Merrill Ashley Shares the Legacy of Balanchine at Dance Talks on April 16

On Tuesday, April 16 from 8:00 – 9:00 pm, join Houston Ballet for a free Dance Talk in which the great American ballerina Merrill Ashley will be interviewed by principal dancer Connor Walsh about her career, her collaborations with the legendary choreographer George Balanchine, and her staging of the Houston premiere of Balanchine’s masterpiece, Ballet Imperial, running May 30 – June 9 as part of Houston Ballet’s program Journey with the Masters.

Dancer: Merrill Ashley; Photo: Steven Caras

The Tuesday, April 16 Dance Talk is free and open to the public at Houston Ballet Center for Dance, 601 Preston Street, 77002.  For more information or questions, please contact marketing manager Elizabeth Cleveland: ECleveland@houstonballet.org, or 713 535 3236.

Headshot: Merrill Ashley

During her 31-year career as a dancer with New York City Ballet, Merrill Ashley was considered one of the great Balanchine ballerinas, and she now helps keep George Balanchine’s legacy alive by staging his ballets for companies around the world. For more information on Ms. Ashley, visit: http://www.abt.org/education/archive/choreographers/ashley_m.html

Countdown to Clear and Madame Butterfly! Are you ready?

Houston Ballet is opening its exciting 2012-2013 season with Clear and Madame Butterfly, September 6-16, 2012 at Wortham Theater Center in Houston, TX.

Dancers: Amy Fote and Artists of Houston Ballet; Photo: Amitava Sarkar

The program starts with Stanton Welch’s Clear –an abstract work, for seven men and one woman, showcasing Houston Ballet’s male dancers and set to Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor and the first and second movements from the Violin Concerto in G minor (Denise Tarrant, Violin; Elizabeth Priestly Siffert, Oboe). Noted fashion designer Michael Kors created the costumes for Clear. Sleek and sexy, Mr. Kors’s flesh-toned designs focus the attention on the dancers, emphasizing the emotional impact of Mr. Welch’s choreography.

Intermission.

Enter Madame Butterfly, the love story of a beautiful Geisha (Cio-Cio San) and handsome American naval officer, Lieutenant Pinkerton is told in an exhilarating two-act ballet. Cio-Cio San renounces her faith and her family to wed Lieutenant Pinkerton, the centerpiece of the work is a ravishing wedding night pas de deux. The production unfolds dramatically on Peter Farmer’s picturesque sets, which beautifully evoke the mystery and languor of nineteenth century Japan.

Dancer: Sara Webb; Photo: Jim Caldwell

Tons of exciting things to look for September 6-16, 2012! Madame Butterfly will feature dancers making their debuts in leading roles. Debuting in the role of Madame Butterfly will be soloist Nao Kusuzaki and debuting as Pinkerton are first soloist Linnar Looris and demi soloist James Gotesky. Principals Amy Fote, Mireille Hassenboehler and Sara Webb will revisit the role of Cio-Cio San, and principals Simon Ball, Ian Casady and Connor Walsh will reprise the role of Pinkerton.

Here’s what some of our dancers and artistic staff have to say about Madame Butterfly:

Principal, Amy Fote –

“Madame Butterfly is one of my favorite ballets I have ever danced. The emotional arc that Madame Butterfly endures throughout the story is so heart moving and tragic – experiencing a first love and getting married, to defying her religion and becoming an outcast, having a child and holding on to hope for years that Pinkerton will return, to eventually taking her own life.”

Dancer: Amy Fote; Photo: Maarten Holl

Soloist, Nao Kusuzaki –

“It is an honor to portray the role of Cio-Cio San through this beautifully poetic ballet Stanton has crafted, […] I am especially excited to share with the audience the Japanese cultural heritage which speaks to me most authentically, and to tell the story of this ballet’s pure beauty, unwavering strength, and passionate drama.”

Ballet Master, Steven Woodgate –

“Madame Butterfly was my first full length ballet that I have ever set and I have now set it on seven different companies. I understand all of the characters and what they do, so I am not struggling to figure out every step; you become more comfortable with it. […] It is a challenging ballet technically dance wise and pas de deux wise.”

Watch the Clear and Madame Butterfly preview to learn more!

Tickets may be purchased by calling 713-227-2787 or by visiting www.houstonballet.org. Please click here to view, print or download casting.

Blogging from the Road: The Kennedy Center Tour

Guest writer: Jim Nelson, general manager

Monday, June 14
One hour after the curtain fell on Sunday afternoon’s matinee of La Fille mal gardée, sixteen dancers (including the Sunday performance leads Connor Walsh and Melody Herrera), artistic director Stanton Welch, ballet mistress Louise Lester, and Maestro Ermanno Florio headed to IAH to catch the last flight to D.C. to participate in The Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America II festival which opens tomorrow. 

Houston Ballet will kick off the festival with Stanton Welch’s gorgeous ballet Falling.  Also on the program is The Suzanne Farrell Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre.

Houston Ballet was included in the inaugural festival in 2008, and we’re thrilled to be asked back for round two.  The Kennedy Center describes the festival as “an exploration of the breadth and depth of the art form, showcasing companies from across the nation.”  Other ballet companies participating in the festival include Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Arizona, Ballet Memphis, Tulsa Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, and The Joffrey Ballet.

Today the dancers are loosening up with a class with Louise Lester, and they will have the remainder of the day to explore D.C. and to rest.  Maestro is rehearsing The Kennedy Center Orchestra and production manager Brian Walker and lighting designer Lisa Pinkham are focusing lights and preparing cues.  Tomorrow is jam-packed with class, dress rehearsal and the opening performance.

The festival is a shining example of the terrific programming The Kennedy Center presents.  The lineup allows dance-goers to see nine great companies over three nights with diverse rep from nine different choreographers such as Balanchine, Duato, Elo, Millipied, Welch and others.  It’s also a great opportunity for the dancers participating in the festival to interact with each other. Houston Ballet dancers will have the opportunity to take class with the dancers from the Suzanne Farrell Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre companies during the three days we’re here.

Tuesday, June 15
The dancers have their one rehearsal on The Kennedy Center stage from 2:30-3:30, and it’s their first time to dance Falling with The Kennedy Center Orchestra.  They have just enough time to run the ballet once, go back and correct a few tempos and spacing and re-run problem sections.  Stanton and Louise give the dancers a few notes and then release them for the afternoon.  Houston Ballet is first on the program, and the theater is absolutely packed.  Tonight’s awesome cast is Ian Casady and Melody Herrera, Peter Franc and Amy Fote, Nao Kusuzaki and Chris Coomer, Elise Judson and Joe Walsh, and Connor Walsh and Kelly Myernick.

I’m always struck by the D.C. audience.  They are well informed dance-goers, and they are so responsive.  In some parts of the world, the audience is extremely quiet throughout the ballet—they do not respond to solos or pas de deux sections, and it’s not until the ballet is concluded that you can judge the audience’s reaction.  D.C., like Houston, is on the other end of the spectrum, and they enjoy responding immediately and generously.  Tonight is no exception, and the audience cheers the Houston dancers on throughout the ballet and resoundingly at the end of the ballet.  The bravos and multiple curtain calls are reflected in the dancers’ beaming faces.

-Jim

Photos from dress rehearsal:

Dancers Connor Walsh and Kelly Myernick

Dancer Melody Herrera

Ballet mistress Louise Lester, Maestro Ermanno Florio, and The Kennedy Center Orchestra

Dancers Connor Walsh (left) and Joe Walsh (right)

Left to right: lighting designer Lisa Pinkham, artistic director Stanton Welch, and ballet mistress Louise Lester

Principal dancer Connor Walsh Participates in Documentary

Houston Ballet’s premiere principal Connor Walsh returned Wednesday from a film shoot in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Walsh was participating in a documentary on legendary dance photographer Steven Caras. Caras was nurtured first as a dancer for 14 years at New York City Ballet by America’s most influential choreographer George Balanchine and secondly as a dance photographer by Balanchine.   The new hour-long PBS documentary titled Steve Caras: See Them Dance was directed by Emmy Award winning film-makers Deborah Novak and John Witek. 

For more information on Steve Caras and the PBS documentary, please visit www.stevencaras.com.

Principal Connor Walsh Guesting in Malaysia

Rather than take time off after an intense Nutcracker season, principal dancer Connor Walsh will depart for Malaysia on Thursday for a two-performance guesting stint at DanceWorks 2010.   Mr. Walsh will perform leading roles in Paquita and Carmen, partnering with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Lei Zhao and Ena Ballet Studio Company’s Ena Hirose, respectively.  This year’s Danceworks production will benefit Lions Lyfe-Line Leukemia Fund, SPCA, Living Hope Malaysia, and Yayasan Sin Chew.

Read more about DanceWorks 2010 here.

Report from New York’s Fall for Dance Festival

Guest writer: Andrew Edmonson, director of marketing and public relations

The Lone Star State took center stage on Tuesday night at Fall for Dance, New York’s most popular dance festival which officially launches the new arts season in Manhattan.  Houston Ballet was one of five companies featured on the fourth program of Fall for Dance, running September 17-27 at the City Center in Manhattan.

Houston Ballet principal dancers Connor Walsh and Sara Webb sailed effortlessly through George Balanchine’s demanding classical showpiece Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, eliciting a roar of approval and rousing cheers from the sell-out crowd.

Sara caught the eye of Wendy Perron, editor in chief of Dance Magazine, the leading trade publication for ballet, who was beguiled by Sara’s authoritative presence and sparkling interpretation.

Immediately following Sara and Connor were Houston native Ayman Harper and HSPVA grad Mario Zambrano, who charmed the audience with their comic modern dance duet The New 45, choreographed by Richard Siegal for his company Richard Siegal/The Bakery.

Both the programming and the audience were incredibly eclectic at Fall for Dance.  Tuesday night’s concert opened with an excerpt from Cold Dagger, performed by China’s cutting-edge modern dance troupe, BeijingDance/LDTX. 

In the second part of the program, Taiwanese dancer Fang-Yi Sheu of LAFA & Artists Dance Company  held the audience spellbound with only a table as partner in an excerpt from Single Room, a modern dance solo dramatizing a woman’s loneliness in a relationship in which Ms. Sheu writhed sensuously and mysteriously.  Single Room was choreographed by Bulareyaung Pagarlava.

And an ensemble of eleven male hula dancers in grass skirts from Hawaii, The Gentlemen of H ä lau N ä Kamalei, brought the evening to an intriguing close, performing Kahikilani, choreographed by Robert Uluvethi Cazimero to music that he also composed. 

After the show, the trendiest of the crowd adjourned to the FFD Lounge for drinks, conversation with the artists and club dancing. 

Houston Ballet ballet master Claudio Munoz traveled with Sara and Connor, coaching them for their big moment, while stage manager Brian Walker insured that everything went smoothly backstage.  Former Houston Ballet staffer Carmen Mathe, in Gotham to teach for two weeks, was at the performances to cheer the Houstonians on. 

The fourth program will be performed a second time tonight, September 24.

There is no rest for the weary, however.  Sara and Connor fly back to Texas early Thursday morning for the final dress rehearsal for Houston Ballet’s program Classically Modern, which opens Friday, September 26 at Wortham Theater Center.

For more information on Fall for Dance, which continues through September 27, visit the City Center website.

-Andrew