Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Colorado Ballet at Arvada Center 19-Aug-2010


Recommended Posts

A friend and I managed to score front row seats for the Colorado Ballet's (apparently) annual participation in the Arvada Center's summer concert series (the Arvada Center is a fine and performing arts venue in the northwest Denver metro area). It's the first time that I've ever been that close to dancers, and it was a very unique experience. What appears smooth and effortless from afar was strenuous and sweaty up close.

The show followed the same format as last year's program, with the pre-intermission portion consisting of excerpts from various works followed by a complete work after the intermission. This year's choice for a full short ballet was Great Galloping Gottschalk, which isn't my favorite but was entertaining. The ushers were extremely stingy with programs so I don't have a list of dances and dancers, but the unmistakable stand-out for me was Rhoden's Ave Maria, danced by soloist Dana Benton and (recently promoted to) principle Dmitry Trubchanov. My friend's assessment after the show, which I could not disagree with, was "not quite as polished as their regular performances" (e.g., Maria Mosina stumbled at the end of the sequence of fouettes in the pas de deux from Le Corsaire) but perhaps we noticed the little mistakes because we were so close that we wouldn't have noticed from our typical seats. I don't know how much rehersal time they had, but I'm guessing it was less than for their regular programs.

I noticed on the CB's website that several of their top administrators have left this summer, including their executive director. As far as I know, these departure haven't been covered by the local news media.

Link to comment

I noticed on the CB's website that several of their top administrators have left this summer, including their executive director. As far as I know, these departure haven't been covered by the local news media.

I have a "Google alert" set for "Colorado Ballet." While their recruitment announcement for an executive director has shown up on several jobs sites, no information about the reasons for the most recent departures have turned up. Here's the recruitment from their own site:

http://www.coloradoballet.org/about/opportunities

There were news reports over a year ago about staff lay-offs, but it sounded like financial problems, nothing else.

http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=113018

http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_12059679

According to the public professional networking site Linkedin, the previous executive director, Jack R. Lemmon, was there less than a year. (For those of you who know this site, each person posts his/her own information.)

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jack-r-lemmon/7/9b7/2aa

Here's the news story from the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News about his appointment in fall 2008:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/13/colorado-ballet-names-arts-veteran-as-executive/

It's tough all over in the arts.

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...