Dominic Walsh Dance Theater
Free Performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre!
Contemporary ballet company Dominic Walsh Dance Theater will kick-off its sensational 2008-2009 season with a reprise of Dominic Walsh's Sleeping Beauty on September 6 and 7, 2008, at 8:00 PM at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park. Walsh brings this fairy tale crashing into the twenty-first century, with a teenaged Aurora of today navigating adolescence.
The Sleeping Beauty is certainly a familiar fairy tale - Carabosse places a curse on the King's daughter Aurora that she will one day prick her finger and die. The Lilac Fairy responds by placing a spell to protect Aurora should she prick her finger. Instead of dying, she falls into a deep sleep from which she is awoken after a hundred years by the kiss of a prince. The tale has been treated to ballet interpretations since 1815, but none of the prior versions were to enjoy the longevity or popularity of the 1890 Russian version choreographed by Marius Petipa with a score by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - the first successful ballet composed by Tchaikovsky. Walsh utilizes this original score for his adaptation but does away with the fairies and fantasy.
"I wanted to offer contemporary statements on the tale's classic themes of growing up and the inevitable challenges of adolescence, with some humor thrown into the mix," says Walsh. His "Sleeping Beauty" is the rebellious Aurora who falls under the influence of Carabosse, a woman who brings her into contact with the illusory world of drugs and promiscuity. The arrival of Desire, a working-man prince, marks Aurora's sexual awakening and the birth of her higher self. To support these primary characters, Walsh focuses on background relationships and characters including Aurora's overprotective parents, Dr. Lyle Laq (as in the Lilac Fairy), as well as some very entertaining party guests, school chums, office workers, and club kids. Adding to the twenty-first century vibe is Jeremy Choate's clever backdrop suggesting Houston's skyline and Travis Halsey's high fashion inspired costumes.
Walsh's Sleeping Beauty played to great public and critical acclaim when it premiered in October 2007 and continues to garner national and international attention. "We chose to reprise this ballet at Miller Outdoor Theatre not only for its artistic value, but also for its broad popular appeal. The tale is well-known and should attract a large audience made up of families who may not typically attend our performances as well as visitors to Houston," states Leigh McBurnett, Executive Director of Dominic Walsh Dance Theater.
Of course long-time company members Dawn Dippel as Aurora, Domenico Luciano as Desire, and Amy Cain will grace the Miller Outdoor Theatre stage, along with Walsh as Dr. Lyle Laq. But the performances of Sleeping Beauty will also feature some exciting new additions to Dominic Walsh Dance Theater's roster of dancers including Beth Everitt. After training at Houston Ballet Academy, Everitt joined Houston Ballet as an apprentice in 2002, performing in Ben Stevenson's Snow Maiden, Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. She then went on to The Louisville Ballet where she served in the Corps de Ballet and also danced as a guest artist with Ballet Memphis and as a principal guest artist with Appalachian Ballet Company. Also new for the 2008-2009 season, the company has added the rank of Apprentice. Joining the company at this rank for the 2008-2009 season and also making their company debut at Miller Outdoor Theatre are Lauren Bettencourt, Lauren Difede, and Amanda Herd.
"One of my motivations for creating the company was to support the development of professional dancers and to provide viable employment opportunities for them in Houston," states Walsh. From the beginning, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater worked with dancers who were either freelancers or were on break from their contracts with larger companies. Because they were not under contract to Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, the company's performance schedule was largely determined by outside factors. Dominic Walsh Dance Theater hired its first dancer under full contract for the 2005-2006 season and since that time, has gradually expanded its roster. For the 2008-2009 season, ten dancers will be under contract to Dominic Walsh Dance Theater for a minimum of 34 weeks of work. This size roster will allow Dominic Walsh Dance Theater to continue to increase its programming thus strengthening its local, national, and international presence.
The performances of Sleeping Beauty are free, but tickets are required for reserved seats in the covered area. Tickets are available at the Miller Theatre Box Office on a first-come, first-serve basis between 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM on the day of the performance. Remaining tickets are given out one hour before curtain. Please, four tickets per person. Hillside seating is not reserved. Blankets and lawn chairs welcome. This program is sponsored in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theater Advisory Board.
The goals of Dominic Walsh Dance Theater are: to present innovative, thought-provoking contemporary ballet in Houston and abroad; to expand the contemporary repertoire by supporting the creation of new works by choreographers from around the world; and to advance international dialogue by bringing the work of today's iconic choreographers to Houston. Dominic Walsh, a world-renowned principal dancer and choreographer, created the company in 2002 to build upon and expand the vocabulary of the masters of contemporary dance. By bringing together the world's greatest choreographers and the finest dancers, musicians and designers, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater inspires, challenges, and entertains audiences and artists alike with stimulating and visually stunning performances. Visit www.dwdt.org.
