Thursday,	May 15, 2008 • 7:30pm
Friday,	May 16, 2008 • 7:30pm
Saturday,	May 17, 2008 • 7:30pm
Sunday,	May 18, 2008 • 1:30pm

The Kingdom of Shades from La Bayadere
Antony Tudor’s Offenbach in the Underworld
Aubade, a world premiere by Michael Pink

This triple bill includes The Kingdom of Shades from La Bayadere, the story of a temple dancer fighting for the love of a noble warrior in legendary India. When it was produced, The Kingdom of Shades was notable in that it extended the frontier of beautiful classical dance, providing an opportunity for the dancers to showcase their pointe technique with classical purity in contrast to the drama that surrounded it. It is regarded as the precursor of the white acts of Swan Lake and Fokine’s famous Les Sylphides.

Lightening up the program, and celebrating the centenary of Antony Tudor’s birth date is Offenbach in the Underworld. This ballet, featuring the well-known “can-can,” is a humorous story set in the 1870s about the flirtatious interactions among celebrities who congregate at a fashionable French café. There is no specific story to the ballet, for the flirtations that take place at such a place, at such a time, are most often half-forgotten by the next morning. There is neither a sad ending nor a happy ending, but only a closing time!

The series concludes with Aubade, a world premiere from Artistic Director Michael Pink. This new work is inspired by the music of Francis Poulenc and the definition of the word “aubade.” An aubade is defined as a poem or song about lovers separating at dawn, or a song or instrumental composition evoking daybreak. Aubade is underwritten by Nita Soref and Gretta Assaly.

Dancers striving to get in perfect step, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 10, 2008
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=748692

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