Diablo Ballet presents HARMONIOUS BEAUTY This February
By: A.A. Cristi Dec. 21, 2017
Diablo Ballet celebrates the New Year with the second program of its 2017-2018 Season, Harmonious Beauty, February 2-3 at the Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek. The program is composed of four unique ballets and one short film, including a World Premiere by Danielle Rowe.
The second program of the 24th Season, features the romantic Ballroom Pas de Deux from Val Caniparoli's A Cinderella Story, set to the beautiful and timeless music of Broadway composer Richard Rodgers. Commissioned for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and in 2004, A Cinderella Story is a retro retelling of everybody's favorite fairy tale complete with vintage couture-inspired costumes and an infused Broadway-meets-ballet-meets-ballroom choreography.
The program also features the World Premiere And Here We Are choreographed by Danielle Rowe, who danced with the Australian Ballet for 10 seasons as a principal before joining the prestigious Nederlands Dans Theater. This riveting ballet, set to the Piano Quartet in A minor by Gustav Mahler, will feature six dancers representing one couple as they move through difficult stages in their relationship. "We are thrilled to welcome Danielle Rowe's choreography to Diablo Ballet. Her female choreographic voice is an exciting addition to our repertoire", states Lauren Jonas, Artistic Director.
Diablo Ballet's Artistic Advisor, Sally Streets presents Encores which was originally created for the company in 1996. The ballet is set to Cavatina by Joseph Joachim Raff, Alt Wien by Leopold Godowsky (arranged by Jascha Heifetz) and Souvenir d'Ameriqueby by Henri Vieuxtemps performed to a recording by Itzhak Perlmand and Samual Sanders.
Also included is the short film Libera by Walter Yamazaki, which just won the U.S. Hollywood International Golden Film Award for Excellence in Music, among other film festival awards this year. The film, which premiered last year during the company's 23rd Anniversary Performance, has been brought back by popular demand. With an original score composed by Justin Levitt, the film is described as "a short film examining the dancer in two worlds - the world of constraint and the world of infinite freedom - and how they must strive to find balance between the two..." Criticaldance.com wrote about Libera, stating, it "introduced the dancers in a far more intimate and personal way - an exploration of identity, of life purpose, of BE-ing and dance-ness."
The final ballet of the program will be Resident Choreographer, Robert Dekkers', exotic and mysterious Milieu, set to a live performance of a commissioned score by Daniel Berkman. The last time the company performed the ballet, Huffington Post stated, "The ensemble displayed fearless athleticism as well as drop-dead chic."
Immediately following each performance, ticket holders are invited to stay for a post-performance Q&A with our dancers, choreographers and musicians followed by a dessert and coffee reception where you can meet and mingle with the dancers.
Tickets are $25-47. For tickets, call 925-943-SHOW (7469) or visit www.lesherartscenter.org or www.diabloballet.org.
Harmonious Beauty performs February 2-3 at the Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Blvd. in Walnut Creek.
The performances are:
Friday, February 2 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 3 at 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm
ABOUT DIABLO BALLET
For 24 years, Diablo Ballet has been the award-winning, professional dance company for Contra Costa County. Presenting acclaimed classical and contemporary ballets, the company is committed to exposing youth to the arts through its renowned PEEK Outreach Program, which has reached over 68,000 under-served school children in Alameda and Contra Costa counties since 1995. In addition, Diablo Ballet has served at-risk teenage girls incarcerated within the Juvenile Justice system since 2015.
Diablo Ballet celebrates the New Year with Harmonious Beauty, February 2 - 3, 2018 at the Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek. The second program of the season features the romantic Ballroom Pas de Deux from A Cinderella Story by Val Caniparoli, set to the timeless music of Richard Rodgers. Also featured, the exciting world premiere, And Here We Are by former Netherlands Dans Theatre ballerina Danielle Rowe; the award-winning film Libera, by Walter Yamazaki, brought back by popular demand after premiering last year at the Ballet's 23rd Anniversary Performance; Sally Street's captivating Encores and the exotic Milieu by Robert Dekkers, set to a live performance of a commissioned score by Daniel Berkman. After each performance, the audience is invited to stay for a Q & A with the dancers and choreographers, followed by a dessert and coffee reception.
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