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Raising The Barre

Presented by Houston Ballet at Wortham Theater Center - Brown Theater

May 26-June 5, 2011

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From May 26 – June 5, 2011, Houston Ballet presents a powerhouse of twenty-first century ballet in its spring mixed repertory program entitled Raising the Barre. The program features ONE/end/ONE a world premiere by the celebrated Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo, the American premiere of Christopher Bruce’s Grinning In Your Face and the company premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush. Houston Ballet will give six performances of Raising the Barre at Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston.

“Raising the Barre consists of three American in theme or birthplace works and all created by three of the world’s most important choreographers. Jorma Elo is creating a new piece for us, ONE/end/ONE, which will premiere in Houston and then tour with to New York City as it is the first recipient of The Rudolph Nureyev Prize for New Dance. Christopher Wheeldon, the most written about choreographer of today, is also premiering Rush in Houston. The piece was first performed in San Francisco and is an exciting rush of adrenaline that will keep you wanting more. And last but not least, Houston Ballet’s very own associate choreographer Christopher Bruce’s Grinning in Your Face, a portrait of American life in the 1930s, will have its American premiere. Both Christopher and I are very excited about having this work performed in America. Raising the Barre is an exciting collection of works all with an American flavor,” states Mr. Welch.

“I am excited for Houston Ballet to have a new work by Jorma. Houston audiences have loved the Kylián ballets and Jorma is a product of Kylián’s company. His choreographic style is unique, mixing Kylián’s influence into classical ballet,” notes Mr. Welch. “I saw Jorma choreographing at San Francisco Ballet and I instantly loved his style. The way he worked in the studio with the dancers, demonstrating his choreography, made me think Houston Ballet needs him in our studios.”

After its premiere in Houston in May, Houston Ballet will perform Mr. Elo’s new work during its debut season of performances at The Joyce Theater in New York City October 11-16, 2011. The Joyce Theater Foundation selected Houston Ballet as its first annual recipient of The Rudolph Nureyev Prize for New Dance, a $25,000 commissioning grant established for the purpose of creating new works from large ballet companies, many of whom rarely perform in New York. The prize will allow companies accustomed to performing large scale work to create new pieces for a smaller venue. In turn, the award will provide audiences with the opportunity to experience these companies in the Joyce’s intimate setting.

“I am thrilled to have Houston Ballet receive the first ever Nureyev Prize. This prize has been beneficial in making Houston Ballet’s first commissioned work by Jorma Elo,” comments Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch. “Houston Ballet is also honored to be asked perform in New York City at The Joyce Theater. This theater has been such an important part of dance in New York City, America, and the world. We are very much looking forward to our debut season at The Joyce Theater.”

Mr. Elo, who has created pieces for American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and New York City Ballet, among others, is currently the resident choreographer at Boston Ballet. He trained at the Finnish National Ballet School and The Kirov Ballet School. From 1978-1984 he danced with Finnish National Ballet, with Cullberg Ballet from 1984-1990, and in 1990 he joined Netherlands Dance Theatre. Mr. Elo worked with renowned choreographers such as Hans van Manen, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, Jirí Kylián and William Forsythe. In 2005 he was awarded the choreographic prize at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition.

Mr. Elo’s ONE/end/ONE will feature costumes by Holly Hynes. “This is my fourth original Elo ballet. We collaborated before on Slice to Sharp, Double Evil, and Pur ti Miro,” comments Ms. Hynes. “Working with Jorma in Houston feels like bringing home a friend to meet the family.”

Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the most vividly satisfying constructions by him or any other ballet choreographer in this decade,” Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush  is anchored around a dazzling pas de deux and features two principals, four soloists, and a corps de ballet of 10 dancers. The work is set to Bohuslav Martinu’s Sinfonietta La Jolla for chamber orchestra and piano. Writing in Dance View Times, critic Rita Felciano described Rush’s © choreography:

“The choreography plays with off-kilter balances and segments the upper body and the arms. There is a robust quality to the dancers, in part emphasized by the strong colors in both costumes (Jon Morrell) and lighting design (Mark Stanley). The choreography has a windswept, pushing ahead quality to it.” (March 1, 2004)

Born in Somerset, England, Mr. Wheeldon began his ballet training when he was eight years old, and later trained at The Royal Ballet School. In 1991 he joined The Royal Ballet and also won the gold medal at the Prix de Lausanne competition. In 1993, Mr. Wheeldon was invited to become a member of New York City Ballet, where he rose to the rank of soloist in 1998. He began choreographing for New York City Ballet with Slavonic Dances for the 1997 Diamond Project. After creating Mercurial Manoeuvers (2000), he retired from dancing to concentrate on his choreographic work. In July 2001 he was named New York City Ballet’s first resident choreographer. For New York City Ballet, Mr. Wheeldon has choreographed several works, including Polyphonia (2001) Variations Sérieuses (2001), Morphoses (2002), Liturgy (2003) and After the Rain (2005). He has also created ballets for such companies as The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet and Boston Ballet. From 2006 – 2010, Mr. Wheeldon formed and directed his own dance company, Morphoses, with the troupe giving performances in London, New York and across the United States.

Houston Ballet has two works by Mr. Wheeldon in its repertory, Carnival of the Animals, which entered the company’s repertory in 2007, and Carousel (A Dance), which entered the repertory in 2009.

Set to music of the same name by the blues acoustic guitarist, banjo player and vocalist Martin Simpson, Mr. Bruce’s Grinning in Your Face evokes a Midwest American community in the 1930s and features many of the hallmarks of Mr. Bruce’s work: conflict, love and rejection, and folksy humor. The work was originally created for Rambert Dance Company in 2001.

“Grinning in Your Face is a ballet about America. Christopher choreographed the piece on Rambert, but requested it be brought to Houston in order for Americans to dance a work that is deeply rooted here,” remarks Mr. Welch.

“For years I have enjoyed listening to my son playing guitar arrangements by Martin Simpson, recordings of which he has also choreographed to. Mark’s close association with the music made me feel obligated to ask his permission to make a work to Martin’s compositions. Mark generously endorsed the idea and I therefore dedicate this work to him,” explains Mr. Bruce, “My dance comes directly from images inspired by the music, which appeared to me to paint pictures of rural America, particularly during the middle decades of the last century. My imagination was stimulated by photographs, novels (particularly those of Steinbeck) and, of course, the movies. There is no storyline, although occasionally a story is told. Mostly, the work is an interpretation of the songs with linking themes. Holding a line throughout the piece is a matriarchal figure in whose memory, perhaps, events take place.”

“The music used in this piece contains some of the strands of traditional music I was working with when I was 29, some of which had already been raveled by major writers. I continue to love this material because it contains so much life and energy. These are strong threads and I am proud to see them woven into another fabric,” notes Mr. Simpson.

Hailed by London’s The Daily Telegraph as “the Nureyev of contemporary ballet,” Mr. Bruce was appointed Houston Ballet associate choreographer in 1989 and has staged nine acclaimed works for the company including Ghost Dances (1981), Land (1985) and Swansong (1987). He has created four works especially for Houston Ballet: Gautama Buddha (1989), Journey (1990), Nature Dances (1992) and Hush (2006). Over the last 18 years, Houston Ballet has emerged as Mr. Bruce’s artistic home in America.

RAISING THE BARRE

ONE/end/ONE
(World Premiere)
Costume Design: Holly Hynes
Lighting Design: Christina R. Giannelli
Choreography: Jorma Elo

GRINNING IN YOUR FACE (2001)
(American Premiere)
Music: Martin Simpson
Choreography: Christopher Bruce

RUSH (2003)
(Houston Ballet Premiere)
Music: Bohuslav Martinu,
Sinfonietta La Jolla for chamber orchestra and piano
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon

Age Recommendation: at least 5 years of age.

Total runtime: 1 hr, 56 min.

Houston Ballet’s performances of Raising the Barre are made possible from the generous support of Baker Botts L.L.P. and Riviana Foods Inc.

Pictured above: Dancers: Artists of Houston Ballet Photo by: Pam Francis.