Interested in some family-friendly dance before the hurricane of the holidays starts? You might consider RPM Productions’ two-act ballet, “Day of the Gypsy,” Saturday and Sunday at the Harris Theater. “I wanted it to be a fairy tale,” says RPM artistic director Gordon Peirce Schmidt. “I thought that would be a nice way to use the music in a story situation.”
The music is gypsy jazz, played live onstage by the internationally known John Jorgenson Quintet. RPM’s Jeff Bauer designed the show’s full set and costumes, and the story was born partly out of a half-true legend from Schmidt’s family.
“I’d always heard that my grandfather had been raised by Gypsies,” Schmidt says, so he asked his mother about it a few years ago, not long before she died. It wasn’t quite so, but Gypsies were part of the story: As a teenager, his grandfather had gone to live with his father — who shortly afterward married the housemaid; that upset his son as she was about his age. At that point the great-grandfather “basically kicked my grandfather out,” Schmidt says. “He ended up with a group of Gypsies, where he learned wood carving and how to play the violin.”
The choreographer was intrigued by the idea of “someone who’s not a Gypsy running across a Gypsy tribe: What would that be like? I incorporated a portion of the story into my story ballet, but it has more of a magical twist.”
If Schmidt’s name and “RPM Productions” sound familiar, there’s a reason: He was resident choreographer of Ballet Chicago from 1989 to 1995 — and choreographed a popular gypsy jazz ballet for them back then, “By Django.” He formed RPM, named for “revolutions per minute” and designed to support both dance and theater productions, in 1994.
In 1998, Schmidt left Chicago to become executive and artistic director of the Grand Rapids Ballet Company in Michigan, where his longtime friend, Laura Berman, was associate artistic director. Over his 12 years there, Schmidt says, he choreographed more than 60 ballets for the company, expanding his range.
But he still approaches choreography much as he did in Chicago, Schmidt says. “If I have a story, I find the music that works with that and immerse myself in it. If I get any kind of creative block, I ask, ‘What is the music telling you?’ That’s where I push my choreography, and then usually the story becomes more apparent.”
Schmidt rather reluctantly describes his style as contemporary ballet, then expands on that: “I use what I need, what I feel in the moment” — and again the music is primary. With “Gypsy,” he says, “because it’s jazz and has folk elements to it, I wanted to incorporate that kind of movement. But I like the foundation of classic ballet for the piece.”
“Day of the Gypsy” is part romance, part adventure tale. Strong-willed Gypsy girl Yumelia snags some moon magic, which she uses for the good of her tribe. Then selfish Django, another Gypsy, steals the magic and casts a spell over a non-Gypsy, Joe, making him fall for Yumelia, who doesn’t return his feelings — until she does. So mischief-maker Django brings in his buddy Delilah to tempt Joe away from Yumelia.
Schmidt has brought strong dancers onboard for the principal roles. Yumelia Garcia — who left the Joffrey just last year — is the female lead while Tom Mattingly, formerly with Ballet West, is Joe. Randy Herrera, previously with the Joffrey and Houston Ballet, plays Django, and former Joffrey dancer Jennifer Goodman, Delilah. The nine corps dancers have performed with the likes of Dayton Ballet, Alabama Ballet and River North. Berman served as associate choreographer — and as a valuable outside eye, says Schmidt.
The ballet’s humor offers “something for everybody,” he adds. “There are some farcical situations, but it’s not slapstick. It’s very athletic dancing, very dense choreography — it came out that way because of the music. But there are also moments where it’s more internal.”
Elaborating on the gypsy jazz score, Schmidt notes that guitarist-composer Jorgenson plays what Schmidt sees as both types: “There’s the Gypsy-centric music, which has Arabic, flamenco and even Greek influences. It’s got more of a mystical sound. The other is Franco-American swing, which has American jazz in it. That’s what you heard from Stephane Grappelli.” All the pieces in “Gypsy” are Jorgenson originals, Schmidt says, some of which he wrote specifically for the ballet.
The Jorgenson Quintet — which also includes rhythm guitar, violin, stand-up bass and percussion — will be coming off a 20-city tour of France just before “Day of the Gypsy” opens. And Schmidt is hoping, given the quintet’s popularity and the ballet’s accessibility, that RPM can tour this “large-scale work” later. Meanwhile, at the Harris, expect a little something for everyone, including the kids.
ALSO WORTH NOTING
Salt Creek Ballet: This Westmont-based company begins its multi-venue “Nutcracker” presentations next weekend. 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28-29, Hinsdale Central Auditorium, 5500 S. Grant St., Hinsdale; $20-$43 at 800-514-3849 or saltcreekballet.org
Laura Molzahn is a freelance critic.
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‘Day of the Gypsy’
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph St.
Tickets: $20-$75 at 312-334-7777 or harristheaterchicago.org