11.03
I’m blogging from my dressing room before getting ready to go on stage. After all the preparation, The Lottery is finally here! I thought the ballet came together really well as I watched the dress rehearsal last night. One thing that is cool about the ballet is that as the audience watches in anticipation for who will draw the mark, so do all the dancers back stage who aren’t in The Lottery that show. We all cheer on the dancer who is about to be stoned to death because the stamina heavy solo you have to dance makes you feel like you’re actually going to die by the end of it. The ballet is beautiful and creepy and intense and emotional … Val Caniparoli hit this one right on the mark (get it? “the mark”). The Lottery is getting a lot of attention because it is a world premiere but the ballet is paired with Helen Pickett’s, But Never Doubt I Love; and Nicolo Fonte’s, Bolero – both really nice ballets. This is a great way to start off the season with an entertaining triple bill. I took some pictures from the last couple tech and dress rehearsals on stage.
Arolyn Williams & Christopher Sellars in BUT NEVER DOUBT I LOVE
Christiana Bennett in BUT NEVER DOUBT I LOVE
Christiana Bennett & Christopher Anderson in BUT NEVER DOUBT I LOVE
Beckanne Sisk & Christopher Sellars in BOLERO
Thomas Mattingly & company in BOLERO
Christopher Ruud in THE LOTTERY
Katie Critchlow & Thomas Mattingly in THE LOTTERY
Sayaka Ohtaki & Owen Gaj in THE LOTTERY
The company in THE LOTTERY
Katie Critchlow & Thomas Mattingly in THE LOTTERY
Emily Adams & Christopher Ruud in THE LOTTERY
Owen Gaj & company in THE LOTTERY
I should have captioned that picture, “Owen Gaj is about to die” because it rhymes … and it’s true, look at their faces!
-Beau
Wow. I don’t know what else to say but wow. What a night opening night was! I was pleasantly surprised by But Never Doubt I love, and The Lottery was absolutely fantastic — my heart was in my throat waiting for the mark to be drawn! Christopher Ruud was awesome as the slightly creepy box-keeper fellow, and Christiana Bennett blew my mind (though that’s really nothing new) performing the heart-rending solo at the end. And Bolero was of course fabulous. What a night. Great job, guys.
What a lineup of work and artistry! Great imagery and photography Beau, Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Beth … We always appreciate your support.
Thanks so much, Will. I loooooove taking pictures. So, if I’m not dancing, I’m clicking away.
My husband and I didn’t grow up with ballet and we were surprised by how captivating the Lottery was. Days later I’m still thinking about it. Wish I could see it again. Would love to see more contemporary narrative style ballets in the future. The other two pieces were beautiful as well, but as someone who is new to ballet I found the narrative piece really drew me in. The music was spectacular too. We saw it Saturday night and it was great, but I was so jealous to hear that Christiana drew the solo on Friday—she is just marvelous to watch.
Loved the show tonight! The Lottery got me to buy a ticket, and I enjoyed it, but Bolero was really the star of the evening. As soon as it ended I wanted to see it again. I’d love to see more of Nicolo Fonte. Fantastic line up… contemporary without forgetting that it’s an art that’s meant to be beautiful. Well done Ballet West.
That is why we’re excited to have Nicolo as our resident choreographer! You’ll see plenty more from him in the future.
Swoon.