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The Asheville Ballet announces “Spring Into Dance: An Artistic Bouquet.” This concert is a gift to our community – a professional production of all original choreography by Western North Carolina’s own Ballet Company and North Carolina’s oldest Ballet Company, The Asheville Ballet, directed by Ann Dunn. Resident choreographers, including Ann Dunn, Alisha Ear, Eden Hughes, Fleming Lomax, Rebecca O’Quinn, Tricia Renshaw, Sol Wagner, and Stephanie Wolfe, present their exciting new works on May 17 & 18 at 6:30pm at the Diana Wortham Theatre at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets range from $15-40 and are available at the Box Office, 828.257.4530, or online at https://www.worthamarts.org/events/spring-into-dance-an-artistic-bouquet-2/.
For more information, please visit www.ashevilleballet.com
Inspired by a 1949 work of the same name by Black Mountain College textile artist, Anni Albers, Ann Dunn’s “Knot” is a collaboration with Washington D.C. composer and cellist, Erin Murphy Snedecor. Dunn says, “Albers has captured, in two dimensions, one of the principal concerns of choreographers - patterns of movement through space in three dimensions. The artwork seemed to me to suggest three separate but intertwined journeys, whether they happen among three distinct individuals or within one individual throughout a life.” Ann Dunn performs this work with Eden Hughes and Megan Jones Medford.
With music by Johann Strauss II and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Eden Hughes’ new work “Splash!” is a hopeful ode to sunny summer days ahead.
Fleming Lomax’s “Reflections Through Glass Doorknobs” ponders our perceptions of the world as children and how those perceptions shift when filtered through our adult lens. The movement content is inspired by childhood memories of Lomax’s Grandparents’ home and her reflection on those experiences as an adult.
Tricia Renshaw’s “The Beginning in the End” explores the idea conveyed by the familiar proverb, “It's darkest before the dawn,” recognizing that a catabolic process must first occur to make space for the new. Old patterns, beliefs, and behaviors must be de-storied and broken down before new practices and ways of being can blossom, allowing for more expansion, joy, and love to swell inside us and spill into our world.
Sol Wagner’s work, “In the Weeds,” began as a meditation on the inner self. As the piece developed, it drew more on the feelings of desolation and isolation one encounters when experiencing loss. In this piece, the dancers honor the negative feelings and move through them and on to stronger, more confident selves.
Stephanie Wolfe’s piece, “Integration,” restaged and expanded from a 2019 work, explores our relationship between primitive reflexes and control. Such integration leads to improved processing, allowing each individual to be more present and connected in the moment.
“A perfect opportunity for people, young and seasoned, to encounter professional classical and contemporary dance in a wonderful collection of artistic visions, from funny to powerful, in a real theatrical experience.” – Dunn
The evening is like a potpourri of scents, a hearty stew, a fresh salad. People will arrive not knowing what they’ll see but ready for discovery – of flavors, of aromas, of new and different dance aesthetics. Asheville is fortunate to have a resident ballet company of this caliber. The community has, essentially, a year-long resident repertoire company. Seasoned dance fans and novices alike have the opportunity to watch consummate professionals perform a wide variety of roles, from classical to contemporary.
Asheville Ballet has built a reputation on the belief that dance plays a vital role in the education and culture of the community. As a key component of its Educational Outreach Program, The Asheville Ballet performs its entire production of the holiday classic, The Nutcracker, for school children every year.
Asheville Ballet is North Carolina’s oldest non-profit ballet company. First incorporated in 1963, the company has created and presented work in Asheville every year since. In an average season, formal and educational outreach programming affects a culturally diverse audience of approximately 23,000 people. An active advisory panel and a strong, well-organized volunteer base assist a committed board.
Asheville Ballet has produced residencies by historical choreographers (Anna Sokolow, Douglas Dunn, Lori Bellilove), hosted master classes and workshops by international dance stars (Sean Curran, Mark Dendy, Chuck Davis, David Dorfman), produced the three-week Fall Into Dance festival, and commissioned both classical and contemporary choreography.
Asheville Ballet productions reflect the region’s varied interests. In addition to an ongoing relationship with The Biltmore Estate and The Dirty Dancing Festival at Lake Lure, work has been produced for fund-raisers (The Health Adventure, The Arts Council), civic events (Martin Luther King Day, Bele Chere Festival), and commercial events (The Dirty Dancing Festival, opening for the Pointer Sisters).
Since its inception, Asheville Ballet has produced both cutting edge interdisciplinary work and full-length major work. The company has collaborated with other local art agencies (the Asheville Symphony, Asheville Bravo Concerts, Asheville Community Theater, Asheville Lyric Opera), and has worked live with the area’s major musical, poetic, and visual artists.
In addition to promoting new work and a year-round professional ballet company for our region, Asheville Ballet offers an annual lecture series on dance appreciation, in co-ordination with other local dance presenters, and generates educational articles on dance history and appreciation for national and local publications. The company has built a full library of dance-related materials.
Asheville Ballet’s commitment to supporting its professional adult members is evidenced by its challenging and stimulating performances, choreography, and teaching opportunities. The company also continues to nurture the careers of advanced youth members. Dancers who have worked with the ballet have performed with Alvin Ailey, Kirov Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Fort Worth Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Colorado Ballet, Hartford Ballet, Boston Ballet, Geneva Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, and the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. Company dancers have appeared in Broadway musicals, Hollywood films, and have won titles all the way up to Miss and Mrs. America. They have also been accepted at the schools of the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Juilliard, Boston Ballet, Jose Limon, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Robert Joffrey, and The Dance Conservatory at Purchase.
Asheville Ballet has created and found funding for scholarships for advanced dancers to pursue professional work in New York and Europe, and for underprivileged children to study dance in Asheville. The company has worked with Project Steam, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Helpmate, Elida Home, Presbyterian Home for Children, and local churches to locate and encourage new dancers and dance-appreciators. The Tix for Tots program makes hundreds of tickets available to introduce young people to the wonders of dance.
For more information call Ann Dunn at (828) 215-3728 or email [email protected].
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, 2 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801-3604, United States,Asheville, North Carolina
Tickets
