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Richmond Ballet Celebrates the Past and Present
10/24/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2008
Media Contact: Aaron Sutten
(804) 344-0906 x244
asutten@richmondballet.com
RICHMOND BALLET CELEBRATES THE PAST AND
PRESENT
Richmond Ballet’s Studio 2, which
opens November 11 and runs through November 16, will feature a world premiere
by Norfolk-based choreographer Todd Rosenlieb and a revival of Artistic
Director Stoner Winslett’s Ancient Airs
and Dances. The programming continues the popular Studio Series tradition
of pairing new works with revivals of twentieth-century classics and audience
favorites from the Richmond Ballet repertory.
The new Rosenlieb work, …as an old shirt., is a quirky and
clever piece set to the song stylings of Sammy Davis, Jr. Oversized shirts and
socks set the tone for a slippery adventure that evokes classic Broadway and
movie musical moments with a surprising modern twist.
Rosenlieb, Artistic Director of
Todd Rosenlieb Dance, says of the new piece,
“[It] takes seven couples through the romance and rigors of post-modern relationships…14 powerful and
statuesque bodies move like liquid as they transform a Sunday morning romantic
mood into a Saturday ‘night club’ extravaganza.”
…as an old shirt. is
Rosenlieb’s first fully-produced work for Richmond Ballet. His first
collaboration with the company was a workshop piece created for the Ballet’s
inaugural New Works Festival last April 2008.
Set to Italian and French lute
songs orchestrated by Respighi, Ancient
Airs and Dances is the first work created by Ms. Winslett for Richmond
Ballet, and she has revived the work in honor of the professional company’s 25th
Anniversary Season. The ballet depicts a journey of personal discovery, with
each of the four couples expressing a different part of the journey. For the
revival, Richmond Ballet Costume Director Tamara Cobus is renovating the
original costume designs and Production Director Michael Stewart will restore
the original lighting design by Richard Moore in order to retain the look of
the ballet at its premiere in 1986.
Each of the dancers has brought
their own special feeling to the piece since 1986. Of this uplifting work,
Winslett says, “One of my great pleasures has been watching the different casts
perform this piece over the years and seeing them infuse the choreography with
their unique personalities.”
The new work by Rosenlieb is one
of three world premiere ballets that will be presented during the Richmond
Ballet 2008-09 Studio Series performances. William Soleau created Misa Criolla for Studio 1 in September,
and Gina Patterson will complete Silence,
the work that she began during last season’s New Works Festival, for Studio 3
in March 2009. Studio 4 will feature the
company premiere of George Balanchine’s The
Four Temperaments.
Richmond Ballet’s Studio 2 is generously sponsored
by
Keiter, Stephens, Hurst, Gary & Shreaves
###
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