Pennsylvania Ballet meets Electric Light Orchestra in a welcome return to the stage

A stage full of dancers. No one wearing a mask. A ballet on pointe set to the Electric Light Orchestra. What is this strange magic?

Pennsylvania Ballet is back after more than a year on hiatus in a virtual program, titled Strength, that premiered Thursday night.

Unlike most of the virtual programs I’ve seen this pandemic year — most shortened to suit home viewers’ attention span — this one is a full program of four ballets and runs about the length of a theatrical performance.

Pennsylvania Ballet took a hybrid approach somewhere between BalletX’s tightly edited dance films and the Annenberg Center virtual programs that are streamed live on stage from an empty auditorium and shot mostly from an audience perspective.

Here, in videos shot at the Performance Garage, the camera tracks the dancers as they enter from the wings, pulls back to give an overview of the onstage performance, and zooms in to peer at faces. For the most part, this works.

After a year acclimating to shorter virtual performances, and to life on Zoom, an evening-length program seems like a lot, but each piece is a separate video that you can watch on your own schedule to rebuild endurance.

The program is a typical one for Pennsylvania Ballet. There is one piece that artistic director Angel Corella has previously danced himself (Stanton Welch’s Clear), one that Corella choreographed along with Kirill Radev and company dancer Russell Ducker (Suspended in Time), one Balanchine work that is a nod to the troupe’s roots (Concerto Barocco), and a solo choreographed by the renowned Matthew Neenan, who began his career with Pennsylvania Ballet (an excerpt from Penumbra).

Clear, set to music by Bach, benefits from the multiple camera angles. The dancers look fit and strong, and the choreography is complex and interesting. From a dance-on-camera perspective, though, it looks somewhat flat: beige costumes against beige lighting. In this and the other ballets, the men were often not ready for their close-ups, while the women generally acted with their faces as well as their bodies.

Concerto Barocco is one of the ballets Balanchine gave Pennsylvania Ballet founder Barbara Weisberger when he helped her start her company. Weisberger died in December (this program is in her memory), and it is touching to see another generation of dancers excel at the choreography. This was one that would’ve benefitted from fewer camera angles, however. Rather than dive in and out of formations, I would’ve preferred to admire the geometry of the piece from an audience point of view.

Jermel Johnson has long been a favorite with audiences and has danced in numerous Neenan ballets. His solo from Penumbra is just four minutes long but it is divine, filled with classic Neenan steps and arm movements.

The piano music is by Alberto Ginastera and is performed live at the venue by the ballet orchestra’s principal pianist, Martha Koeneman, while Johnson dances. Another small return to the times before! (All of the other works on the program are to prerecorded music.)

Suspended in Time is an exhilarating piece that shows off the dancers’ speed, skill — and preparation for their return to performing. Set to a suite of ELO songs, and danced in jeans, T-shirts, and carefree dresses, it feels like a scene out of a Broadway musical. It is the story of young people, freedom, and dancing out loud after a year suspended in time.

Pennsylvania Ballet’s “Strength” virtual program

Single tickets, for $25, allow viewing through March 31. Ticket bundles for three programs are available for $50. Unlimited viewing $175. Information at 215-893-1999 or paballet.org.