Colorado Ballet 2023-2024 season

[California]

Colorado Ballet has announced their 2023-2024 season: https://coloradoballet.org/23-24-Season-Productions

Swan Lake always sells in Denver, as it does everywhere else. The company has other works by Val Caniparoli, so Jekyll & Hyde is a nice addition; it apparently was made for the Finnish National Opera and Ballet. This company does one Balanchine each year and Rubies will be interesting to see in spring 2024. 

SWAN LAKE

October 6–15, 2023
Colorado Ballet will open its 2023/2024 Season with Swan Lake. An iconic romantic-classical ballet that is beloved worldwide, Swan Lake features virtuosic choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, with additional choreography by Ballet Master Sandra Brown, Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner, with Tchaikovsky’s indelible score performed live by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra.

 

THE NUTCRACKER

November 25–December 24, 2023
Fan-favorite ballet The Nutcracker returns to Denver, featuring the company’s custom-made sets and costumes which debuted in 2021. The Nutcracker is a festive, family-friendly production that has become synonymous with the spirit of holiday season and sees sold-out performances year after year. In alignment with Colorado Ballet’s mission to increase accessibility and grow a diverse audience base, a public sensory-friendly performance of The Nutcracker will be presented for the third year in a row. 

 

JEKYLL & HYDE

February 2–11, 2024
Colorado Ballet will treat audiences to a Denver premiere of the full-length ballet Jekyll and Hyde. Inspired by the classic Gothic novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, choreographer Val Caniparoli’s neoteric production explores the human psyche and capacity for both good and evil. Set to the music of acclaimed composers Frédéric Chopin, Krzysztof Penderecki, Henryk Górecki, Wojciech Kilar and Henryk Wieniawski, Jekyll and Hyde premiered in 2020 and features scenic and costume design by David Israel Reynoso.

 

COPPÉLIA

March 8–17, 2024
For the first time in 15 years, Colorado Ballet will present Coppélia, a widely acclaimed ballet based on two short stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Renowned for its charming blend of humor and classical sensibility, Coppélia is a whimsical story of love and mistaken identity. Colorado Ballet’s adaptation features original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon, staged by Sandra Brown, Lorita Travaglia, and Maria Mosina, set to the music of Léo Delibes.

 

MASTERWORKS

April 12–21, 2024
Colorado Ballet’s 63rd Season concludes with Ballet MasterWorks. Audiences will see the return of George Balanchine’s scintillating masterpiece Rubies, choreographed to the music of Igor Stravinsky. The 2023/2024 Season’s annual repertory production will also feature a new work and a third ballet yet to be announced.

[LadyCap]

Wow, this looks like a great season! Nice balance, seems to me. 

[California]

Colorado Ballet just announced that Chris Moulton is being promoted to Principal for 2023-24. I approve! With the retirement of Yosvani Ramos and Dana Benton this spring, that will leave two female and three male principals. So I'm wondering if a female soloist will be promoted soon.

In some recent rehearsal clips, Chris can be spotted practicing a torchlift with his wife, Asuka Sasaki (already a principal), so maybe we'll see that again next year after a long absence.

Asuka used to do the torchlift with the sorely-missed Fran Estevez. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpDOeQSgeZ0/

Edited February 24, 2023 by California

[California]

Roster changes have been announced on their web site for 2023-24: https://coloradoballet.org/Dancers

35 dancers, including 7 apprentices

Principal

• Retirements: Dana Benton, Yosvani Ramos
• Newly promoted from soloist: Christopher Moulton

Soloist: 

• Departure from the company: Nicolas Pelletier

Demi-Soloist:

• Departure from the company: Melissa Zoebisch

Corps:

• Promoted from Apprentice: Kenny Allen, Alexandra Gilliom
• Departure from the company: Francesca Martoccio

Apprentices:

• New: Lily Bines, Mylie Buck, Leopold Foster, Tate Ryner, Lili Travaglia

[California]

Colorado Ballet just announced that they have commissioned a new ballet by Lauren Lovette for their Masterworks program in April 2024:

Colorado Ballet’s 63rd Season concludes with Ballet MasterWorks. Audiences will see the return of George Balanchine’s scintillating masterpiece Rubies, choreographed to the music of Igor Stravinsky, Yoshihisa Arai’s Boléro, set to the infamous score by Maurice Ravel. The 2023/2024 Season’s annual repertory production will also feature a new commission choreographed by Lauren Lovette, former principal dancer with New York City Ballet.

https://tickets.coloradoballet.org/events?view=list

[California]

This afternoon I saw the seventh and final performance of Jekyll & Hyde, Val Caniparoli's new ballet. Originally made for the Finnish Ballet in 2020, it was performed last fall by the Kansas City Ballet (which often shares productions with Colorado Ballet). It is an intense work worth seeing at least once, a fascinating and ambitious undertaking. 

I confess that I have never read the Stevenson novella, but wondered how this kind of story would translate to ballet. Quite successfully, I think. It is easy to understand the dramatic developments and it has a wealth of interesting choreography. The music arranged by Ramona Pansegrau is a mix of Chopin, Penderecki, Gorecki, Kilar, and Wieniawski, which effectively underscored and helped drive the narrative. I was especially impressed with the set design by David Israel Reynoso. With no fewer than 17 scenes in two acts, the minimalist/spare sets shifted easily and unobtrusively, from insane asylum to laboratory, ballroom, tavern, city street, and back to the asylum. The dramatic lighting design by Jim French helped, as did hazy mirror reflections in many of the scenes.

As artistic relief from the intense drama, Caniparoli included some interesting and challenging partnering, especially between the young Nellie (Asuka Sasaki) and the threatening Hyde (Jeremy Studinski), as well as Rowena the prostitute (Jennifer Grace). Jonnathan Ramirez as Dr. Jekyll showed his strong acting chops along with a forceful presence in his technique.  The work uses a huge cast, with nice solo bits for many soloists and corps members. 

When I looked at the ticketing site last week, sales seemed to be pretty good for a piece of this sort. Yesterday, they announced on Facebook that all remaining seats for today's Super Bowl matinee were "pay what you want." Those seemed to disappear quickly and it was nice to have a full house for the final performance.

(Caniparoli made In Pieces for the Colorado Ballet in 2013 to a contemporary score by Poul Ruders and it's been repeated very successfully since. It was an early commentary on male-female roles, a point made effectively through the choreography. My main complaint is the silly tutu-like costumes for both males and females. But I digress...I'd love to see this one again. I'm not sure I have the emotional energy to see J&H again!)

 

[LadyCap]

Thanks for your review, California!

I did not see the CO performances, so can't comment on these dancers, but viewed the Finnish production when it was streaming last year. I confess I really liked the opening scene in the madhouse, though very modern dance. And then the way the conventional narrative devolved into something more on the psychological plane as Jekyll (and Hyde!) began to lose control was really, really clever. 

I would definitely seek out more by this choreographer, and hope I'll get to see J&H in person someday.  

[YouOverThere]

Gil Boggs is going to perform the role of Dr. Coppelius for 3 performances in the current run of Coppelia.

[California]

I saw the eighth and final performance of Coppelia by Colorado Ballet this afternoon. It is a very nice production, with well-played comedy touches and pleasant dancing by all. It's not really fair to single out just a handful of dancers, as I didn't see the other casts, but two stand out:

• Liam Hogan was the lead in the Mazurka (partnering Sara Thomas). He is a new corps member from 2020 and I hadn't noticed him before.  I have now! Presence up the gazoo! Very strong technique, commanding presence. I will be watching for him in the final program, a mixed bill, next month. https://coloradoballet.org/Liam-Hogan
• Principal Jennifer Grace was Swanhilda. She admirably knocked off several technical feats: Italian fouettes, turns a la seconde, super-fast chaines, more. She had a little trouble on those difficult turning balances at the opening of the wedding PdD, but got through them. She was partnered by principal Chris Moulton, a late sub for Mario Labrador. He has a strong presence and impressive technique, but seemed a bit tired, having danced this role just last night! https://coloradoballet.org/Jennifer-Grace

[California]

This afternoon I saw the seventh and final performance of Masterworks, the final program of the season by Colorado Ballet. They always end their season with Masterworks, three ballets that are by far the best for serious ballet lovers -- and the most poorly attended. A few days ago, they advertised on Facebook: "all remaining tickets: pay your age." Yet they still had many, many empty seats and very few younger people. I chalk this up to Denver not being a "ballet city." Kudos to the company for trying to raise the taste level of Denver audiences. 

• Three Views of a Mountain was made last fall for this company by Lauren Lovette. It's described as ". . . three movements that all represent a different perspective of what the mountain represents depending on one's state of mind." The movements were called "The Climb," "The Clearing," and "The Descent." Denverites see the glorious tableau of the Rockies every day, and I suppose everyone has a different sense of their meaning, especially non-residents like Lovette. It's not fair to jump to conclusions on one performance and I might see more connection between the labels and the choreography on more viewing. So I'll just note that Lovette came up with some very imaginative lifts, especially in the first movement, and provided some thrilling opportunities for many of the men in the company to show off their technical prowess.  Of special note was Kenny Allen, a new corps member, who proved a powerful, technically astonishing soloist in the final movement. 
• Rubies opened the program. As far as I know, this was a company debut, nicely executed in style and technique. Ariel McCarty was a not-so-tall Tall Girl. Artistic Director Gil Boggs seems to enjoy giving promising junior members of the company (like McCarty and Allen) great roles to see how they work out and she was just fine. Principals Jennifer Grace and Jonnathan Ramirez were the leads, aptly capturing Balanchine's style. This company does one Balanchine each season and it's nice to see this addition to their collection. (The others are Prodigal Son, Serenade, Concerto Barocco, and Theme and Variations.) 
• Bolero by Yoshihisa Arai was performed for the first time outside of Chicago. You knew it was going to be different from the strange opening. The orchestra seemed to tune up, then tune again, then tune again. The curtain goes up on a lone dancer (Jennifer Grace) in a silky white shirt and soft shoes. A row of low lights lines the back of the stage. Four men appear from the back curtains, bare chested with billowing black pants/skirts. Another four men joined later and then six women. As the pulse of the movement swells inexorably, the ensemble pursues energized and usually interesting patterns. Then Grace seems to start having a nervous breakdown, in her contorted expressions and anguished movements. That threw me for a loop -- is this a nightmare? an insane asylum? an emotional collapse? I have no idea, but I think I would have preferred a non-narrative finale. 

[Maromeo]

I believe Colorado Ballet danced Rubies in the early 2000s if not since. 

[California]

3 minutes ago, Maromeo said:

I believe Colorado Ballet danced Rubies in the early 2000s if not since. 

It's possible they did it in the early 2000s. Gil Boggs has been artistic director since 2006. I have been attending their shows for 15+ years and they haven't done it in that time period. 

[California]

14 hours ago, Maromeo said:

I believe Colorado Ballet danced Rubies in the early 2000s if not since. 

I stand corrected. I did some digging around on the company's web site. They did Rubies in February 2004 when Martin Feldman was the Artistic Director. It was on a triple bill with Rodeo and A Little Love, performed at the Paramount Theater. But it doesn't appear on their rep list again until this year.

[Marquis de Carabas]

On 4/21/2024 at 6:15 PM, California said:

As the pulse of the movement swells inexorably, the ensemble pursues energized and usually interesting patterns. Then Grace seems to start having a nervous breakdown, in her contorted expressions and anguished movements. That threw me for a loop -- is this a nightmare? an insane asylum? an emotional collapse? I have no idea, but I think I would have preferred a non-narrative finale. 

 

My impression of the Yoshihisa Arai Bolero, including the finale, was much more positive. I experienced this ballet as a tightly integrated work where the tension and anguish interpreted by the lead dancer is apparent from the start, in her expressions, movements, and body language. The "energized and usually interesting" movements of the ensemble underlined the coiled-spring emotional atmosphere. The piece built gradually and inexorably along these lines from the subdued beginning to a stunning conclusion. Most of the audience seemed to share this impression, as the Bolero got by far the most enthusiastic applause of the three short ballets.

I also enjoyed Rubies. I would describe the performance I saw as beautiful and elegant, as called for by the choreography and music.

Three Views of a Mountain struck me as the weakest link, and because the basic concept was too (so to speak) pedestrian. Ballet should transport us to a world of fantasy, adventure, and imagination, and/or provide insight into the extremes of human experience and feeling (passion, terror, rage, etc). A typical present-day Colorado mountain hike is just too well planned, outfitted, and mapped to reach those destinations.

I saw the matinee performance of Masterworks on Sunday, April 14. I will try to look up the name of the lead dancer for that Bolero.  I don't remember if it was Jennifer Grace.

 

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

The Colorado Ballet 2023-2024 season isn't over yet. One ballet remains to be performed, and tickets are still available (less the ticket I just bought):

GISELLE, performed by the students of the Colorado Ballet Academy, Saturday May 25, at 1 PM and 6 PM, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House (usual location).

Youtube preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNHd4oqjiH8

Tickets: https://tickets.coloradoballet.org/events

To judge by the preview, the principal dancers are rather young even for a student performance, will be interesting to see how they approach this classic.

 

 

Edited May 18 by Marquis de Carabas
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