|Young People's Performances~March 17, 2006| | Public Performances~March 18-19, 2006|

A Midsummer Night's Dream

&

Paquita

PUBLIC PERFORMANCES

We are excited to bring to you the rare opportunity to attend a world premiere, with our production of Marek Cholewa’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, followed by Paquita at the beautiful Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri—St. Louis.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an entertaining mix of adventures and misadventures, mortals and fairies, love and mischief, based on Shakespeare’s humorous tale, with original choreography by internationally renowned choreographer, Marek Cholewa. It will take you to forests, inhabited by King Oberon (ruler of the fairy kingdom), his queen, Titania, and the mischievous Puck. Based on Shakespeare's comedic tale of adventures and misadventures of mortals and fairies, this full-length ballet is set to the beautifully lyrical score by Felix Mendelssohn, and restaged by internationally renowned choreographer, Marek Cholewa. Talented dancers of Alexandra Ballet will be joined by, among others, a select group of dancers from Butler Ballet.

Alexandra Ballet's Consuello Williams will dance the role of Titania in this production. She has danced a number of major roles with Alexandra Ballet, including Enchanted Princess in Sleeping Beauty and the lead role in Esmeralda. She is a member of the Regional Dance America-Mid-States' honor company. Consuelo is a senior at Parkway North High School, and in addition to her training with Alexandra Ballet, has studied on scholarship at the School of American Ballet in NYC, and at American Ballet Theatre in NY as well. She was featured in the 2006 Dec/Jan edition of Pointe Magazine in an article entitled "America's Training Ground". Stirling Matheson of Butler Ballet will appear as Oberon.

Did you know that The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn was actually composed as part of his ballet music for A Midsummer Night's Dream? Please go to the Press Releases section of the Web Site for similar kind of information on the performance pieces. You will also find the educational booklet that Alexandra Ballet has prepared for the Young People's Performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream of interest. Just click on one of the following links ( pdf | MS Word.)

Known as the epitome of the French style that was exported to Russia in the late 19th century, Paquita nonetheless contains a decidedly Spanish flavor. Originally choreographed by Mazilier, the ballet was revised in 1848, with a grand pas added by Marius Petipa, and additional music by Minkus. Lucien, son of a French general in Spain, falls in love with Paquita, a gypsy girl, but their different stations in life make the romance impossible. After a series of unexpected events, Paquita discovers that she is actually of noble birth, and a happy ending follows. Zhanna Dubrovskaya, artistic director of Salt Creek Ballet of Chicago, has restaged this majestic classic for Alexandra Ballet. CiCi Houston of Alexandra Ballet has restaged the Polonaise , a part of Petipa's version rarely seen in America today. It has been danced by every famous Russian dancer as a child, from Anna Pavlova to Barishnikov. Performed by the younger dancers of the Company, this piece shines with nobility and grace, and is a taste of what is to come in the future from this talented group.

Alexandra Ballet's Aggie Schmank and Anthony Krutzkamp, a principal dancer with Cincinnati Ballet, portray Paquita and Lucien in this powerful and exciting production. Krutzkamp, who trained at The Virginia School of the Arts, is known for his bravura technique and exciting jumps. Aggie Schmank, a junior in high school at St. Joseph’s Academy, has been training with Alexandra Ballet since she was 11 years old. Costumes for Paquita were designed for Alexandra Ballet by Judith Bonnot, award-winning British designer and seamstress. The result is a ballet that shines with the vibrant jewel tones of royalty, with shades of amethyst and magenta serving to magnify the majesty of the ballet. Please see Spring 2006 issue of Alexandra Ballet's newsletter, The ViewPointe, for an article on Judith Bonnot, as well as many other articles of interest.

Dates and Venue
Saturday, March 18, 2005 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 19, 2005 2:00 pm
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center , UM–St. Louis Campus, St. Louis, Missouri. Click here for directions.

Ticket information
Tickets go on sale at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center on November 14, 2005. Box Office hours are Monday thru Friday between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. Click here for directions. Phone orders can be placed by calling (314) 516-4949 or toll free number (866) 516-4949. There is a $3 charge per phone order. Tickets will be mailed directly to you. All tickets purchased over the phone must be charged to MasterCard, Visa, or Discover. Click here to buy tickets on-line. Tickets can also be ordered by stopping at the studio. There is $5 senior citizen discount.

YOUNG PEOPLE'S PERFORMANCES

Dates
Friday, March 17, 2006 9:30 am and 12:45 pm

Venue
Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center , UM–St. Louis Campus, St. Louis, Missouri. Click here for directions.

We are pleased to continue to provide our community with one of the most comprehensive fine arts educational outreach initiatives in the St. Louis region. Offered to area schools, free of charge, teachers may choose to bring their class to see the morning or afternoon performance of the ballet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is an entertaining and magical interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic tale. Contact our office today to reserve space for your school—we have long waiting lists for this event! Alexandra Ballet has prepared an Educational Booklet that is designed as a resource for teachers to provide specifics about the performances, as well as a broad spectrum of learning materials that might be used in the classroom before the performances to enhance the experience of the students. Click the following links to view or download the booklet prepared for Alexandra Ballet's A Midsummer Night's Dream ( pdf | MS Word.)

Another fun and fascinating component was added last year, with “What’s Going on Back There?” an interactive demonstration presented by stage manager Tim Hubbard. During this presentation, students are let in on some of the “secrets” of the backstage world of performance art. Hubbard is currently a national trainer in teacher workshops at The Grammy Foundation’s Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning, and is a former dancer with Indianapolis Ballet Theatre. His demonstration last year was met with great enthusiasm, and AB proudly welcomes his contribution to the Young People’s Performance again this year. It is an excellent introduction to careers in performing arts for the highly inquisitive and impressionable young audiences.

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