The Great Gatsby: The Dazzling Story Told Through Dance

Elegant costumes, classical music, and tight buns. These are just a few of the things that might come to your mind when you hear the word ‘ballet.’ The Great Gatsby at KC Ballet subverts those expectations completely. The ensemble is dressed in a huge variety of dazzling costumes, from flapper dresses to suits and ties to soldier uniforms. The music in this show is so diverse and beautiful, and even includes a song with lyrics by iconic songwriter Irving Berlin.

I went to this show having read the book and seen the musical of The Great Gatsby and was accompanied by my friend who barely knew the story at all. She came out of the show with an understanding of the story, and I came out with not only a twofold respect for ballet, but with a fresh new version of the story in my mind. While The Great Gatsby at KC Ballet does not take any large creative liberties or divert from the original plot, it is performed so well that it does not need to. 

Naomi Tanioka, who portrayed Myrtle Wilson, absolutely stunned me. She may have spent more time in the air than on the ground in this show; being constantly spun, lifted, and carried by other dancers. She performed these stunts with a certain elegance that made them look effortless, almost casual in a way. Naturally, the same admiration should be extended to the talented ensemble of people who held her. 

The set and costumes of this show - both of which were designed by Tim Yip - astonish. The set was so gorgeous that throughout the ballet, I envied the dancers who got to perform around it. Every prop and set piece was incorporated into Septime Webre’s choreography wonderfully, and nothing seemed awkwardly placed or clumsy. As I mentioned before, the costumes were enchanting, and I truly cannot praise them enough. Perhaps my favorite part of the whole show was seeing how the costumes walked the line between being danceable and being accurate to the 1920s time period in which this ballet is set.

My friend who accompanied me at the show, knew nothing about the story and had never seen a ballet before. However, when I asked her for her thoughts about it, she gave similar answers to me - she thought the costumes were beautiful and she thought Naomi Tanioka was a standout. This is a compliment to the production, as it proves that no matter how much knowledge an audience member has of the story, they are drawn to the aspects of the show that shine.

Every single dancer in this show gave an amazing performance and was so talented and graceful. Although the solo and duet dances were beautiful, my favorite were the large ensemble dances. Each dancer is so expressive and in sync with each other that they are mesmerizing to watch. Every party scene made me want to dance, and the group of dancers in the Valley of Ashes were especially remarkable. If I named every dancer I enjoyed watching, this review would be pages and pages long, so I will just mention a few more people who stood out to me - Kaleena Burks as Daisy Buchanan, Paul Zusi as George Wilson, and Andrew Vecseri as Jay Gatsby.

Anyone would have enjoyed this show, whether you’ve seen one hundred ballets or zero. You would have immediately become captivated by the atmosphere the show creates, and even if you didn’t know the story, the dancing was spectacular and you would have been glued to your seat the entire time like I was.