“I am proud to present three works that showcase the technical versatility and impressive artistry of Boston Ballet’s dancers, and highlight the brilliant choreography of dance masters from three different generations: Wayne McGregor, George Balanchine, and Hans van Manen,” comments Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen, adding: “This compilation of three distinct works gives audiences a trio of unique experiences all in one program.”
Chroma
Last performed by Boston Ballet in 2013 with repeated standing ovations, the Boston Globe raves that the “dancers astonish with their master(y) of the choreography, contorting this way and that with remarkable intensity” in Wayne McGregor’s Chroma. Thea Singer of the Boston Globe also remarks “‘Chroma’ thrives on angular knotty movement that sets still points against percussive limbs and contorted bellies, roiling hips and jammed joints.” This groundbreaking work is set to an aggressive score by Joby Talbot, with music arrangements by Jack White of The White Stripes. The complex orchestration requires one of the largest groups of Boston Ballet Orchestra musicians ever to accompany performances with six percussionists playing in the opera boxes. The word “chroma” is defined as the purity of color, or its freedom from white: this definition and how one can work with the tonality of a body to give grammar and structure is what inspired McGregor’s Chroma. Playing off of that exposition, it is set on a pure white stage featuring ten dancers dressed in flesh toned costumes specially made to match their individual skin tones.Chroma has won several awards since its premiere, including the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
Wayne McGregor, who is “doing some of the most exciting work on the planet” (New York Times), is Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, as well as Artistic Director of his own company, Random Dance. He is a multi-award-winning artist and internationally renowned across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. McGregor has created new works for Paris Opera Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet and English National Ballet, among others. His works are also in the repertoires of many leading ballet companies across the world.
Episodes
Premiered in 1959 by New York City Ballet, Episodes is “a dazzling exhibition of the power of choreography, showing us, simultaneously, extraordinary physical feats and immense emotional possibilities” (Ballet Magazine). Episodesoriginated from George Balanchine’s enthusiasm for Anton von Webern’s music (to which he had been introduced by Stravinsky). Critical Dance describes the work as a “brilliant visualization of Webern’s music that doesn’t just mimic it, but expands its impact.” This four-movement ballet began as a collaboration with modern dance pioneer Martha Graham and included a solo variation featuring renowned modern dance choreographer Paul Taylor; however, after 1960 Graham’s choreography was no longer performed. Episodes, along with more than twenty other Stravinsky/Balanchine collaborations, is a “black and white ballet” in the Balanchine repertory: a costuming innovation featuring simple leotards that fully reveal the line of the dance. Boston Ballet welcomes this company premiere to the repertoire.
George Balanchine (1904 – 1983) was invited to move to the United States from Russia in late-1933 by Boston born dance connoisseur Lincoln Kirstein, whose vision was to establish a school of ballet and a company comparable to one in Europe. The result of this vision and collaboration was the School of American Ballet and ultimately, the New York City Ballet where Balanchine became the Ballet Master and Principal Choreographer. He is one of the 20th century’s most prolific choreographers creating more than 400 works in his lifetime, and is known for his musicality and signature “neoclassical style”.
Black Cake
Shades of Sound is bookended by the deliciously comic Black Cake, which was originally created in 1989 by Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen for the 30th anniversary of the Nederlands Dans Theater. Set to a mega mix of classical gems by Tchaikovsky, Janáček, Stravinsky, Mascagni, and Massenet, the festive work follows six high-society couples—in three very distinct pas de deux—and one waiter in a party scene full of flirtatious dancing and celebratory drinking. The women dance in high heels and the couples, all dressed in sleek black cocktail attire, perform variations on ballroom dancing – both unique opportunities for ballet dancers. Boston Ballet is thrilled to include van Manen’s work in the Company repertoire for the first time.
Known as “the Mondrian of dance”, Hans van Manen has an esteemed career as a choreographer of the Nederlands Dans Theater and Dutch National Ballet. He has created more than 120 ballets which have been staged for companies around the world, including the Mariinsky Ballet, Houston Ballet, State Opera in Vienna, Compañia Nacional de Danza, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, to name a few. Van Manen is the recipient of the much-heralded Benois de la Danse for Lifetime Achievement—among other awards and honors—and was appointed as Commandeur in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw (Commander in the order of the Dutch Lion) on his 75th birthday.
For full choreographer biographies, please visit bostonballet.org.
All performances of Shades of Sound take place at the Boston Opera House:
- Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 7:30PM
- Friday, March 20, 2015 at 7:30PM
- Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 1:00PM and 7:30PM; Pre-Curtain Talk prior to 7:30PM performance
- Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 1:00PM
- Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 7:30PM; Post-Performance Chat with Mikko Nissinen
- Friday, March 27, 2015 at 7:30PM
- Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:00PM and 7:30PM
- Sunday, March 29, 2015 at 1:00PM
Tickets start at $29. For more information, visit www.bostonballet.org or call .