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Richmond Ballet kicks off 25th Anniversary Season with Antony Tudor classic
8/28/2008
RICHMOND BALLET
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2008
Media Contact:
Aaron Sutten
(804) 344-0906 x244
asutten@richmondballet.com
Richmond Ballet kicks off 25th Anniversary Season with Antony Tudor classic
RICHMOND - Richmond Ballet will
open its 25th Anniversary Season with the revival of a twentieth
century classic by Antony Tudor and the world premiere of a newly-commissioned
ballet by William Soleau. The works will
be performed during Studio 1, the first of four programs in the Ballet’s
increasingly popular Studio Series.
Studio 1 will open September 16th and run through September
21st in the Ballet’s Studio Theatre on Canal Street.
Antony Tudor’s Jardin aux Lilas (Lilac Garden), which premiered in 1936 and was last
performed by Richmond Ballet in 1995, is considered one of the prime examples
of the “psychological ballets” for which Tudor was so well known. Set in Edwardian times, it tells the story of
Caroline, who is forced to forsake her lover for a husband not of her choosing.
Her fiancé’s cast off mistress is the final player in this poignant and
chilling study of social convention. The ballet is marked by frustrated
meetings and forced partings between the various characters, powerfully
conveying the hidden passions and emotional restraint typical of the
period.
Tudor, whose 100th
anniversary is being celebrated throughout the ballet world this year, is
ranked alongside Balanchine and Robbins as one of the great ballet
choreographers of the twentieth century. He often drew the story ideas for his
ballets from literary sources and was referred to by English critics as the
“Chekhov of ballet” for his intense character studies and use of subtext in his
works. Jardin aux Lilas is set to the music of Ernest Chausson, and the
Richmond Ballet production will feature live accompaniment, provided by
violinist Susanna Klein and pianist Charles Staples. Donald Mahler, who worked directly with Tudor,
will stage the work for Richmond Ballet.
While he was with the National Ballet of Canada, Mahler danced the role
of the fiancé, the role that Tudor himself danced in the original production of
Jardin aux Lilas.
In keeping with its tradition of
fostering new works by contemporary choreographers, Richmond Ballet has once
again engaged New York-based choreographer William Soleau to create a new work
for the company. Soleau, who directed
and choreographed last season’s extremely popular production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will set his
new ballet to Misa Criolla by Ariel
Ramirez. A Spanish mass based on South American folk music, particularly the
rhythms and melodies of Argentina,
the score has won unprecedented admiration from both critics and the public
since its premiere in 1964. This uplifting choral music, accompanied by
traditional Argentinean instruments, is the perfect background for the setting
of this ballet, which expresses the profession of our inner faith and the
triumph of the human spirit. Choreographed for six couples, the work (also titled Misa Criolla) is,
according to Soleau, “an uplifting celebration of movement, music and our
ability to find strength in friendships and comfort in the belief that that we
are all part of something larger than ourselves.”
The new Soleau work, his seventh
for the company, has been commissioned by Donald Irwin of Hunton & Williams
in honor of Stoner Winslett and her twenty-five years of leadership of the
Richmond Ballet professional company.
Richmond Ballet’s Studio 1 is generously sponsored by Hunton &
Williams.
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Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of
Virginia, is dedicated to the education, promotion, preservation and continuing
evolution of the art form of ballet.
Richmond Ballet strives to keep meaningful works of dance alive and to produce
and foster new works that remain true to these values. Now in its 25th professional season, Richmond Ballet's mission
is to “awaken and uplift the human spirit, both for audiences and artists.”
***
For further press information contact:
Aaron Sutten, Director of Marketing and
Communications
EMAIL: asutten@richmondballet.com; CALL:
(804) 344-0906 x244