Boston Ballet : eNews May 2007

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eNews May 2007

CLASSIC BALANCHINE AND GISELLE
During the last two weeks in April, two classic ballets wereoming to life in Boston Ballet’s studios under the supervision of two gifted artists. Bart Cook, the former New York City Ballet principal dancer regarded by many as the definitive Melancholic in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, was rehearsing the dancers in that landmark ballet. And Maina Gielgud, whose profound production of Giselle is considered one of the best in the world, was sharing her vast knowledge of this most Romantic ballet with the Company. The results are on display this month. In addition to the groundbreaking The Four Temperaments, Classic Balanchine features Ballo della Regina and La Valse; the program runs May 3-6. Giselle closes out the season, May 10-20. Both productions are at the Citi Performing Arts CenterSM Wang Theatre.

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL!
In honor of Mother's Day, bring someone you love to see Giselle for FREE! Valid on the following dates: Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 at 8:00 pm; Sunday, May 13 at 2:00pm. Learn more.

CALLING ALL GISELLES
Is your name Giselle? If so, you’re entitled to one free ticket to Boston Ballet’s production of Giselle, good for any performance from May 10-13. Just go to the Wang Theatre Box Office, 270 Tremont Street, Monday through Saturday between 10am and 6pm prior to May 13 and bring proper ID. Best available seating. Not valid on previously purchased tickets and not to be combined with any other offers.

EXCITING PROGRAM CHANGE: 2007-2008 SEASON
Swan Lake will be replacing La Bayadere, May 1-11, 2008. If you haven't already subscribed to the 2007-2008 season, you can now subscribe online! Full season subscriptions start at just $125- learn more.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
The Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama was truly transformed on April 14, the night of Boston Ballet's annual black-tie benefit. This year’s event, For Your Eyes Only, was co-chaired by Angela Koutoulakis, Ruth Littlechild and Lisa Pierpont, and featured a James Bond theme. Over 460 guests were treated to a one-time-only ballet performance choreographed by company member Melissa Hough, who translated the slick and suave Bond style into an arresting dance number. If you weren't able to join us and want to support this incredible event, please log into our online auction and bid on some fabulous items.

BOSTON BALLET SCHOOL SPRING SHOWCASE
Students from the Elementary, Trainee, Intensive and Classical Ballet programs will be in the spotlight June 1 -3, when they perform in Boston Ballet School’s annual Spring Showcase. This year’s event is at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama, and is open to the public. “Boston Ballet School’s Spring Showcase is a wonderful performing opportunity for our talented and hard-working students to show the culmination of their year’s training,” said Christopher Hird, assistant principal, Boston studio. Learn more.

BOSTON BALLET WELCOMES MARGARET TRACEY
Former New York City Ballet principal dancer Margaret Tracey will become the new associate director of Boston Ballet Center for Dance Education (CDE), effective July 1. “Margaret Tracey is a spectacular addition to our artistic staff,” said Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. “I admire her intelligence, her artistic integrity, and her humanity, and I believe she will take Boston Ballet School to the next level.” Tracey will also oversee the staff at all three Boston Ballet School studios – in the Sound End of Boston, the South Shore community of Norwell, and the MetroWest town of Newton – in addition to the Summer Dance Program and Dance Lab.

FRIDAY NIGHT OUT
Join us on May 4 and May 18 for Friday Night Out, an evening of ballet and cocktails for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.Friday Night Out begins at the Wang Theatre with pre-curtain talks at 7pm, followed by performances of Classic Balanchine on May 4 and Giselle on May 18. Then head over to the post-performance reception at Jacob Wirth Restaurant located at 31 Stuart Street. On Friday, May 4 there will also be a reception held in the Metropolitan Room of the Wang Theatre at 5:30. For more information/RSVP call 617.695.6955

VALERIE WILDER PAYS TRIBUTE TO COLLEAGUES
Boston Ballet Executive Director Valerie Wilder, who rose from dancer to artistic director of The National Ballet of Canada, remembered friends and colleagues at The Seventh International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize in Toronto. This is a small ballet competition that was founded after Bruhn’s untimely death in 1986. Bruhn had a long association with The National Ballet and served as its artistic director from 1983-1986. This year’s competition, which took place in March, served as a tribute to Celia Franca and Glen Tetley. Franca, who died in February, founded The National Ballet in 1951 and the National Ballet School in 1959. Tetley, one of the renowned choreographers of the twentieth century, passed away in January. Wilder became artistic director of The National Ballet following Bruhn’s death and engaged Tetley as artistic associate, a position he held from 1987 to 1989. Also in March, Wilder was an invited speaker at The Tenth Annual Canadian Arts Summit in Montreal, an annual conference for leaders of all the major Canadian arts organizations. This year’s theme was “Putting the Arts at the Centre of Society.”

DANCERS ON DANCING: 5 Questions for Mindaugas Bauzys Mindaugas Bauzys, a native of Skuodas, Lithuania, graduated from the Vilnius Ballet School and joined the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre in 1990, where he rose to the rank of principal dancer. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Medal of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. Prior to joining Boston Ballet as a soloist in 2004, Bauzys was a principal dancer with Ballet Arlington. His repertory with the Company includes Mikko Nissinen’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, John Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew, James Kudelka’s Cinderella, George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15 and Serenade, Lucinda Childs’ Ten Part Suite, Helen Pickett’s Etesian, Jorma Elo’s Carmen and Plan to B, Marius Petipa’s Raymonda, Act III, and Bronislava Nijinska’s Les Noces.

Q. What was the first ballet you danced as a professional?
I wasn’t yet a professional, but the first ballet I danced with a professional company was The Sleeping Beauty. I was 10 or 11 years old, and I appeared in the garland dance and in a divertissement in the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre’s production. It was a little confusing to be onstage the first time. When you rehearse in a studio, there are mirrors all around. Then you get onstage and it’s a big, open space filled with all these people; I felt like I was lost in a forest. But I had fun. I wasn’t thinking about being a professional then. I studied for eight years, and it was only during the last two or three years, when I studied with Danielius Kirðys, that I began to understand what being a professional dancer was all about.

Q. What is your favorite ballet to perform?
Albert [Albrecht] in Giselle. I danced the role in Lithuania and also as a guest artist with a few other companies. I like that it has a reality to it: you can find that situation of love and betrayal everywhere. It’s like real life in a Romantic frame.

Q. What is your favorite ballet to watch?
I like to watch good companies do good choreography. It doesn’t matter whether it’s contemporary or classical – when I see quality I enjoy it.

Q. What ballet or role would you most like to dance that you haven't?
Solor in La Bayadère. This ballet has a sense of mystery for me because of its Eastern flavor. Whatever is associated with the East has some kind of magic for me.

Q. Is there a dancer that you look to as a role model or one in particular that you enjoy watching?
When I was very young my idols were Mikhail Baryshnikov, Farouk Ruzimatov and Alexander Godunov. Ruzimatov danced Don Quixote and The Sleeping Beauty with my company in Lithuania and he was amazing. All three of these artists inspired me as a dancer. After watching them perform, I’d come to class the next day flying, and try to do what they did.

GROUP TICKETS Group tickets are on sale for Boston Ballet’s entire 2007-2008 season. Call Courtney Hadden, group sales manager, at 617.456.6343 to order your group tickets today.