Momentum preview:
Inspiration breaks through in
A Light in the Dark
Created by Broadway legend Ann Reinking and innovative Chicago choreographer Melissa Thodos, A Light in the Dark is a critically acclaimed work that tells the true story of Helen Keller — a rebellious girl, both blind and deaf, whom no one could seem to reach — and Anne Sullivan, the dedicated teacher who refused to give up on her.
Reinking and Thodos blended traditional and contemporary movement styles to illuminate how the women’s turbulent personal histories brought them together to achieve Helen’s transformative breakthrough. They researched the work at the Helen Keller National Center, where, Thodos said, “we were put through an exercise where we were blindfolded and given earplugs and then led through a building. We learned a lot kinetically about how those who are hearing and sight disabled can navigate through space.”
For music, the collaborators commissioned an original contemporary score from New York composer Bruce Wolosoff. They worked with filmmaker Christopher Kai Olsen, who created a television version of A Light in the Dark that aired extensively on PBS stations and was nominated for a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award, as well as Shine, a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the ballet.
Original cast offers insights
Along with Thodos herself, three members of the ballet’s original cast came to AMB’s studios to help stage it and share their insights: Jessica Miller Tomlinson [Helen Keller], Alissa Tollefson [Anne Sullivan], and John Cartwright [Sullivan’s brother, Jimmie.]
“Something Ann [Reinking] said was that first of all, Helen is six years old,” Tomlinson recalled. “She was small — I’m small, but I’m not the size of a six-year-old. And if you take away depth perception, if you don’t have any hearing, if you don’t have any sight, you’re going to want to stay close to the ground — more hunkered down, kind of animalistic. Ann talked about being feral: She’d say, you’re like an animal: you can sniff, you can taste, you can smell, and you can feel things. But that’s about it.”
“I’m very passionate about education,” Tollefson said. “I studied education in college, and Anne was a teacher, so I felt like I could relate to her. You didn’t mess with Anne Sullivan — she wasn’t a softie. She had a big heart, but she was going to break through to that little girl by being tough, because that’s what she needed. In the process of developing the choreography I’d be told, turn off dancer, turn on teacher — because I could relate to the teacher aspect so well.”
Bringing the story to AMB audiences
“It’s an incredible story,” said AMB artistic director Erika Overturff, who first learned of the ballet when Reinking was staging In the Style of Bob Fosse for AMB. Her interest was piqued further when her young son, Lane, acquired an interest in sign language, leading the two to take a signing class through Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. That experience deepened her respect for what Keller and Sullivan had accomplished, and convinced her further that A Light in the Dark was a story that AMB should bring to its audience.“It’s very moving, ” she said. “It’s a narrative story about real people, with a big element of emotional connection. The story is about Helen Keller, but it’s equally about Anne Sullivan. They’re both heroes.”
Part of our bold menu of brilliant dance…
A Light in the Dark is featured on our Momentum program, a must-see selection of ballets that showcase the versatility of dance as an art form. There will be two performances only, so get your tickets now:
Saturday, October 17, 7:30 pm & Sunday, October 18, 2 pm
Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center, 1001 S 6th Street, Council Bluffs