DANCE

Miller Outdoor Theatre and Houston Ballet present Highlights of Houston Ballet.

Three nights only! May 6-8 at 8:00PM,  Houston Ballet visits Miller Outdoor Theatre to perform a mixed repertory program consisting of three short works: Stanton Welch's The Core: Gershwin, the Heart of the Big Apple as well as Mr. Welch's Tu Tu and Christopher Bruce's Hush.

TU TU - "Tu Tu is a large ensemble work in three movements featuring 22 dancers. Tu Tu reflects the different aspects of technique and what it means to be a dancer. The ballet moves through an adagio focusing on the dancers’ balance and line, to powerful and energetic soubrette, to pas de deuxs highlighting each couple,” explains Mr. Welch. “It is a playful, humorous look at classical ballet. Tu Tu is tart and very tongue-in-cheek.”

Set to Maurice Ravel’s Concerto for Piano in G major, the dancers are outfitted in brilliantly colored tutus and briefs. Designed by Holly Hynes, the stunning costumes were inspired by Gustav Klimt’s gold-hued paintings. Austrian-born Klimt (1862-1918) was a well-known Art Nouveau painter who became famous for his sensual depictions of women. The tutus and briefs worn by the dancers feature a dazzling array of colors: gold, turquoise, red and orange. Bare midriffs and striped retro-fashioned shorts ramp up the sex appeal. “I tried to capture the luscious feeling of Klimt’s work in the costume design and choreography,” Mr. Welch notes. “The reflective, metallic, chipped away nature of his work.”

Arts Houston Magazine dance critic Nancy Wozny noted in April 2007 that “Tu Tu revealed the mighty talents and distinct personalities of its dancers in a shimmering display of technical bravado and gripping choreography.” Houston Press critic Marene Gustin observed, “They knock out double fouettés en pointe and attack the floor with lightning steps while flexing supple backs and wafting arms in the most amazing port de bras to Ravel’s lyrical Piano Concerto in G Major. Both women and men use their arms to sublime effect, with rippling back muscles and long limbs.” (March 1, 2007)

Tu Tu was originally created for San Francisco Ballet in 2003.

THE CORE - A lavish, crowd-pleasing blockbuster inspired by the movie musicals of Hollywood’s golden age, Mr. Welch’s The Core: Gershwin, the Heart of the Big Apple is a highly theatrical depiction of the Big Apple, incorporating archetypal New York characters with plenty of Broadway flash and dazzle in a work featuring the full company. The Core: Gershwin, the Heart of the Big Apple is set to George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, and was premiered by Houston Ballet in 2008.

“The Core is a large story ensemble with 57 characters. I created a magical day and night city scene of the Big Apple in the 1940s, combining musical theater and film stars from that era into larger than life archetypes to make a musical ballet,” says Mr. Welch. “The ballet is also a tribute to the four years I lived in New York and what a fantastic, exciting city it is. The choreography reflects the everyday hustle and bustle. The scenic designs mirror the extraordinary sky scrapers everyone recognizes as uniquely New York.”

Houston Chronicle dance critic Molly Glentzer noted when reviewing the world premiere of The Core: Gershwin, the Heart of the Big Apple, “Welch’s choreography – a hyperdriven blast of showbizzy arms, sweeping lunges and classic Broadways steps – moves deftly.” (February 23, 2008)

HUSH - Hush chronicles the adventures of a family of performers and is set to a musical celebration of life – from youth to old age – by Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin. Hush is a comic and moving celebration of life chronicling the adventures of a family of performers, featuring three men and three women. Houston Ballet Associate Choreographer Christopher Bruce choreographed Hush for Houston Ballet in 2006.

Using what Bruce called “a unique vocabulary we’re evolving for the piece,” the dancers perform to selected tracks from the album Hush by Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma. An unusual collaboration between a master cellist and an improvisational singer/sound-effects performer, the recording is a joyful exploration of genres. During the creative process of choreographing the ballet, Bruce was drawn to a quote by Yo-Yo Ma from the record’s liner notes.

Yo-Yo Ma wrote, “Hush is a musical celebration of life – from youth to old age. While in so many ways this album speaks to children, it is equally true that perhaps its central goal, to use Bobby’s phrase, is to ‘release the child in the adult.’” Mr. Bruce noted that the music was an inspiration for his piece.