[Posted Monday, April 18, 2022]
Contributed by The Portland Ballet
Spring Concert: "Current/Classic" May 13-14, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Lincoln Performance Hall at Portland State University, 1620 SW Park at Market
Tickets: $15 General Admission/Student/Child; $25 Adult. Tickets go on sale April 18, 2022.
Runtime: One hour and 15 minutes with one intermission
Information: theportlandballet.org or 503-452-8448
Health and safety protocols: Audience members will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative antigen rapid Covid test within 24 hours.
The Portland Ballet presents Current/Classic on May 13-14 in a mixed-repertoire program of contemporary and classical pieces that showcase the academy’s advanced company dancers.
The bill includes August Bournonville’s iconic "Napoli," the vibrant "Concerto in F" with music by George Gershwin, a new work titled "Q" by Nick Le-Jurica that pays tribute to the classics and the essence of ballet, and Oregon dance legend Dennis Spaight’s passionate "Gloria." Special guest performances by Shaun Keylock Company will feature works by notable Portland choreographers Josie Moseley and Gregg Bielemeier.
Program
"Napoli"
August Bournonville/Music by Holger Paulli/Staged by Michelle Davis
"Napoli," a classic tale of temptation and triumph about a young girl who falls in love with a fisherman was created by famed ballet master August Bournonville in 1842. The choreographer was inspired by a trip to Naples, Italy, and captures the city’s vibrant, colorful street life in what has become his iconic, signature ballet. The work will be staged by Michelle Davis, a faculty member of The Portland Ballet who studied at The Royal Danish Ballet, where Bournonville’s precise and challenging technique left an indelible legacy.
"Concerto in F"
Adapted by Nancy Davis after John Clifford/Music by George Gershwin
This fiery crowd-pleaser holds a special place for The Portland Ballet’s artistic director Nancy Davis, who first performed it in 1976 for the Los Angeles Ballet. The dynamic solo is one of her favorite roles, requiring flashy turns and jumps.
"Q" (world premiere)
Nick Le-Jurica/Music by Jordi Savall
"Q," a new work by Nick Le-Jurica, The Portland Ballet’s director of community engagement, pays tribute to the essence of ballet that lives on in the creation of modern works of art. With music that is contemporary to the inception of ballet (1500s) and inspired by the classics, it is a selection of some of the most potent motifs taken from great ballets. Like taking a novel and turning it into a poem, "Q" tells a familiar story in a way that leaves far more to be inferred and interpreted.
"Gloria"
Dennis Spaight/Music by Antonio Vivaldi/Staged by Carol Shults
Dennis Spaight’s choreography was musically driven, and "Gloria" evokes the exhilarating passion of spiritual love that springs from Vivaldi’s famous score. As the first resident choreographer for Oregon Ballet Theatre, Spaight created this ballet for the company in 1983 when he was only 28 years old. Sadly, Spaight died young, and Carol Shults, an artistic advisor at The Portland Ballet, carries on his body of work as a répétiteur.
Guest performances by Shaun Keylock Company
"With" (Josie Moseley/John Richard Lurie & Lou Harrison) performed by Nick Le-Jurica and Jillian Hobbs
"S.K. Swan" (Gregg Bielemeier/3 Leg Torso) performed by Shaun Keylock
The Portland Ballet, a world-class dance academy in Portland, Oregon, is committed to fostering the future of ballet by building the next generation of dancers and audiences. Founded in 2001, TPB is shaped by the vision, artistic experience, and family-centered sensibility of the founding directors. Artistic director Nancy Davis and executive director Jim Lane trained at the School of American Ballet and enjoyed distinguished professional careers in companies throughout the US. After retiring as principal dancers of the Los Angeles Ballet — where their partnership onstage led to a marriage and family off the stage — they moved to Portland and founded The Portland Ballet. Graduates have carried TPB’s reputation for excellence into major professional companies and conservatory programs throughout the US and abroad.