Olympic Ballet Theatre Premieres Spring Digital Production At No Charge

For the first time in 40 years of performing on stage, Olympic Ballet Theatre (OBT) presents a unique virtual production in collaboration with local Seattle choreographers. OBT's Spring Digital Production premieres two exciting new pieces, Efanora and In a Clearing, available to audiences free of charge on YouTube in April 2021.

Like many professional ballet companies, Olympic Ballet Theatre had to cancel all 2020-2021 season performances due to COVID-19 restrictions. As a nonprofit, OBT relies on the revenue from season's productions and fundraising to sustain its operations. Despite the challenges of last year, OBT artistic directors decided to bring the dancers back to the studios to work with choreographers virtually, find creative solutions to rehearsing in separate groups, and film the performances on stage for a digital release.

"After one year of canceled shows and virtual lessons, it was so nice to see our dancers performing on a real stage with lights, costumes, and props," said Oleg Gorboulev and Mara Vinson, OBT's artistic directors. "It was a good reminder that this is why we do what we do - to be on stage, to perform for the audience, to bring the beauty of the arts to our community. It gave us a sense of purpose, even if just for a brief moment."

Spring Digital Production features two contemporary pieces - Efanora, choreographed by Vincent Michael Lopez, and In a Clearing, choreographed by Karl Watson. Both pieces reflect on the multi-faceted experiences brought by the pandemic, including loss, grief, darkness, hope, love, and human connection. "It was an exciting opportunity for our dancers to explore new techniques of contemporary choreography, outside of the classical ballet roles that we do most of the time," said Gorboulev. "The choreographers were able to challenge them and open them up with new movements and ideas that allowed them to grow further as performers."

Efanora is scheduled to premiere on April 2nd, 2021, and In a Clearing on April 9th, 2021. More information is available at https://www.olympicballet.org/performance-season/spring-digital-production.

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