Our recent visits to Ballet Austin have held many pleasures but perhaps none so exhilarating as the evolution of company member Christopher Hannon. Over the past few seasons, the athletic young dancer with the large, soulful eyes has proven himself a chameleon of the ballet. He has dazzled us in serious parts well-suited to his age and skills - in Ulysses, his Telemachus was a coiled spring of frustration - but he's been equally striking in comic roles, crafting a coy, impetuous, otherworldly Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, a sly, languid partner to Karen Kuykendall in a segment of Kisses, and a classic nerd awkwardly attempting balletic grace in the spoof The Nutzy Nutcracker. With this versatility and his unfailing vigor and precision of execution, Hannon has taken our breath away.
