Tag Archives: George Balanchine

Michael Bearden of Ballet Arkansas is featured at Clinton School today at noon

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Michael-Bearden-Arkansan-of-the-Year-220x300Today at noon, Ballet Arkansas artistic director Michael Bearden, will discuss the upcoming performance by that company at the Clinton School.

Under the artistic direction of Michael Bearden, Ballet Arkansas will be performing its annual spring mixed repertory show April 17-19, 2015 at the Arkansas Repertory Theater. The show is entitled “Who Cares?” after the finale piece created by world-renowned choreographer George Balanchine with music by George Gershwin.  The entire evening has a line-up of five works.

This show will be groundbreaking for Ballet Arkansas in two ways: Hilary Wolfley, the winner of Ballet Arkansas’s first annual Visions Choreographic Competition will debut the full length version of her award-winning piece and this will be the first time an Arkansas entity will be performing an official Balanchine work.

Bearden will give a presentation on George Balanchine and his impact on the world of dance and what it means in the greater dance world that Ballet Arkansas was authorized by the Balanchine Trust to perform a piece of his work.

Bearden is in his second season as Ballet Arkansas‘ Artistic Director and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Utah Department of Ballet. A native of Searcy, Arkansas, he received his training at the Academy of Ballet Arkansas and went on to have a fourteen year career with Ballet West, in Salt Lake City. As a Principal Dancer at Ballet West, Michael performed leading roles in ballets by some of the world’s greatest choreographers including Balanchine, Ashton, Tudor, Forsythe, Stevenson, Welch, Dove, Tetley, Tharp, Kylian and Christopher Bruce.

With a strong interest in project management, in May 2005, Michael led a team of Ballet West dancers in organizing a special performance to benefit Utah Cancer Foundation. The event, “A Dance for Life” raised more than $20,000. In 2007, he was the project manager for Ballet West‘s 2007 calendar, which highlighted the Artists of Ballet West in some of Utah’s most memorable settings. As a choreographer, Mr. Bearden has created or staged his works for Ballet West, the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, the University of Cincinnati, Belhaven University and Texas Christian University. Michael is grateful for the continued opportunity to give back to the community by helping to guide Ballet Arkansas to new heights.

On Their Toes – Ballet Arkansas announces 2015-2016 season

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BalletArkOn April 17 through 19, Ballet Arkansas will conclude the 2014-2015 season with Who Cares? featuring choreography by George Balanchine and music by George Gershwin.

Not content to rest on their laurels, they have announced their 2015-2016 season.

The season will kick off on August 22 with the second Visions Choreographic Competition.  Several choreographers will be invited to create dance pieces which will be performed that night.  A panel of experts and the audience will select a winner. The winner will be developed further and performed in the spring of 2016.
The annual Nutcracker will take place December 11, 12 and 13 at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center.  (It will return to the re-opened Robinson Center Music Hall in December 2016).
The spring show will be titled Under the Lights and will be at The Rep on May 20-22. Under the Lights is the show’s headline piece set to Johnny Cash music. It was premiered in Nashville recently and now comes full circle to the state of Cash’s birth and boyhood.  Also on the bill for that evening is Glinka Pas de Trois by George Balanchine and Group Therapy by Harrison McEldowney which is a very funny piece.  In addition there will be two new pieces being performed.  Kiyon Gaines, who choreographed a new version of Bolero performed by Ballet Arkansas recently will be back in his first year as the company’s resident choreographer. He will create a new work for a world premiere. The other new piece will be the Visions winner.
Michael Bearden is the Artistic Director of Ballet Arkansas; Karen Bassett serves as Executive Director; Marla Edwards is the Ballet Mistress and Ballet Arkansas Youth Division Director; and Erin Anson is Company & Production Manager.

Robinson Redux March

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Blackstone adWhile Robinson Center Music Hall is closed for renovations, the Culture Vulture blog is taking a look back at previous bookings in the facility each month.

March 1940 was the first full month that Robinson Auditorium was open.  The month started with Blackstone the magician in performances from March 2 through 4. In addition to his appearance touted by the auditorium, Muswick Beverage & Cigar Company promoted his appearance, and the fact that he endorsed Budweiser beer.  Later that month, appearances included the Shrine Circus, the AAU girls basketball championship, and the Saint Louis Symphony.

March 1950 was a particularly busy month. It featured singer Vaughn Monroe on the 6th and the Arkansas State Symphony playing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on the 7th.  On the lower level, a circus took up residency from the 7th through 10th.  Back upstairs in the music hall, Ballet Theatre visited performing Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations” featuring ballerina Nora Kaye and conductor Max Goberman.  The month concluded on the 27th with James Dunn starring in the Pulitzer Prize winning Harvey.

In 1955, Jose Greco and His Spanish Dancers entertained audiences on March 7. Five years later, the Chicago Ballet was featured on March 26, 1960. Earlier that month (the 16th), Max Rudolf conducted the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. March 1965 feautured the Chicago Opera Ballet (on the 2nd) and an evening of country music stars including Buck Owens and Kitty Wells (on the 10th).

In March 1970, the national tour of the Broadway musical Mame starring Sheila Smith launched the month on the 6th and 7th. Later that month The Florida Boys were in concert. March 1975 saw much activity at Robinson Center. Guy Lombardo and his orchestra appeared on the 2nd and Richard Fredricks, baritone, gave a recital on the 4th, under the auspices of the Community Concert Series. On March 5 & 6, a statewide touring production of South Pacific played at Robinson. Produced by Vince Insalaco, it starred Judy Pryor (now Judy Trice) as Little Rock native Nellie Forbush. The month closed out with the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof.

March 1980 saw Dawn Wells starring in Neil Simon’s Chapter Two on the 8th. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra performed on the 15th and 16th with pianist Lorin Hollander as guest artist. Five years later, Marilyn Horne appeared with the ASO on March 2, 1985. At the same time that evening, the Shriners Ball was taking place on the lower level. Later that month a national tour of Sophisticated Ladies stopped by Robinson on the 12th. The ASO returned on March 20 & 21 with pianist Garrick Ohlsson.

The Sharks and the Jets lept on the stage on March 20, 1990, as a tour of West Side Story came to Robinson Center. The month concluded with pianist Jose Carlos Cocarelli in concert with the ASO.

Marilyn Horne returned to Little Rock, ten years and one day after her previous appearance, and performed with the ASO again on March 3, 1995. The month also included The Will Rogers Follies on March 10-12, Jazz Explosion II (with George Duke, Dianne Reeves, Phil Perry, Howard Hewett, and George Howard) on March 15, and the ASO in concert with cellist Jeffrey Solow on March 18 & 19. On March 22, the musical Raisin was performed. The cast included Peabo Bryson, Jeffrey Osborne and Lynette Hawkins.

As the 2000s rolled around, Robinson Center continued to feature an eclectic mix. In March 2000, Ann Hampton Callaway performed with the ASO on March 4 & 5. Later that month the original cast of Red, White & Tuna played at Robinson from March 14 through 19. In 2005, the national tour of Mamma Mia! played at Robinson from March 1-6. Later that month the ASO performed Broadway a la Carte with an eveningn of songs from the Great White Way (on March 18 & 19).

In 2010, the ASO performed a concert version of Porgy & Bess on March 12 & 13. It was the first time that title had ever been performed in its entirity in Arkansas. Irish dance took the stage the next night as Lord of the Dance took up residence at Robinson Center.

New Works and Old Favorites are part of the Ballet Arkansas 2014-2015 season

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BalletArkWhile most people know Ballet Arkansas for its long tradition of The Nutcracker, the organization is so much more and this season’s line up truly demonstrates that.” Artistic Director Michael Bearden, a former Principal Dancer with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, is delighted to announce that, for the first time, an Arkansas dance company has been authorized by the George Balanchine Trust to perform a piece from his extensive, world renown collection of works. “By authorizing Ballet Arkansas to perform one of its works, the George Balanchine Trust has put a stamp of approval on the growth our company has made. This is a huge honor and accomplishment!”

Ballet Arkansas will present three productions this season, starting off with their first annual Visions  Choreographic Competition to be held in the CALS Ron Robinson Theater in the River Market on August 23rd at 7:00 pm. Thirty-six emerging choreographers from around the country competed for five spots in this competition. The winner will receive a commission to create a complete new work on Ballet Arkansas’s company dancers for their 2015 spring show. The five choreographers  selected for the competition are: Sayoko Knode,  former principal dancer with Idaho Dance Theatre; Jerry Opdenaker, former principal dancer for ballet companies such as Milwaukee Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Kansas City Ballet and Ballet Florida; Brandon Ragland, dancer with the Louisville Ballet; Christopher Stuart dancer with Nashville Ballet; and Hilary Fullmer Wolfley who graduated in 2013 from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in Ballet. The five pieces will be judged by Adam Sklute, Artistic Director of Ballet West, Rhythm McCarthy with UALR’s Theatre and Dance Program, former Ballet Arkansas Principal Dancer Michael Tidwell with the Tidwell Project and the audience will be the fourth judge.

“I am very pleased with the talent level of our five guest choreographers” said Artistic Director, Michael Bearden “Their abilities in collaboration with our beautiful dancers will make for an evening you won’t want to miss.”

In December, Ballet Arkansas joins forces with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra to present the annual holiday ballet, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center.  With music provided by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, a cast of 200+ youth and adult dancers from the central Arkansas area, professional guest artists, Ballet Arkansas company members and Youth Division, The Nutcracker will continue its tradition as a holiday must-see. The Nutcracker performance week includes student matinees for statewide school groups on December 11 & 12, along with the four public performances on December 12, 13 and 14th.  The Nutcracker Tea at the Capital Hotel provides a wonderful complement to the performances.

In April, Ballet Arkansas will present its mixed rep show  titled Who Cares? after the production’s finale piece. Dancers will be performing the concert version of Balanchine’s Who Cares? set to music by George Gershwin on the stage of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in downtown Little Rock April 17-19, 2015, with student matinees scheduled for April 16 and 17 for statewide school  groups.  The concert will also feature the expanded winning choreography from the Visions competition, an excerpt from Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, Raymonda, and a new piece by former Hubbard Street dancer Greg Sample, who will be expanding one of his existing works.

Ballet Arkansas’ performances in the 2014-2015 Season will also include an appearance at the ACANSA Arts Festival on September 28th at Wildwood Performing Arts Center, a joint collaboration with the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra and Ballet Arkansas’s Youth Division at the Albert Pike Scottish Rite Temple November 14 & 15, a Master Class Series featuring Ballet Arkansas’ guest artists offering classes which can be attended by the general public, a gala in the spring of 2015, a  state-wide touring program and a Student Matinee program, including student matinees at tour sites  around the state.