Now hiring male dancer for the 2013-2014 season!

Attention male dancers! Ballet Fantastique is on a national audition search for a male company dancer for the 2013-2014 season. Please pass the information along! More info

ballet fantastique contemporary chamber company (in gorgeous eugene, oregon)

30+ WEEKS OF PAID WORK 2013–2014 SEASON + TOURING

ALL-ORIGINAL CONTEMPORARY BALLET REPERTOIRE

choreographer-producers donna marisa + hannah bontrager

2013–2014 season includes—subject to some change:

zorro (original score)

as you like it: a wild west ballet

tales from a floating world (live japanese taiko drumming)

Contract includes three new contemporary ballet premieres each season, plus touring. Competitive pay by the week and benefits, including shoes, massage assistance, and full physical therapy. Also available: additional opportunities for paid outreach and teaching work.

Competitive applicants will have strong classical ballet and contemporary vocabularies, and confidence with soloist and pas de deux work. Applicants must be a US citizen (or hold a green card or work permit), and are preferably 5’9” and up. Audition by DVD or in person (contact us for more details).

Additional skills of interest (desired but not requisite): Choreography, arts education, arts administration, dance instruction (ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, pas de deux, and/or hip-hop).

Backstage with Hannah: Casanova is coming…

Well, we’re in the throes of Casanova (T minus 8 days to opening night).  And ohmygoodness, this is FUN.

As a dancer and co-choreographer/producer, I’m feeling beautifully steeped in this decadent era (18th-century Venice).  It’s just so full.  

The words: In the process of creating this new ballet, Donna and I have been reading biographies of Giacomo Casanova—as well as his own writings, of course.  (Aside: Cad, yes—as mum says, “sometimes I feel like I need to take a shower after I read this stuff!”—but the man was a charming and intelligent writer.  In fact, some of his lines were just so good that they inspired us to add a bit of narration in the “voice of Casanova” to the ballet, threading through his misadventures.)  We’ve been reading about Venetian customs and Carnival, and dear friend and history buff Genna Speer also insisted that I read a slim little novel by Georgette Heyer, Powder and Patch, to pick up on some playful period details (highly recommended to our more serious audience members).

The music: We’ve been listening to endless concerti, both from composers we already knew and loved (e.g., the prolific Venetian Vivaldi is of course key to our ballet), and from those we were less familiar with, like Jean-Philippe Rameau.  Underpinning every decision was to choose music that would sound familiar, that would resonate, but that wouldn’t sound too familiar.  THERE IS NO RITZ CARLTON ELEVATOR MUSIC IN THIS BALLET.  A bit of my favorite discoveries: We stumbled in a You Tube search across this AWESOME version of his “Rondeau des Indes Galantes” by the Louvre Symphony Orchestra with authentic period instruments (WATCH—it rocks).  And some darn beautiful stuff that won’t make it into this ballet (e.g., the piano duo Anderson and Roe’s haunting arrangement of Vivaldi’s “Sento in seno ch’in pioggia di lagrime”/”A rain of tears“—if you haven’t listened to it yet, do), but that we’re filing away for a later project.  Even now, with our ballet score long-chosen, I’m listening to baroque music incessantly (e.g., literally right now), since I’m a snob about having perfect intermission music.  In short, the music from this era and from our Casanova score alike are so gorgeous that I can’t stop listening.  You just can’t get sick of it.  The downside is that this is our one ballet this season without live music, but the upside is that it would be a little hard to get the Louvre Orchestra or four harpsichords on stage at the Soreng; the experience we’re building is a total immersion in how stunningly lovely—and genius—music was during this time.

See the rounded shape of Alanna’s arm in this shot from Giovanni Bruni’s pas de deux with Paulina (Casanova has just swooped in and is plotting his next move.)  Photo: Steph Urso Photography

The movement: We’ve been studying baroque dance steps and watching authentic re-stagings of early ballet movement (recommended: Le Roi Danse).  We’ve enlisted the help of a number of experienced fencers for our dance-duel scenes with single rapier.  (Yes, I have BRUISES—this stuff is hard.)  Donna and I are fiercely committed to challenging the company to have exquisitely nuanced musicality and especially arms and hands, and she’s making explicit decisions about some of the aesthetics, for example, there is very little traditional elongee in Casanova (where the dancer extends his/her arm, palm down); instead, she’s having us invert all of these shapes with palms up in a more traditional baroque style.  There are cabrioles up the wazoo (this step was a big deal back then), and we don’t use as much epaulement with our feet, though there’s lots with our upper body.  The movement has twist and is all about arms, so as a dancer, my body is LOVING it.

Ok, so we probably can’t get this kind of height, bu the idea is what we’re going for…

The costumes/set: Then, there’s the costumes…we’ve been studying fashion of the time (see our Casanova Pinterest page to peruse the designers’ inspiration board).  The costumes are maybe the most gorgeous we’ve ever created (see a sneak peek on our Facebook page)—they are  a contemporary spin on “baroque.”  So, for example, we have these drop-dead cascading lace sleeves that fall from the elbow, but instead of connecting at the shoulder, they’re independent pieces that start at the women’s biceps so that we have more free movement.  Then the skirts are built on a basic tutu from our professional costumer in LA, Primadonna, which we decided to do in ivory as if it’s a petticoat.  Onto these tutu bases, demi-”bustles” are being overlaid, each woman’s slightly different, to get the dramatic curve out at the waist but without a floor-length skirt to get in the way of our dancing.  We’ve been on the hunt in Springfield antique stores for the perfect jewels for Casanova’s women, making our Casanova (Elijah Labay) practice in his wig to make sure that his new ponytail doesn’t get taken off in any of our lifts, and using our hair extensions that were the beehives for Cinderella to build the ladies’ hair higher in a style evocative of baroque, but again, still danceable.  All I can say is bless Allison Ditson, Rita Perini Vance, Katie Liane, and Beth Scott for their incredible, incredible artistry.

In sum, we’ve got gold paint on our hands (furniture that had to get taken up a notch), baroque music in our ears, and Casanova on our mind…

See you next weekend!

CASANOVA TICKETS/INFO

Male Dancer Auditions

Photo: Mikael Krummel and Greg Burns

Job opening: Male contemporary ballet dancer for Ballet Fantastique

Ballet Fantastique Contemporary Chamber Company is hiring a male soloist dancer beginning as early as January 2013 and as late as July 2013 (start date negotiable) for a full contract of 30 weeks of paid work including three new contemporary ballet premieres plus national/international touring as scheduled, with competitive pay by the week and benefits, including shoe allowance, physical therapy and massage assistance.  Contract also includes additional opportunities for paid outreach and teaching work.

We seek a new company member with talent, strength, artistic voice, a great work ethic and sense of humor, personality, and an insatiable appetite for what’s next.  Competitive applicants will have strong classical and contemporary vocabularies, and confidence with pas de deux work.  Applicants must be a US citizen (or hold a green card or work permit), and are preferably 5’9” and up.

Additional skills of interest (desired but not requisite): Choreography, arts education, arts administration, dance instruction (ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, pas de deux, and/or hip-hop).

More information/full audition requirements

Please send DVD, resume and photos to:

Hannah Bontrager, Executive Director

Ballet Fantastique | 960 Oak | Eugene, OR 97401

or email info@balletfantastique.org

Feel free to pass this post/opportunity along!  Thanks a million.

The Summer Soirée at Domain Meriwether Winery

 My name is Candace Chin, I am the Media Intern at BFan. A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Ballet Fantastique’s annual summer soirée! Although I was technically working, I was still able to enjoy all the delightful amenities.

The venue was absolutely breathtaking. We were surrounded by hills of trees with a lovely view of the sunset hanging to our right. The hors d’oeuvres for the night were provided by KNIO Personal Chefs. I was manning the information table so I wasn’t able to try all of the hors d’oeuvres, but the ones that I did were both filling and flavorful. My favorite was the pulled pork crustini with the marion blackberry grenache BBQ sauce. Doesn’t that sound absolutely delicious? The wine and Champaign did not disappoint either. I would attempt to describe them to you, but I don’t think my pallet for wine is refined enough nor would my words do them any justice.

The entertainment for the night was none other than our lovely ballet Fantastique dancers, accompanied by the smooth jazz tunes of Shelley and Cal James. They performed a few numbers, such as “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Wild Thing”, from the company’s most recent performance of Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet set in 1964. Everyone loved it and seemed to be having a very enjoyable night. But how can you not when you have delectable food and drink, wonderful entertainment and lively company. Honestly I can say it was hands down one of the highlights for my summer. If you missed out on this summer’s soiree, I hope you can join in next year and experience the fun for yourself.

 

 

 

Our Cinderella Tour Experience!

Dearest BFan fanatics,

Last weekend was one of the best whirlwinds of my life. Touring Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet to three towns in three days was intense, but well worth the exhaustion. I feel that the whirlwind began when James Fuller, a company member with Ballet Austin, arrived in Eugene to learn the role of the Prince. James was such a trooper! Learning such a demanding role in less than one week is no easy feat, and a special thanks must go to his incessant smile. There was literally not a single moment in which Mr. Fuller had a straight face, let alone a frown.

 

James Fuller as Prince Charming and Alanna Fisher as Cindy (Photo: Yin Yi)

Last Thursday we had our first run through of the show with the band since our performances at the Hult back in May. I felt, that considering James had just learned his part, and we were all a bit frazzled, that the run went swimmingly. There is something truly magical about performing to live music, and I personally feel that it allows me to throw away my inhibitions and just get into character. After rehearsing with Shelley and Cal and their band, I felt ready to tackle three towns in three days.

First stop: Florence, Oregon! We arrived in Florence knowing the environment- we had performed Beatrix Potter at the Florence Event Center during the holiday season. We marked through all of the pieces, warmed up, and became situated with the stage. We had such a receptive audience! Nothing makes me happier than the laughter of an audience while portraying a comedic character. Thanks for laughing, Florence!

The ride back to Eugene that evening seemed to last forever. We were all exhausted, and could barely keep our eyes open by the time we arrived home. The BFan dancers and crew quickly fell asleep and recuperated as much as possible before our warm-up class at 9am the next day. I’m not going to lie, I could hardly move during that class. I can’t attest for everyone, but I think that the majority of the BFan dancers were hurting that morning. Our bodies were tired. After class, we packed up, grabbed a cup ‘o’ jo, and headed to our second stop: Noti!

Noti was certainly a smaller venue, but with a lot of heart! Everyone there was so immensely friendly. They provided us with delicious fresh fruit, snacks full of protein, and ice cold bottles of water. This was also the sweatiest show of the weekend! It was about 100ºF outside. We performed in a gymnasium, which had our marley floor laid out (thanks to many of the BFan boyfriends). We had to accomodate ourselves to the new layout, which surprisingly took no time at all. I literally saw Ballet Fantastique become a versatile touring company right before my eyes! Noti also provided us with a delicious bbq chicken feast! I would use the word “taste-tastic” when describing that meal! Thanks for your hospitality, Noti!

Most of the BFan crew left for Portland that evening after the Noti show around 9pm so that we wouldn’t be stiff from a morning car-ride right before the Sunday show. We had some very hospitable friends and family in Portland who were willing to house us for the evening. Arriving at Lincoln Hall on Sunday morning was fantastic! We had an enormous amount of space in the dressing room backstage, and the theater was just beautiful in general. I felt quite relaxed and ready to give it my all that day. However, about two hours before the show, I became jittery. I think it was just the thought of performing in my hometown, where I had no idea who might be out in the audience. After the first couple of pieces though, I realized that it didn’t matter who was out there- I’m dancin’ ’cause I love it! In the end, the Portland show was amazing! The viewers seemed to really enjoy the performance, and everyone was incredibly receptive!

Whew! What an experience! Now, I sit in my room up in Portland, writing this blogpost, still recuperating from the tour, and thinking to myself, “Where will BFan go next?!”
Love,
Amelia (a.k.a. Meelz)

Different Takes on a Classic Fairy Tale

This is an exciting summer at Ballet Fantastique. We have multiple performances, camps, classes and more! One of our most anticipated events is our up and coming tour of Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet. We are touring to Florence and Portland (click for tickets) this August for a weekend of performances and entertainment! To get in the mood for the resurfacing of our show, let’s take a look at the history of Cinderella and different ways it has been adapted on the stage.

First off, there are the origins of the story itself. Diverse renditions of Cinderella exist. Records of a story resembling Cinderella have surfaced all the way back to the 9th Century A.D. in China, but the most well-known version comes from author Charles Perrault in the 17th Century. Perrault’s story was then adapted by the Brothers Grimm, leading up to the popular Disney film version.

The classical ballet version of Cinderella was originally performed in Vienna, Italy in 1813 (along with multiple other productions throughout the 19th and 20th centuries). One of these is Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, originally performed as a film in 1957 starring Julie Andrews (photo above), which was then later adapted for the stage. Other modern Cinderella ballets include British choreographer Matthew Bourne’s, taking place in London during the Second World War, and Rudolf Nureyev’s rendition, set in the 1930’s Hollywood scene. Christian Louboutin’s even jumped on the Cinderella bandwagon with his recent creation of high-class Cinderella slippers.

Versions of the fairy tale are enjoyed by audiences who love unique and entertaining content, but also the familiarity of a childhood favorite.  Ballet Fantastique’s rendition is quite exceptional in that it uses live on-stage music and all-original choreography. This 1960’s rock opera version includes all your favorite hits (performed live), beautiful ballerinas, and character developments you’ll have to see to believe. A recent review on the show featured in The Register Guard states “Ballet Fantastique not only danced outside the box, it threw the box away.” If you’re in the Florence or Portland area, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to experience this great performance!

A Creative Social Media Outlet: Perfect for the Arts!

It’s a known fact that social media is taking over the online world. Ballet Fantastique (BFan) prides itself on its vast social media presence by using Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and more! Now a new site has been added to the BFan social media family. This site is known as Pinterest.

Pinterest is a virtual pin board. At first glance, it appears to be a site consisting of only pictures without content. But the site is unique; you can find great recipes, craft and wedding ideas, and our favorite: behind the scenes insight into BFan’s creative imagination. By clicking on the photos provided on the Ballet Fantastique boards, Pinterest users can view different artisitic content that sparks the directors’, choreographers’ and dancers’ interests! Some of our boards include:

1. “Cirque Inspiration”- A board dedicated to our upcoming fall show: Cirque de la Lune. It depicts photos of circus scenes in/of the 1930s. Very quirky and daring!

2. “Healthy, Delicious Ballerina Food”- This board gives the viewer different healthy recipes-my stomach’s rumbling thinking about it.

3. “Our Dancers”- This board celebrates the talented dancers of the Ballet Fantastique Company.

Other boards of ours include ballerina hairdo ideas, famous dancers and BFan performance content. Links to performance tickets and programs are also available on our Pinterest boards. What a great way for a creative company to interact with its audience! The performing arts are about visuals over words. This unique tool gives us at BFan the opportunity to show you other ways a ballet company can perform.

Wanting to emerge into the life of a ballerina? Or just interested in getting delicious recipes and crafty ideas? Dive into Pinterest and follow our boards! They continue to grow as we continue to grow as a company, and your support directly helps us do that.

Ballet to break your heart: Getting inspired by the best

Well, Arabian Nights is just around the corner, and as one might surmise based on the fact that we haven’t posted in about a month, things have been pretty darn busy and crazy!  As is typical, we’ve got last-minute choreography to polish, bits of the story to weave together, costumes and jewelry and turban designs floating everywhere at home and in the loft of City Center for Dance (Artistic Director Donna Marisa Bontrager is doing a MIRACULOUS job of keeping our team of six costumers organized, with invaluable assistance from our lovely Eryn McNamara), backdrops set to arrive from across the country, and –if it wasn’t 4 am as I write this–I’d wager to say that set pieces (we’ve got lanterns, a dais, an awesome palanquin, tents–you name it!) were being erected as I type.  (Background secret: we’re being somewhat inspired in our Arabian Nights sets by Leon Bakst’s famous design for the ballet Scheharazade.  Thank heaven for Ida and Ken on our board and Joe Hoff for saying “YES, we can make that happen!” when we come up with some pretty ambitious ideas!).

We are so excited, nervous, and honored that we have just a few tickets left for this show–we’re almost sold out, and it’s still two weeks away.  (With the normal ticket-buying crowd in Eugene, folks are typically like me and wait until the last minute, but not so with this one.  We don’t know what’s going on, but we love it!!!)  In fact, since my job description usually includes Queen Marketer, I almost don’t know what to do with myself!  We’re only putting up 50 posters (norm: close to 200), sending out a handful of postcards (norm: 2,500 or more), and my sleepless nights and midnight lists are now comprised conspicuously of details related to our special outreach show for local schoolkids, tech schedules, and a million other things…that are NOT marketing.

But this expected attendance also means that we know our audience is as excited about this all-new ballet as we are, and the pressure’s on!  Arabian Nights ventures into dramatic new territory for Ballet Fantastique—literally.  Heretofore, we’ve made many forays into drama (our Red Violin series with violinist Matt Fuller, our “Love Lost” suite, St. Margaret’s Tears with Incendio, etc. etc.), but our full-length works have always been comedies.  I can say as a dancer, choreographer, and producer, that we’re living up to the season theme of DARING in challenging ourselves and our audience with a full-length dramatic work.  And we’re excited!

If you know anything about ballet dancers, it’s that we continuously engage in the masochistic practice of watching the best of the best of the best.  YouTube and social media where our ballet friends across the country and the world share videos of these world-famous dancers makes it easy to find these folks, and one can’t help but be inspired.  And holy cow, I hit the jackpot this morning.  So, in the name of getting inspired by some dramatic performances by one of my personal current favorite dancers, Polina Semionova, here is some dramatic ballet you HAVE to see:

1. Polina in La Bayadere
2. Polina in Manon (this is for BFan ballerina Leanne Mizzoni–Manon’s one of her favorites and now you know why)
3. Polina is even expressive when you can’t see her face in this rehearsal video (this is something we need to remember as dancers).  We will not say anything about her coach, Mr. Malakhov’s, outfit. 

Oh my heavens, she just mesmerizes you.

In Arabian Nights, we will aspire to do the same.

To the dance,

Hannah

NOTE: We do still have student outreach matinee tickets available for the Thursday, January 26 at 10 am show, so please contact us if you’d like to come!

The Dancer Says: 6 Reasons I’m Not Ready to Retire Today, Wednesday Dec. 7, 2011

You’ve prolly heard it, and it’s true: the ballerina’s shelf life is shorter than those of many other careers.  And as we “age” (i.e., approach numbers that don’t start with “2″) we/I find more and more that this sport-art is increasingly hard on our bodies–and accordingly wonder if it’s about time to call it quits and train the Next Generation.

Add to these emotions that Wednesdays are our late night rehearsal night at the studio…

Aside: About Wednesday

Wednesday means that after we work our Normal Person jobs (which we almost universally love, but which do take a lot out of us), we forgo the after-work cocktails with friends or quickie fabulous 20-minute workout at the gym, and instead trek on down to our beautiful studio and get down to business for four hours.  Yes, this is a long time, but it’s never long enough to do what we need to do; Wednesday also means that instead of the regular five or six hours of studio time (including Ms. Donna’s Crazy Hard Class) we have on a normal rehearsal day, we have much less–and we’re tired to boot.  In short, we have a lot to get done in an impossibly short period of time, and we might not always be quite as chipper as we’d like to be whilst this rehearsal occurs. Let’s just say that Wednesday is the kind of day where you get home at 10 pm and you still haven’t decided what you might eat for dinner and you are berating yourself for not having done your dirty dishes that morning or having put away the leotards you just washed, and you decide to eat random things like carrots and pretzels because the thought of standing to cook is absolutely horrifying.  THEN–spoiler alert–if you’re Hannah, you also start freaking out in the midst of your exhaustion about the fact that you have so many things to talk to Donna about: the sets, the costumes, the guest dancers, the press release, yada yada, yada.  Should you sleep so that you can somehow do better tomorrow?  Should you get work done so that you CAN sleep (those middle-of-the-night stress demons can only be cured with iPhone notes about lists)?

And these Wednesday nights, my friends, it is even more important for the Ballerina to remember why she loves what she does.  And even though 15 reasons would be better than six, we’re going to keep it simple.  (This is early practice for what is to become a New Year’s resolution, I am sure.)

The Dancer Says: 6 Reasons I’m Not Ready to Retire Today, Wednesday Dec. 7, 2011

*In no particular order of importance

1) It moves me.  Let’s face it.  After working in service or sitting in a cubicle all day, it’s pretty awesome to whack your body into shape(s).  We’re challenging our brains and our bodies.  It’s pretty unique, and pretty awesome.

2) It keeps me clean. I would probably be one of those slackers who never does laundry (I don’t know WHY I hate it so much!), but it’s Improper to wear the same leotard more than once in a two-week span, so ballet literally gives me an incentive to keep my stuff/myself clean.

3) I get to hang out with some pretty amazing people.  I love these peops.  Instead of retreating into self-loathing related to my inability to maintain control of my to do list, I get to hang out and work hard with my awesomely talented mom, sister, and best friends.  We keep each other honest, and we do laugh a lot.

4) It gives me nice gams.  Supposedly, tights help keep varicose veins at bay.  Since we wear tights all the time, we are likely to keep our legs in good shape.  Right?!

5) See the rain, don’t feel the rain…  I will admit that even though ballet is Crazy Hard, I would really rather be dancing than running, for example, in mud and freezing rain.  Kudos to my marathonning and soccer-playing friends.  I am not among you.

6) I do what I love.  When it all comes down to it, even though this is so often a labor of love, I get to DO WHAT I LOVE.  How many millions of people do not have this privilege?  Yes, I’m tired, but I am also proud and happy of this little ballet company that’s becoming.

I guess I have a few more years left in me.  Good thing, since now it’s Thursday morning. 

Goodnight and thank you so much for your support,
Hannah

It’s Beatrix Potter time!

Here's how you do "mouse hands"

Well, folks, I’m writing at the studio. Wednesdays are our late-night rehearsals, and Ashley and Amelia are working away on what Artistic Director Donna calls “Puddle-Duck,” so I have a brief respite. It gets pretty hilarious sometimes when we step back and think about the fact that we’re scampering and holding tails and paws, and getting corrections like “scamper better into that line,” etc. We’re, like, creating a whole new vocabulary here! (i.e., “scamper” was NOT part of Incendio choreography!) Jemima Puddle Duck and the Foxy-Whiskered Fox is one of my personal favorites in the show; it’s actually so funny that I wish sometimes that the girls didn’t wear masks, since their faces are so hilarious.

Coming this December 2 and 4, Beatrix Potter: Tales for the Holidays is what we’re calling a “bonus concert” this season. This means that it’s not part of our regular concert season of three shows at the Hult Center–it’s an extra on top of these. As a chamber company, BFan doesn’t try to do a Nutcracker (plus Eugene Ballet already does a beautiful one of those here in our city)…but this is sort of our answer to the Nutcracker–a fun, holiday family ballet that may well become standard December fare for us BFanners + fans. Moreover, we’re excited to be producing the first-ever BFan shows at the stunningly-gorgeous and intimate Wildish in Springfield (the last time we were there was our guest appearance with the Oregon Mozart Players in 2008) and the lovely Florence Events theater in Florence later the same weekend. It’s our first-ever tour to Florence, and we’re stoked!

For those who don’t think they know Beatrix Potter, she was a much-beloved writer of children’s stories in the early part of the 20th century. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (danced by yours truly with great abandon and tan pointe shoes) was published in 1902, and after that came all sorts of cute characters that we’re bringing to life on stage.

Yours truly as Peter Rabbit

For a little more behind-the-scenes insight on what’s fun about this ballet, it’s honestly been a bit of a respite from the intensity of generating all-new choreography and a chance to just have fun and relax a bit. Of course, there are challenges (see list below), but it’s nice to recharge a little. We still get the excitement of the performance coming up (and the KIDS ARE SO EXCITED), but with a chance to recharge the choreographic engines. As a choreographer and not just a dancer, I needed this.

But as a dancer, it’s not all a piece of cake. Here are some of my favorite challenges:
–Keeping a straight face whilst rehearsing some silly stuff with our very community-visible windowfront here at City Center for Dance. Specifically: Wiggling my buns with squirrel paws (YES, they are different from mouse paws, believe it or not) as a Squirrel Cousin in the Tale of Squirrel Nutkin as people walk by. Don’t get me wrong–we LOVE our gorgeous new studio, but it does put us on display, and I have a feeling that some of our neighbors are very confused as they walk to the elevator… For example, one gentleman saw fit to wiggle back at us with his own paws the other day, and I have to divulge that rehearsal might have descended into giggles for a bit. We know that we must look pretty nuts. (Bad squirrel pun, sorry!)
–Acting without your face. It’s actually quite a challenge as a dancer–one we don’t often think about–to act with a mask on. So often as a dancer, you (I!) rely on your facial expressions to communicate drama or humor. In fact, I personally think it’s actually harder to pull off humor even than pathos or romance without your face showing. And, because we’re animals and wearing these awesome felted masks (which have a lot of personality, but aren’t dynamic and mobile, of course), we don’t get to use our faces to tell our stories. Add to this the fact that we’re telling a story and expecting a decent percentage of kiddos in attendance–we want them to “get it,” to be charmed, to be utterly Beatrix Pottered.
–Knowing that next week, it’s nose back to the grindstone. Like many of our professional colleagues in larger and more established companies across the US, for the first time, Ballet Fantastique company dancers will be challenged to work on two very different ballets simultaneously. Starting next week, we’ll be working on our all-original Arabian Nights while we also keep Beatrix up to par. As you might expect, Nights is gonna be very different than Beatrix, but simultaneously work/choreograph we must. Let’s just hope that Scheherazade doesn’t accidentally pop out of the wings with a fox tail.
–Logistics. Sigh: as always, my double-hatting gets a lot harder around performance time. And this time, I want to do a good job with things I don’t usually have to think about, including that we’re our own box office for the Wildish performance and being sure that the Florence community knows about our concert there. (Respectively, our norm is that the Hult Box Office manages things beautifully, and our team of interns and volunteers have publicity here in Eugene down to a science–but we’ve never done Florence before.) Let’s just say, I’m already waking up at 3am with random realizations and new ideas.

And so, to wrap it all up…has Hannah pulled it all together and is there a place to get these tickets, you might ask? YES! Here’s what you need to know.

TICKETS FOR WILDISH SHOW: $16 general admission or $10 youth (18 & under)
Three easy ways to order:
–Call 541-342-4622
–Order online
–Visit our local ticket outlets, Bambini or Kidstuff, during normal business hours to purchase your tickets through them (be sure to thank them for their support of Ballet Fantastique!)

TICKETS FOR THE FLORENCE SHOW: $16 adults and $12 youth (18 & under)
Available from the Florence Events Center, 541-997-1994. Tickets sold at the window from noon–4:30 pm daily or by phone with credit card.

Ok, now it’s back to my to do list!

Signing off,
Hannah