By Kathy Valin
Enquirer contributor

A dancing romp through excerpts from Carmon DeLeone's music made for a delightful opening night Friday of Cincinnati Ballet's Princess and the Pea Festival. The festival, held in the Aronoff Center's Procter & Gamble Hall, was designed as a 35th anniversary tribute to the company's popular music director, who drew enthusiastic ovations all night long.

The Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra moved apace through a mix of Latin, Broadway, jazz, rock and sweeping, grand pieces reminiscent of Hollywood movie themes. The result was a rhythmic, dynamic and instrumentally rich palette for lighthearted choreography.

The icing on the cake was the world premiere of DeLeone's Fanfare, Funk and Fandango (An American Dance Set), a brief all-orchestral melange. Monumental and episodic, it could have been the overture to a thrilling blockbuster movie.

Excerpts from Septime Webre's Peter Pan showcased silly hornpipe dancing to a concertina. As Pirate Cecci, Zack Grubbs jumped over and over. Michael Wardlaw's Gentleman Starkey turned himself silly. Dmitri Trubchanov bounded in huge circular barrel turns, but none of his henchmen's antics pleased Valentine Liberatore's Captain Hook. The point became moot when Aaron C. Thayer as the hungry Crocodile tangoed the alternately desperate and seductive Hook offstage. Kristi Capps came alive as a sleek, regal Princess Tiger Lily, and her "gargouillade" pas de chats (catlike jumps where each foot momentarily describes a small circle in the air) were a fun detail.

The hottest dance of the night was James Truitte's lively Frevo (Samba de Jixie), from 1974. DeLeone's solo French horn, flirting between major and minor keys, started a carefree onstage street parade of dancers hoisting festive umbrellas. Spicy prerecorded solos (Mike Andres on piccolo, Paul Piller on trombone, Jimmie McGary on tenor sax, and Arturo Lopez on Latin percussion) from DeLeone's original Studio Big Band merged seamlessly into live sounds.

Zack Grubbs showed off astounding multiple side-split jumps. Jay Goodlett rose over and over from a deep plie (bent knees) position into seductive hip thrusts. Women with white gaucho-style hats, sexy split skirts, heeled shoes and bare midriffs twitched their knees in a catchy syncopated move.

The vivacious Cheryl Sullivan was hilariously sleepless to an array of crashing percussion in Victoria Morgan's The Princess and the Pea. Her Prince was the supple Benjamin Wardell, who sweetly conveyed the yearning for his one true love in an introspective solo. In their duet, Sullivan twirled momentarily on her knees and came up in a double flip into his arms.

Wardlaw as "Joker" made more nimble moves in more directions than seemed possible to the brisk tempo. Goodlett in drag was the voluptuous "Princess Pat." Liberatore, also in drag, was the Queen.

Other standout dancers were Sarah Hairston, Dawn Kelly, Heather Liberman, Tara Mora, Kelly Ann Sloan and Janessa Touchet.

E-mail ValinKat2@aol.com