For Immediate Release: July 5, 2004
Contact:
Marvel Gentry
Davis, ballet tech ohio paa, 513.608.6961, marvel@zoomtown.com
Jenny Young, BalletMet Communications
Manager, 614.229.4860 ext 161, jyoung@balletmet.org
Patty
Donahey BalletMet Marketing Director, 614.229.4860 ext. 160, pdonahey@balletmet.org
Photos
available at: http://www.ballettechohiopaa.org/PressRoom.htm
Ballet’s Brightest to Shine in Ohio
BalletMet Columbus and ballet tech ohio performing arts association to
host The Gala of International Ballet Stars
Some of the best dancers from the best companies in the world perform
some of the finest choreography when ballet tech ohio and BalletMet Columbus
present the third annual Gala of International Ballet Stars
in Columbus Friday, Aug. 13, at 8 p.m. at the Palace
Theatre, and in Cincinnati Saturday, Aug. 14, at 8 p.m.
at the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
Described by The Columbus Dispatch last year as “something to
cheer about,” the Gala of International Ballet Stars features
some of ballet’s most memorable solos and pas de deux, including exciting
works by such brilliant choreographers as William Forsythe, John Cranko, James
Kudelka and Alonzo King. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that at last
year’s Gala the audience was standing and shouting for more—and this
year’s promises to be even more amazing.
The star-studded program will feature:
American Ballet Theatre’s Gennadi Saveliev in the solo Gopak
and, with Boston Ballet’s Sarah Lamb (soon to be with Royal Ballet),
a passage from Diana and Acteon and the White Swan pas de deux
from Swan Lake. In Cincinnati, Lamb will perform the
Black Swan pas de deux and David Dawson’s The Grey Area with
Raul Salamanca of Boston Ballet.
Former BalletMet Academy student Bridget Breiner of Stuttgart Ballet
and Frankfurt Ballet’s Christopher Roman, who studied with the now-defunct
Cleveland Ballet, in Herman Schmerman by William Forsythe.
Agnes Oaks and Thomas Edur from English National Ballet in a Don
Quixote pas de deux and Impromptu by Derek Dean.
Gala of International
Ballet Stars page 2
Royal Ballet principal Viacheslav Samodurov and Larissa Lezhnina,
leading principal ballerina with Dutch National Ballet (also a former
principal with Kirov Ballet), in the neo-classical Light and Shade
by Krzyxztof Pastor resident choreographer of Dutch National
Ballet and Le Corsaire pas de deux.
National Ballet of Canada’s Alexander Antonijevic and Sonia Rodriguez
in “Summer” from Artistic Director James Kudelka’s The Four Seasons,
and the “Balcony” pas de deux from John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet.
Prince Credell, from Alonzo King’s San Francisco Lines Ballet,
in a solo with music by J.S. Bach from Road and, with Chiharu Shibata,
a pas de deux to Coleman Hawkins.
Dance Theatre of Harlem principal dancers Kellye Saunders &
Donald Williams return in “Signs and Wonders” excerpt to Traditional
African Music and Choreography by Alonzo King and “True Love”, an excerpt
from St. Louis Woman: A Blues Ballet, based on the musical “St.
Louis Woman” by Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Arna Bontemps and Countee Cullen
and produced by Arthur Mitchell. Choreography : Michael Smuin and New Orchestrations,
Arrangements, and Additional Music by Joseph E. Fields. “Ms. Saunders is a
restless, driven Firebird. With pointe work like a hummingbird and an incredibly
sharp first solo.” -- Terry Hollis Dance Insider
BalletMet’s Jimmy Orrante and Olivia Clark performing La Vida
Pasa from Deanna Carter’s Colores de Alma, and Call the Whole
Thing Off by Harrison McEldowney.
A principal couple from Houston Ballet; dancers and repertory
to be determined.
TICKETS
Tickets to Columbus’ Palace Theatre Aug. 13 are $27, $47, $62 and $77;
to purchase, call the BalletMet Box Office at 614.229.4848 or go to www.balletmet.org. Tickets to Cincinnati’s
Aronoff Center Aug. 14 are $35-$55; to purchase, call 513.621.ARTS (2787)
or go to www.ballettechohiopaa.org
. For more information call 513.683.6860. The Cincinnati performance will
be followed by a black tie-optional reception with desserts, hors d’oeuvres,
a cash bar and an opportunity to meet the guest artists. Tickets are $25 through
the Aronoff Box Office 513.621.ARTS (2787).
SPONSOR SUPPORT
The Columbus production of the Gala of International Ballet Stars
is sponsored by National City, with media support from WMNI-920 AM. BalletMet’s
season is sponsored by the Greater Columbus and Ohio arts councils.
The Cincinnati production of the Gala of
International Ballet Stars is sponsored by Crowne Plaza Hotel, with
media support from the Cincinnati Herald. ballet tech ohio's season is
sponsored in part by the Fine Arts Fund. Cincinnati
Performance Sponsor, the Cincinnati Crowne Plaza Hotel, offers special Gala
room rates of $59. Make reservations by logging on to www.CrownePlaza.com/cvg-downtown
or call (888)279-8260 and request group code BTF.
Founded in 1997 by
Claudia Rudolf Barrett, the non-profit ballet tech ohio performing arts
association presents a Season Series of major dance programs and about
a dozen community performances each year to provide Greater Cincinnati with
a new venue for high quality dance performances featuring pre-professional
and
professional dancers and a wide variety of
artists, dance styles and music. The ballet tech ohio performing arts association mission is to educate,
entertain and amaze by providing diverse and innovative performances that
have a phenomenal community impact. We have touched over 15,000 audience members
in the last two years with our Season Series and community performances to
further educate the public. Our Dance 2 Community Kids community outreach
program engaged individuals and sponsor companies to partner with us to introduce
over 500 youth from underserved communities to ballet and the Aronoff Center
in support of our initiative to expand the audience for the arts and downtown
Cincinnati venues. ballet tech ohio performing arts association sponsors the
ballet tech ohio Summer Intensive Seminar, which offers professional dance
training by internationally acclaimed dance teachers from all over the world
and Master Classes by Gala of International Ballet Stars performers as guest
teachers.
Since 1978, BalletMet Columbus has provided
artistic excellence in the field of dance in Central Ohio. With an annual budget of $5.3 million, it ranks among
the 15 largest dance companies in the nation, while BalletMet’s Dance Academy,
housed in a 35,000-square-foot Dance Centre, ranks among the country’s five
largest professional dance-training centers. Since its inception, BalletMet
has added 88 company premieres to its repertoire and produced 64 world premieres.
The mission of BalletMet is to celebrate dance by engaging the community through
quality performances, instruction, education programs and creation of new
works. Toward that end, BalletMet has developed DanceReach, an extensive network
of educational and outreach programs that serves nearly 50,000 people annually,
and a Community Outreach Scholarship program that provides full tuition for
talented minority and underserved youth.
Gala of International Ballet Stars Repertoire
BalletMet Columbus principal couple, Jim
Orrante and Olivia Clark will perform “La Vida Pasa” from
Deanna Carter’s Colores de Alma and “Call it Off” by Harrison
McEldowney. “In Deanna Carter's "Colores de Alma," the
partnering is complicated, yet the dancers never lost the sweep and grace
of the movement”….--Barbara Zuck The Columbus Dispatch “Call it Off”,
set to the music
of Gershwin, Allison and Cahn, choreographed by Harrison McEldowney, features
a couple who can't live with or without each other, playfully bantering back
and forth, working out their differences through dance. “Olivia
Clark delivered the high octane dancing compelled by the music” --S.E.
Arnold Critical Dance “Orrante delivered
an exceptional performance” --Sam Carle The Lantern
Gennadi Saveliev of American Ballet
Theater dances the flamboyant and flashy Abderakhman in the solo "Gopak".
“Gennadi Saveliev is an extremely strong solo danseur. He is fleet of foot
and able to achieve great height in his leaps”.-- Don Kolman Showmag.com
In Columbus he performs “White Swan” Pas de Deux from Swan Lake and "Diana
and Acteon" pas de deux with Sarah Lamb of Boston Ballet,.
“a distinctive blend of American energy and Kirov refinement” --Renee
Renouf Ballet.co Magazine Originally choreographed by Agrippina Vaganova,
and set to music by Cesare Pugni, the "Diana and Acteon" pas de
deux is marked by energetic fervor and continuous leaps, pirouettes, and endless
fouetté turns.
The Cincinnati performance will feature Ms. Lamb
with Raul Salamanca of Boston Ballet in “Black Swan” Pas de
Deux from Swan Lake “Raul Salamanca offered a thrilling set of turns.” --Theodore
Bale Boston Herald and “The Grey Area” a stunning contemporary
ballet that explores the area between life and death by David Dawson
of the Dutch National Ballet who was awarded one of the ballet world's most prestigious prizes
, the Benois de la Danse, for “The Grey Area.” “In The Grey Area,
the …dancers had out-of-this-world ballet technique. They spun, walked, spiraled
and flew over a gray floor in changing light...Niels Langz's score enhanced
the atmospherics, electronically distorting music by J.S. Bach. -- Molly
Glentzer, Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
Bridget Breiner of Stuttgart Ballet
and Christopher Roman from Frankfurt Ballet perform “Herman
Schmerman” by William Forsythe. “Forsythe's work is simply meant to
be enjoyed. It is pure, abstract movement, at a faster rate than I've ever
seen before, and his contemporary, incisive language has its roots, like that
of Neumeier and Kylian at Stuttgart before him, in classical vocabulary.”
-- Patricia Boccadoro In conversation about “Herman Schmerman”,
Mr. Forsythe has said, "I first heard that phrase ['Herman Schmerman']
used by Steve Martin in the film 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.' I think it's
a lovely title that means nothing… It's a piece about dancing that will be
a lot of fun.”. “Miss Breiner is a wonderful dancer
who is both nimble of body and fleet of foot.”-- Don Kolman, Showmag.com
Dance Theatre of Harlem principal dancers Kellye Saunders
and Donald Williams return in “Signs and Wonders” excerpt to
Traditional African Music and Choreography by Alonzo King
and “True Love”, an excerpt from St. Louis Woman: A Blues Ballet,
based on the musical “St. Louis Woman” by Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer,
Arna Bontemps and Countee Cullen and produced by Arthur Mitchell. Choreography
: Michael Smuin and New Orchestrations, Arrangements, and Additional
Music by Joseph E. Fields. “Ms. Saunders is a restless, driven Firebird.
With pointe work like a hummingbird and an incredibly sharp first solo.”
-- Terry Hollis Dance Insider “St. Louis Woman: A Blues Ballet”
is an entertaining work of dance theater that employs a deft blend of jazz,
ballet, and social dance. Mr. Smuin has much to be proud of; the narrative
unfolds clearly with some exciting duets and well-composed work for the
group of revelers. Mr. Williams dances with a commanding presence and bold
strokes.” --PIA CATTON The New York Sun The startlingly
lovely "Signs & Wonders" is filled with unforgettable imagery,
notably the woman lifted to grace and chosen in the end as The One. The
dance draws its name from the Bible quote: "Except ye see signs and
wonders, ye will not believe." Saunders and Williams were extremely
propular with the audience at last year’s Gala, and with this excellent
choreography, will Wow! the audience this year.
Agnes Oaks and Thomas Edur, guest
principal dancers from English National Ballet perform "Don Quixote"
pas de deux and “Impromptu” by Derek Dean. Petipa's
version of Don Quixote, to the music of Minkus, has become the standard
ballet version of the tale and features the popular virtuoso pas de deux.
Don Quixote 's bravado and fieriness is concentrated into this
single dance. Dancers love its playful sexuality - a rare quality in the stately
world of ballet. Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks are one of the world's most pristine
ballet partnerships, renowned for their interpretations of 19th-century classics.
"Thomas Edur as Prince Siegfried… the finest and noblest
interpreter of the role in Britain – and arguably the world " --Financial
Times The “Don Quixote” pas de deux will be awe inspiring with these great
stars! Audiences will delight in their partnering in Derek Dean's hypnotically
romantic duet to Schubert's Impromptu. Small wonder. The couple have
been dancing together since ballet school in Estonia
20 years ago. “… she proved yet again that she is one of the finest classical dancers in Britain today… she is an artist --Mail
on Sunday
Viacheslav Samodurov, principal with Royal Ballet and Larissa
Lezhnina (ex-Kirov principal, currently leading principal ballerina
at the Dutch National Ballet) dance "Le Corsaire" pas de
deux and “In Light and Shadow" pas de deux by Krzysztof Pastor, young resident choreographer at the Dutch National Ballet whose
neo classical work is full with dense emotions and who, in "In Light
and Shadow" takes the music baroque by Bach as a starting point. A
tale of love, betrayal, abduction, and murder, "Le Corsaire" is
a tongue-in-cheek classical ballet with an engagingly entangled plot involving
swashbuckling pirates, evil slave traders, and beautiful harem girls. “Le
Corsaire” was made famous by the Russian revivals of it by Jules Perrot
in 1858 and Marius Petipa in 1868. The Petipa version had musical
additions by Cesare Pugni and Léo Delibes. Petipa revived the ballet again
in 1899 and added a pas de deux to music by Richardo Drigo. “Her
performances in … numerous variations in the Petipa ballets, caused
Western critics to praise her performances as ideal examples of Kirov classicism.
Audiences admired her girlish, somewhat timid charm, her gentle, yet engaging
and honest characterizations, and the purity of her style.” --Marc Haegeman
National Ballet of Canada principal couple, Aleksandar Antonijevic
and Sonia Rodriguez will perform “Summer” from Kudelka's Four
Seasons and Balcony Pas De Deux from Cranko's Romeo & Juliet.
Cranko emphasized the human drama over pyrotechnics; he believed that
you could tell a story through dance without depending on operatic mime. His production of Romeo & Juliet is considered
one of the definitive versions being performed in the world today. Based on
Shakespeare's world famous tale, Cranko's vividly etched characters and breathtaking
choreography bring this tragedy to splendid life. "(Antonijevic is) an
elegantly centred dancer able to toss off pirouettes with patrician ease...truly
a Romeo in the making, blessed with impressive promise.” --The Toronto
Star The ballet, set to Serge Prokofiev's lush score, contains dramatic
roles for the young Juliet and her impetuous lover Romeo. “ Rodriguez, fully
in control of her body, can mask technique within a seamless flow of movement.
There is never a jarring line or awkward angle to her body. Over this superb
technique, she layers a brilliant interpretation as an actress… She was consumed
by her character” --The Globe and Mail, 2002James Kudelka, Canada’s
most celebrated classical choreographer, takes a kaleidoscopic ride through
Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons in the “Summer”pas de deux. “With
this ballet, Kudelka explores the cycle of The Four Seasons,
finding within the harmony of Vivaldi’s familiar Baroque score an expression
of the cyclical nature of life”.-- Gary Smith “(Antonijevic) has a
soft springy jump that a gazelle would envy – though this leaper lands in
perfect fifth and deep plié each time. He possesses high extension and excellent
lines, making an elegant and supportive partner.” --Dance Magazine, 1999
Principal Couple from Houston Ballet –Announcement
forthcoming. Last year, Mireille Hasssenboehler and Simon Ball
gave a bravura audience pleasing performance of The Sleeping Beauty
pas de deux.
Alonzo King’s San Francisco Lines Ballet
company principal Prince Credell performs Bach solo from Road and
a pas de deux with Chiharu Shibata to Coleman Hawkins.
The pas de deux "Coleman Hawkins" is inspired by the great
tenor saxophonist. With such jazzy music Chiharu Shibata and Prince Credell
should turn up the thermostat and let us share in the ensuing sauna.
--Aimee Ts’ao The Dance Insider