Debuting last year, Ballet West’s National Choreographic Festival introduces audiences to new works from around the country by inviting guest companies from around the nation to join Ballet West dancers. Spread over two weekends, the performances are divided into two individual programs allowing audiences to view a full six works if desired. Included in this … Read more
The mere mention of Shakespeare-related live performances in Utah might lead readers directly to thoughts of the world-renowned Utah Shakespeare Festival held annually in Cedar City each summer and fall. Yet, this spring, Shakespeare was alive and well in the heart of Salt Lake City too. Pioneer Theatre Company produced Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night from March … Read more
Ballet West is known for bringing lovely stories to life in the month of February and 2018 is no exception. With the return of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella—widely considered the greatest ballet interpretation of the fairytale—the company delivers humor, romance and enchantment to ticketholders through February 25. First staged by The Royal Ballet of London, … Read more
For more than 60 years, Ballet West has been part of Utahns’ festive celebration of the holidays with the annual run of Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker. Billed as the longest-running full-length production in America, Ballet West has devoted $3 million to a reimagined presentation of costumes, sets and special effects to update this spectacular ballet … Read more
Expressing the art of dance in painting is among the most difficult challenges artists attempt. Many know of Edgar Degas, who practically lived at the Paris Opera in the 1870s, watching ballet rehearsals and performances, often from backstage, so that his paintings would be as true to representing the intensity of movement and focus of … Read more
Carmina Burana has long been the most requested non-full-length work of Ballet West. It was first staged by Ballet West’s founder Willam Christensen in 1974. Since then, the collection of 24 poems set to music by Carl Orff has been performed by Ballet West more than 100 times. So, on the opening of Artist Director … Read more
Since being established in 2011, the Utah Arts Festival’s dance commission program has brought forward a tremendous partnership with Ballet West performers and adventurous original choreographed compositions. The legacy expands this year with Laden, a work created by Emily Adams, Ballet West principal, which will be the closing piece on a program of six works … Read more
The temporary miniature city of cosmopolitan art and culture that defines the Utah Arts Festival will open Thursday, June 22, with new stories and perspectives from artists of all stripes. The 41st annual festival will bring new faces and ideas from all venues. In the artist marketplace, 174 artists, including nine returning award winners, were … Read more
In a quick glance, one realizes just how prominent dance is at the Utah Arts Festival and how it encapsulates the deep roots of Utah’s incredible dance culture. Salt Lake City is home to one of the most active dance performing arts spectra, even accounting for the city’s size. In addition to Samba Fogo, Salt … Read more
Ballet West will embark on a new annual tradition this weekend with the start of the National Choreographic Festival—running two weekends at the Eccles Theater. The National Choreographic Festival marks Ballet West’s first performances in the new 2,500-seat venue as well as a larger presence in the professional dance community nationally. “I have decided to … Read more