would add, “graceful, dramatic, and humorous, with a touch of social commentary” for a more complete description of this two-act showcase.

Act One was a compilation of six works by Ventura and other local choreographers, while Act Two consisted of Ventura’s own version of The Nutcracker Suite.

“Opal,” choreographed by Ventura and danced by Novus Contemporary Ballet, opened the show. In Ventura’s signature athletic style, there were multiple vignettes happening simultaneously across the stage: a lift over “here,” extensions “there,” someone rolling on the floor “downstage” while others smoothly executed multiple pirouettes. Ventura’s signature style creates an ever-changing kaleidoscope of interesting body-shapes.

“CALL FOR:/call 4,” choreographed by UCSB senior dance major Sophie Berls, was another striking piece. In the opening moves, my immediate thought was that I recognized the style of Professor Brandon Whited of UCSB. Then I realized, of course, Berls is his student. She stood out to me in Santa Barbara Dance Theater’s performance of  Whited’s “FORUM” as the “girl in the asymmetric skirt.”

“Cloistered,” by SBCC Dance Professor Tracy R. Kofford, was fascinating and powerful. A group of 12 women, all in long, black, monastic-looking outfits, many with long, flowing hair that they tossed in giant arcs, swirled their bodies in perfectly synchronized motions. The music — “How Great Thou Art” by Selah and “And Some Will Fall,” by Max Richter — had a liturgical feel, but the power of the piece was in its ambiguity. Were the dancers swooning in praise, in parallel with the music? Or were they feeling trapped (cloistered), yearning to be free, in opposition to it?

The penultimate piece of Act I was one of my all-time favorites: “Cell Block Tango,” from the musical Chicago. The choreography by Cameron Weathers of Santa Barbara Dance Arts was spicy and refreshing, and the dancers portrayed the humorously evil, naughtily sexy inmates of the Cook County Jail with precision and confidence.

Act Two was devoted to Ventura’s version of the second act of The Nutcracker, and provided a charming entry into the 2025 holiday season. With grace and style, punctuated by blatantly slapstick humor and subtle social commentary, Ventura’s choreography was rich and beautifully danced by the powerful Selah dancers and the contemporary ballerinas of Novus.

“Waltz of the Flowers” opened the Nutcracker Suite, featuring Novus ballerinas en pointe in flowing tutus, with Selah dancers in flowing pants and soft shirts, and delicate wreaths of flowers in their hair. In characteristic Selah humor, even the guys wore flowers in their hair.

The Nutcracker proceeded with most of the familiar second-act variations. The soloists were all lovely. In particular, Emma Stenger’s Coffee (Arabian) variation stood out to me as lusciously languid and appropriately sultry.

For her Danse des Bouffons, Ventura used the music often associated with the Russian folk dance Trepak (Candycanes in Balanchine’s version). In this her cameo appearance in the show, Ventura danced a trio with Vietor Davis and Ryan Collanton.  In high slapstick fashion, the trio smacked, shoved, and knocked each other down, until Collanton put the other two in their places with his grande pirouette.

And then came the dance of the Mirlitons. I have always thought of the Mirlitons as shepherdesses, but the chic ladies of Selah and Novus, dressed in berets, cravats, shirts, and pants, and sporting the “Spongebob” move, gave a nod to Ventura’s signature work, Palermo! in an outstandingly delightful performance.

The finale was the “Waltz of the Snowflakes.” Once again the Selah and Novus dancers blended their styles in a shimmering finale, complete with snow falling!

A short composite video of Ventura’s Winter Suite can be found on Instagram.

For information about upcoming performances, see the webpages of Selah and Novus. 

And, we wish Dr. Meredith Ventura and Selah Dance Collective “Merde!”(Good luck!) for their upcoming performances at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals in New York, this coming January.