Daring Duets at Victoria Theatre

Artistic Director Karen Russo Burke and Dayton Ballet bring an exciting new ballet repertory program entitled Daring Duets to the Victoria Theatre stage, celebrating the romanticism shared between couples. The program will feature the full Dayton Ballet Company as they partner with one another to present some of the most well-known and most exciting, new, original pas de deux ever to grace the Victoria stage.

“Pas de Deux is French for ‘Step of Two’ and is what partnering is called in ballet. By dancing with a partner, the lady can jump higher, take positions she would never be able to on her own, and ‘float’ about the stage as she is carried by her partner. A partner allows a man to extend his line and show off his strength.” (www.the-ballet.com) Dayton Ballet presents an exhilarating evening of duets, or pas de deux, choreographed with this very definition in mind.

Dayton Ballet is thrilled to be able to dance a pas de deux from the late dance legend Antony Tudor, a George Balanchine contemporary who has been hailed as the “artistic conscience of American Ballet Theatre” from the moment he joined ABT for its founding season in 1940. This February, Dayton Ballet will dance his famous pas de deux from the ballet The Leaves are Fading. This exquisite pas de deux was originally danced under Tudor’s direction in 1975 by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner, two of America’s most acclaimed and talented dancers of the 20th century. The Antony Tudor Ballet Trust was formed after Tudor’s death in 1987 with the mission of securing the legacy of Tudor’s great ballets. The Trust is exceptionally selective of the ballet companies with which it works, so Dayton Ballet is truly honored to be able to pay tribute to the ballet genius of Antony Tudor with this performance.

Dayton Ballet is also excited to welcome choreographer Nicole Haskins to our studios as she sets her engaging pas de deux La Linea Scura, choreographed to music of the same name by Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi. Haskins hails from Venice Beach, California, and has danced professionally with well-known companies across the country, including Sacramento Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and Washington Ballet. Haskins, an experienced choreographer as well, has worked in the past with several Dayton Ballet dancers, and she comes to Dayton to set her beautiful pas de deux La Linea Scura this February.

In addition to these two selections, Karen Russo Burke will present several well-known pas de deux as well as other works new to the Dayton Ballet, set to highlight the strength, expertise, and superb partnering skills of each dancer in the Dayton Ballet company. Spend a romantic Valentine’s Day with the ones you love, engulfed by the beauty and elegance of the purest expression of emotion between two dancers—the pas de deux—in Daring Duets.