"The Firebird" @ U of U's Utah Ballet (SLC: APril 8 - 9)

Utah Ballet Spring Concert featuring
The Firebird with the Utah Philharmonia



· Utah Ballet performs in Kingsbury Hall
· Stravinsky’s The Firebird with Utah Philharmonia
· Premiere by Rick Tjia of Cirque du Soleil
· April 8 & 9, 2011
· 7:30 PM
· 801.581.7100
· www.kingtix.com



For immediate release
Contact Sara Pickett
sara.picket@utah.edu

March 14, 2011- Spring comes to life with Utah Ballet at Kingsbury Hall April 8 & 9, 2011 at 7:30. Featuring four works showcasing the range of the talented University of Utah dancers, this performance will have something for everyone. The delightfully accomplished Utah Philharmonia, under the experienced direction of conductor, Dr. Robert Baldwin, joins the Utah Ballet for the evening’s finale,
The Firebird.

Opening the program is a classical work, The Kingdom of Shades from La Bayadere, staged by Assistant Professor Regina Zarhin. First performed by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1877, this beautiful selection, choreographed by famed choreographer, Marius Petipa, was originally set in ancient India to music by Ludwig Minkus. The Kingdom of Shades is the most enduring signature piece of Petipa’s ballet, and is a favorite with Ballet audiences around the world.

The next two works on the program move into the contemporary arena. Bound, a work by talented up-and-coming choreographer, Sayoko Knode, is a piece for 6 women, danced to music by J. S. Bach. With continuous, sinewy movement and exquisite musicality, it is a both poetic and dramatic.

Following Bound is an exciting new premiere work, Rissig, by cutting edge choreographer, Rick Tjia, senior dance talent scout for Cirque du Soleil. In Rissig, Tjia has created a piece that is dramatic and full of visceral tension and the latest influences of dance from the streets and stages of the world. He also plays trumpet on the score and shared composition of the music with Normand-Pierre Bilodeau, utilizing top-level recording artists and vocalists from Cirque du Soleil. Rissig is fresh, athletic and authentic, and will leave you breathless.

To close the evening, Dr. Baldwin’s Utah Philharmonia joins the Utah Ballet dancers in a new production of Stravinsky’s The Firebird. Adapted from Fokine’s full-length choreography, premiering in Paris by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes in 1910, this musical suite was compiled for a 1919 revision resulting in a One-Act Ballet. With original choreography by Maureen Laird, also the Artistic Director of the production, and Richard Wacko, this Russian folk tale is of a mythical enchanted bird that exchanges a magical feather for freedom from her captor, Prince Ivan. The prince, captivated by love for one of thirteen princesses, calls upon the feather’s power, summoning the Firebird to save him in a battle with the monster, Kashshei, and his minions, and triumphs to be reunited with his love. To the strains of Stravinsky’s music, The Firebird is a tale of good prevailing over evil and love as reward for the victor.

It is by a generous gift from the Nancy Peery Marriott Endowment awarded by Raymond Tymas-Jones, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, and support from ASUU Fine Arts Fees, the Department of Ballet, and Kingsbury Hall that this production is made possible.

Performances are on April 8th and 9th starting at 7:30 in Kingsbury Hall. Tickets are $20 general public, $10 students, faculty and staff and are available through the Kingsbury Hall box office at kingtix.com or 801.851.7100.