Eugene-based chamber ballet company Ballet Fantastique is set to treat audiences with a free performance at the critically praised Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.
Opening for the premiering main stage theatrical production of Don Quixote, the ballet troupe is expecting 700 to 900 spectators in an “on the bricks” courtyard ballet performance. The company is sure to enchant audiences with the energy of Spanish “bravura” in Don Quixote and other selections from the Danse en Rouge: Variations in Red. The selections include classics as well as original choreography in a contemporary tango piece featuring virtuosic dance, accompanied by local Spanish guitarist John Jarvie, who strolls across the stage with tunes from the romantic Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega.
“All the hotels are booked for opening night. We’re just expecting a great crowd of art appreciators and community members alike,” said Hannah Bontrager, Ballet Fantastique executive director and dancer.
“It’s a really fun story – it has a lot of that Spanish flare, which is really fun to perform as a dancer. We’re trying to give the audience a lot of different tastes of Spanish repertoire. The whole set is woven together with Spanish energy and dynamism – that sort of flirtatious Spanish flavor,” said Bontrager.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival began in 1935, and is among the oldest and largest professional non-profit theaters in the United States. Ballet Fantastique goes on stage Saturday at 7:15 p.m. in the courtyard outside the main theaters. More information is available at www.balletfantastique.org.
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Ballet shares stage with Shakespeare
Daily Emerald
June 7, 2009
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