The season for West Hartford’s Ballet Theatre Company begins on Sept. 29, 2023.

Submitted

Ballet Theatre Company (BTC) will present the first performance of its 25th Anniversary Season at the end of the month.

This intimate, mixed-repertoire performance, Up Close: Fall, will be presented at BTC’s Ron and Nancy Compton Studio located at 20 Jefferson Ave. in West Hartford. BTC offers four performances: Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m.

Up Close: Spring 2023, Photo by Kai Whalen

A staple of BTC’s offerings, Up Close is presented twice each season, and offers the unique chance to view BTC’s dancers at close range, giving a completely new perspective on ballet, and appealing to new and returning audience members alike. While dance in a traditional theater setting is thrilling, hearing the dancers’ breath and shoes on the floor, and watching them prepare in the “wings” between each entrance brings audience members enchanting insight into the physicality behind this powerful art form.

Up Close: Fall will also be the BTC debut for a number of new dancers who have joined the company’s ranks this fall. BTC is thrilled to welcome new resident dancers Zoe Simons (San Rafael, CA), Elizabeth Van Heerden (Cape Town, South Africa), and Isabella Warshaw (Seattle, WA), as well as new apprentices Abigale Bilodeau (North Reading, MA) and Sarah Berglund (Dallas, TX). Returning dancers include Jo-ann Burke and Emily Aubrey Silva.

Up Close: Fall is an intimate performance that will showcase BTC’s resident company dancers and pre-professional Junior Corps de Ballet in an exciting program blending beloved classics with new works. The program will feature the “Christening Scene” from Sleeping Beauty and an excerpt of a new work being created by BTC Resident Choreographer, Derek Brockington.

Sleeping Beauty is set to one of three scores composed specifically for ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky was commissioned by the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg to create a score that would bring to life Charles Perrault’s “La Belle au bois dormant.” The full-length ballet was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and saw its premiere in 1890.

Since then, Sleeping Beauty has become a renowned classical ballet beloved by audiences across the globe. Many choreographers have been inspired by the score and Petipa’s original choreography to envision their own unique take on this well-known folktale. BTC presented its own Sleeping Beauty choreographed by Artistic Director Stephanie Dattellas in 2019. Staff and dancers at BTC are eager to revisit the iconic “Christening Scene” in which the six enchanting fairies present gifts for Princess Aurora’s christening.

Derek Brockington, Photo by Renee Choi

Paired with this iconic classical work will be an excerpt by BTC Resident Choreographer Derek Brockington. Brockington, a dancer with world-renowned company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, has also been a long-time guest dancer with BTC, and first choreographed for the company in 2021. BTC is thrilled to bring Brockington on as its first ever resident choreographer for this historic season, and looks forward to the full premiere of his work at Up Close: Winter this January.

In addition to a thrilling evening of performance, audience members will have the unique opportunity to speak with Brockington in a post-performance Q&A session.

Details

Tickets are $40 online and $45 at the door. We encourage those interested to purchase tickets online as seating is very limited. To purchase tickets please visit the website. Please contact [email protected] or call the office at 860-570-0440 with any questions.

Ballet Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. Support for Season 25 is provided by: Connecticut Humanities. CT Office of the Arts, The Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation, The William & Alice Mortensen Foundation, Ahearn Family Foundation, The Ellen Jeanne Goldfarb Memorial Charitable Trust, The Davenport Hatch Foundation, Henry Hall Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A. Trustee, The Buchalter and Breslow Family, The John and Kelly Hartman Foundation, The Petit Family Foundation, The Ensworth Charitable Trust, We-Ha.com, Laurel Graphic Design, Cricket Press, Connecticut Public, Massage Envy West Hartford, Homestead Funding, Theatrical Stage Employees Local 84, and Beam & Barre.

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