FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 20 February 2024
Media Contact: Heather King 972-745-0199
ballet.ensemble.of.texas.coppell@gmail.com
BALLET ENSEMBLE OF TEXAS announces CELEBRATION OF DANCE 24
Ballet Ensemble of Texas (BET), one of Dallas’ best-reviewed pre-professional ballet companies, today announced the company’s plans for their annual CELEBRATION OF DANCE 2024. This year’s presentation will feature a BET premiere of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, with two student outreach performances at the Coppell Arts Center (CAC) March 29, 2024, and a public matinee March 30, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. ALICE IN WONDERLAND & Other Works will also be presented at the Irving Arts Center (IAC) on April 6-7, 2024.
Thom Clower’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND is a ballet for and about the child in all of us. Based on the books of Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, the one-act, one-hour dance story is performed with no intermission. The music is a compilation of 13 different composers, and are favorite songs you will recognize from Saturday morning cartoons! Come join Alice as she encounters fantastic characters and adventures beyond the Looking Glass. This whimsical story is truly a timeless treasure.
One of the ”Other Works” presented on the IAC performances is LES SYLPHIDES, which is considered to be the first “ballet blanc”, where the dancers are dressed in long white tutus. It is described as a “romantic reverie”, and is frequently cited as the first ballet to be simply about mood and dance. The performance will be performed with live music, presented by Steven Mitchell and Steven Lu. Mr. Mitchell is well known in the ballet world for his class accompaniment CD’s, and began his career with Thom Clower at Ballet Dallas while studying at SMU. Mr. Lu is known as a virtuoso violinist, and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Lewisville Symphony Orchestra, the Plano Symphony Orchestra, and the Marshall Symphony Orchestra.
DAPHNIS & CHLOE pas de deux was created by George Skibine, the Artistic Director of the first professional ballet company in the metroplex. He created this ballet for himself and Claude Bessy while he was the Artistic Director of the Paris Opera Ballet in 1959. It has been performed around the world, and is still in the repertoire of the Paris Opera. Jenny Johnston, BET Resident Choreographer, has fashioned a ballet titled SYMPHONIC MOVES, to the music of Sergei Rachmaninov, from two previously choreographed audience favorites. Set to one of his more contemporary pieces, this ballet is the visual interpretation of his music.
BET is the official performing company of the Ballet Academy of Texas and trains dancers who are recognized by prestigious pre-professional training programs across the country. Professional alumni also dance with companies around the country, including Colorado Ballet, Ballet West, Ballet Arkansas, and four former BET dancers currently performing with American Ballet Theatre, America’s National Ballet Company.
As a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, the company is funded largely by donations, and is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Coppell. Please visit the company website at www.balletensembleoftexas.org or on Facebook and Instagram @balletensembleoftexas for giving opportunities and ticket information. (Photo credit Cathy Vanover)
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