Ballet West News

SALT LAKE CITY – Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute is pleased to announce the promotion of Michael Bearden to the position of Principal Artist for the 2008-09 season. He joins returning Leading Principal Ballerina Christiana Bennett and returning Principal Artists Christopher Ruud and Hua Zhuang. Kate Crews and Jason Linsley have been promoted to Soloist, joining returning Soloists Annie Breneman, Peggy Dolkas and Katherine Lawrence. Jason Chinea, Victoria Lock, Christopher Sellars and Jacqueline Straughan have been promoted to Demi-Soloist, joining returning Demi-Soloist Elizabeth McGrath. Ballet West II dancer Aidan Diskin has been promoted to Company Apprentice.

“I have been Artistic Director of Ballet West for just over a year and have come to admire the strength and diversity of our artists,” said Adam Sklute.  “I feel the dancers I have chosen to promote are ready for the next step. But with so many high caliber artists, I’m excited to say that in future years I see many more promotions on the horizon.”

New dancers joining Ballet West for the 2008-09 season include Principal Artists Romi Beppu, most recently a Principal Dancer with Boston Ballet, and Principal Guest Artist Sarah Webb, currently a Principal Dancer with Houston Ballet. New Ballet West Artists include Owen Gaj, an Apprentice with the San Francisco Ballet; David Kim from Ballet Met in Columbus, Ohio; and Thomas Mattingly from Cincinnati Ballet. Joining Ballet West as a First Year Apprentice is Rex Tilton from Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle.

“My mission for our 2008-2009 line up is three-fold; to promote  heavily from within, to bring in nationally renowned leading artists, and to introduce exceptional young talent to build the future of Ballet West,” said Sklute.

New Additions to Ballet West II
Ballet West II, the Company’s training ground for 10 young, pre-professional dancers, welcomes four new faces to its roster – Dustin James from Houston Ballet II; Shea Johnson from Arlington Ballet from Texas; Stephen King, the younger brother of Ballet West Artist Nathaniel King, from Maryland; and Adrian Michael Veloz from Los Angeles. Two additional Ballet West II female dancers are yet to be announced.

2008-09 Season Tickets On Sale Now
Ballet West kicks off its 2008-09 season in November with the fantastic Utah premiere of the ballet version of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” November 7-15 at the Capitol Theatre. With choreography by one of Utah’s favorite sons, the late great Michael Smuin, and a commissioned score based on the music of Henry Purcell, this is a tale of magical beings and all-too-human humans entwined in a net of love, humor, conflict and reconciliation.

Season subscriptions are currently on sale, with tickets starting at $48. For more information on season tickets, call the Ballet West subscription office at (801) 323-6920.

SALT LAKE CITY – Four dynamic works will grace the Capitol Theatre stage April 18-26 when Ballet West presents the Utah premiere of Twyla Tharp’s acclaimed Nine Sinatra Songs, along with George Balanchine’s sweeping Serenade, Bruce Marks’ elegant Continuo and Val Caniparoli’s dramatic Hamlet and Ophelia.

In the Utah premiere of Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs,  seven couples waltz, foxtrot, tango, and jive, celebrating Frank Sinatra, the 1950s and the seductive thrill of ballroom dancing. Each of the dances passionately details aspects of love and reletionships, bestowing on each song its own distinct identity. Filled with memorable tunes sung by Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Nine Sinatra Songs is further complemented by exquisite dresses and tuxedos by designer Oscar de la Renta.

The program continues in grand style with George Balanchine’s breathtaking Serenade. This moonlit, windswept masterpiece is set to Tchaikovsky’s superb Serenade for Strings, and is the first original ballet Balanchine created in the United States.  Originating as a lesson in stage technique, Balanchine worked unexpected rehearsal events into the choreography. When one student fell, he incorporated it. Another day, a student arrived late, and this too became part of the ballet.  Filled with drama and exciting dancing this wondrous work tells no story and many stories at the same time

Ballet West also presents the long-awaited return the pas de deux from Val Caniparoli’s Hamlet and Ophelia, an intense work set to the Third Movement of Bohuslav Martinu’s Symphony No. 1.  One-time resident choreographer of Ballet West, Caniparoli is a choreographer of uncommon ability and rare dramatic vision. This bittersweet pas de deux portrays private and tender moments between Hamlet and his tragic Ophelia, who loved him “…not wisely, but too well.”                  

The program is complete with Continuo, set to movements from Giuseppe Torelli’s Trumpet Concertos and choreographed by former Ballet West Artistic Director Bruce Marks. Created on the Company in 1981, this work highlights the athleticism of Ballet West’s men. Of Continuo, Marks recalled: “The creation of this piece was especially important to me because so few ballets really showcase male dancers. After five years at Ballet West, I felt that the men were stronger than ever before.  I wanted to show their technical ability, as well as their new-found strength and ease. I chose this music because I found the trumpets particularly masculine, which would exhibit their physical vigor.”   

The performances of the Nine Sinatra Songs program will be accompanied by the Utah Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Terence Kern and David Van Alstyne. Evening performances April 18, 19 and 23-26 begin at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on April 26 at 2:00 p.m.  Tickets range from $18 to $66. Single tickets are available for purchase  through the ArtTix Ticket Office, 50 West 200 South, or at any ArtTix outlet.  For your convenience, you may charge your tickets over the phone by calling ArtTix at 355-ARTS (2787).