Ready for Some Dancing?
AFTER A LONG, HOT SUMMER and with the promise of Fall in the air, comes a new season for cultural awakening. Some great performances will grace our stages in the next several months. Highlights include an entertaining lineup by the Charleston Ballet Theatre as well as three renowned dance companies sponsored by the Charleston Concert Association. (See the calendar below.)
CBT company
Charleston Ballet Theatre
Jill Eathorne-Bahr, resident choreographer for CBT, says the season is, “totally geared to an audience that loves great music. Lots of new works… very different from a main stage ballet.”
Young patrons always love the Rocky Horror Picture Show adaptation. New this year will be Decadent Divas with costume designs by Mary Porter, video by Sunhead Projects, and music compiled from 12 of the great music divas. As usual, CBT will perform its beloved Nutcraker, and for those who want something different for the holiday, there is The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Then in March, Jill will stage her own Zorro with original set design and a fantastic Spanish music collection.
Some new dancers have also joined CBT. According to Jill, “There are three new male dancers: Peter Swan from Atlanta , Steven Boston from Philadelphia, and Britton Spitler from Cincinnati Ballet—all very different, but extremely gorgeous in their own right. And a new female dancer, Melian Izotova, from Dallas. Plus eight new apprentices.”
Martha Graham Dance Company
Charleston Concert Association
The Charleston Concert Association (CCA) usually offers one or two quality dance events, but this year they’ve expanded their lineup to bring three world-class companies, starting with the Martha Graham Dance Company on October 27.
This is one of the longest-running, most celebrated companies in the world, founded in 1926 by modern-dance pioneer performer and choreographer, Martha Graham who died at age 91. She was to dance what Stravinsky was to music and Picasso was to art.
The CCA calendar also boasts the Moscow Festival Ballet’s production of Sleeping Beauty on March 5, 2010. This new company combines classical elements of the Bolshoi (Moscow) and Kirov (St. Petersburg) ballet companies under the direction of legendary Bolshoi dancer, Sergei Radchenko. The 60-member company promises a lavish production of this classical favorite.
Pilobus
On April 10, you’ll be able to see one of my favorite post-modern companies, Pilobolus, which has mixed humor and innovativeness for the last 30 years. These physically charged dancers blend gymnastics, dance, and theatre to keep you on the edge of your seat and your mouth open in surprise.
Other offerings in Charleston this season include the Robert Ivey Ballet with an eclectic concert of ballet, jazz, and modern dance on November 13 thru 15, as well as Peter and the Wolf, a longtime family favorite, on December 17 thru 19.
So you see, there is dance to be had even when Spoleto is not in town! Between music and theatre you can be culturally satiated just about every weekend. Enjoy! •
Get tickets at Gaillard Auditorium, Black Box Theatre, and Sottile Theatre.
