By GUILHERME MELETTI YAZBEK
As Texture Contemporary Ballet concludes its 15th anniversary season with Eternal Beauty, there are, above all, reasons to celebrate: longevity, consistency, and a clearly dedicated ensemble. Over the years, the company has established itself as a space for technically strong dancers and collaborative artistic exploration. This evening of entirely new works reflects that commitment—even if, at times, the artistic choices do not feel as distinctive as the performers who embody them.
Madeline Kendall Schreiber’s Architecture of the Soul opens the program with a neoclassical sensibility grounded in precision and clarity. The dancers, dressed in black dresses with pleated skirts, move with expansive, beautifully articulated arms—a highlight throughout the piece. There is a maturity in the compositional structure, especially in the ensemble sections, which proves more engaging than the solos. A particularly dynamic passage of jumps injects energy into an otherwise tonally consistent work. Yet the musical landscape—largely string-based and hovering within a similar tempo range—tends to flatten the overall arc. At times, the dancers’ facial expressions feel somewhat marked, as if emotion were being indicated rather than fully emerging from the movement itself. Still, this is the piece that most closely aligns with classical vocabulary, with all dancers en pointe and a predominantly en dehors framework, and it is beautiful to watch.
Alexandra Tiso’s Woman shifts toward a more contemporary vocabulary, grounded—quite literally—in frequent floorwork and performed without pointe shoes. The burgundy tulle costumes evoke softness, while the choreography leans into themes of resilience, sensuality, and collective strength. There are compelling choral moments and a particularly striking solo at the center of the work. However, the use of pop-oriented music with lyrics tends to guide the emotional reading quite strongly, at times limiting the piece’s openness. This is compounded by again quite marked facial expressions. Paradoxically, the most powerful moment arrives in near silence: a brief section in which only the sound of bodies hitting the floor is heard. In that minute, the work opens up—and resonates more fully.
Closing the evening, Alan Obuzor’s Moment of Impact offers a more dynamically varied composition. The score, built around piano and cinematic orchestration, occasionally leans toward the overly familiar, but the choreography itself explores a wider range of textures and tempos. The gradual introduction of voluminous blue-and-white skirts becomes a central choreographic device, generating both visual and kinetic interest. There is a compelling interplay between effort and lightness—movements that suggest struggle, softened by the fabric’s fluidity. The piece also embraces asymmetry more fully than the others, creating striking stage pictures and allowing for moments that seem to gesture toward separation and loss, without fully settling into a fixed narrative.
Across the evening, Texture’s dancers demonstrate remarkable technical control, expressive capacity, and especially refined port de bras—consistently one of the company’s strengths. Eternal Beauty reaffirms the ensemble’s skill and cohesion, and the costume design stands out as one of the program’s most memorable elements. At the same time, the evening would benefit from more varied or adventurous musical choices, opening further space for the choreography to unfold with greater contrast and depth. As the company marks 15 years, one hopes this strong foundation will continue to be paired with an equally bold sense of artistic risk.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Texturte Ballet’s Eternal Beauty has remaining performances at the New Hazlett Theater on Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 2:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.textureballet.org/eternal-beauty.html
Guilherme is a Brazilian theater practitioner and scholar, currently pursuing a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. www.guilhermeyazbek.com
Categories: Arts and Ideas
I attended “Eternal Beauty” yesterday and found the dancing, choreography, costuming, and music all truly amazing. I particularly found Tiso’s “Woman” stunning and memorable, and unlike Guilherme I felt the pop music contributed strongly to the piece’s enjoyability. Also, unlike Guilherme I enjoyed the female-composed cello music in “Architecture of the Soul” and felt it contributed greatly to the piece’s power and beauty. I felt the dancers’ facial expressions were consistently appropriate and a powerful part of the choreography. Having attended and enjoyed a previous Texture Contemporary Ballet performance, I would strongly recommend this company. I feel that perhaps OnStagePittsburgh should have gone with a review of “Eternal Beauty” by female reviewer.