theatre
Aspen Santa Fe BALLET
by lisa lipsey
Split between the small town, big arts worldof Aspen, Colorado and the diversity of Santa Fe, New Mexico, The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is returning to town with its unique fusion of ballet and modern dance. Their high-octane, contemporary-classical style, stirring music and deep commitment to curating new ballets, has contributed to their critical success. TheBoston Herald called them the “Classically trained company of the future.” This is a “back-by- popular-demand” performance, as they make their second visit to the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. Artistic Director Tom Mossbrucker says, “In general,
this is a really exciting season, it’s our 20th anniversary season, which is a milestone, for sure. There are lots of exciting things going on, we have a really great program with three different new works, all with Latin flavor and all are commissioned works. Commission is a big part of what we do; we intentionally don’t have a resident choreographer, so all our work is curated. We develop relationships with choreographers from around the world and everyone really seems to love it.” The celebration of their 20th season has leftMoss- brucker in a reflective space, “Where is the company going? It took 20 years to find out who we are and what our voice is, what we look like and do. We have defined the essence of us, that’s the nice thing about coming of age, you know who you are. Nearly 22 years ago, Bebe Schweppe invited Jean-Philippe Malaty and I to Aspen to start this company. Aspen is an arts mecca, especially in the summertime with the jazz and culture festivals. Well, it is year-round now. Bebe wanted Aspen to have its own dance company and she said, ‘You guys are the ones to do it.’ We thought she was crazy [laughs]…and she was crazy, but also terrific, supportive and helpful through all our evolution. Today, we have our dance company plus a big school in each community, with over 400 kids at each school. We offer ballet and also Mexican folk dance after school to junior high and high school students.”
TWENTY YEARS ON THEIR FEET
It has been a wild ride, “Today, I am in New York City to see our Flamenco
dance instructor Juan Siddi make his debut. Saturday, I am back doing a little show in Aspen and then we head out on tour with this 20th anniversary ballet. It is great to know our umbrella is so wide-reaching, that we can do so much with so little,” saidMossbrucker. When asked what audiences should know about this ballet,Mossbrucker says
Most people, when they think of a ballet, they think of something that was choreographed 80
years ago and they might say, ‘I don’t really like dance.’ We perform current material, at a high level and we love the audience’s reaction.”
“I would say to audiences I guarantee they will enjoy this ballet. Most people, when they think of a ballet, they think of something that was choreographed 80 years ago and they might say, ‘I don’t really like dance.’ We perform current material, at a high level and we love the audience’s reaction. They are surprised when they see what we do. When we visited a small town in Wisconsin, one of the people told me they had never seen any contemporary dance. The audience was mesmerized and standing on their feet. I always hope to give audiences something current and accessible. Something where they won’t scratch their head and say, ‘I didn’t get it.’ There will be something you take away from one of these three pieces.”
“I am excited about the new piece from Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo. I
asked him to do something very different, upbeat and celebratory for our 20th anniversary. He had to think for a bit, as it was a departure for him. But, not for long... he accepted the challenge. This piece comes outward to the audience, like you are a part of it, they are dancing to you. It has popular music from the 1950s and ‘60s and uses bright red. It is a beautiful piece.”
The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s 20th Anniversary Tour will be at California Center for the Arts, Escondido one night only onThursday, April 14. For tickets and more information, call 800.988.4253 or visit them online
atartcenter.org.
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RAGE monthly | APRIL 2016
| APRIL 2016
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