2009/2010 SEASON:
Portland Ballet Company
2009/2010 Performance Season
PORTLAND DANCES!
August 14th & 15th, 2009 – 7:30pm
the John Ford Theater
at Portland High School
An evening of contemporary dance featuring Portland's
most exciting emerging choreographers.
HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR
October 31, 2009 – 2pm
the John Ford Theater
at Portland High School
284 Cumberland Avenue (map)
Portland Ballet presents a program of dance set
to 'a little fright music' - Danse Macabre,
Night on Bald Mountain, etc. Join in the
Children's Costume Contest at intermission!
L'HISTOIRE DU SOLDAT
Sunday, November 8, 2009 – 2:30pm
at Merrill Auditorium
20 Myrtle Street, Portland
Portland Ballet performs with the Portland Symphony
Orchestra and special celebrity narrator Peter Wolf
(J. Geils Band) to present this famous Stravinsky
parable. This piece is part of the PSO's
Great Stories to Tell! program.
THE VICTORIAN NUTCRACKER
December 12 & 13, 2009 – 2pm
Kennett High School
409 Eagles Way, North Conway, NH
December 16, 2009 – 7:30pm
at Merrill Auditorium
20 Myrtle Street, Portland
Portland Ballet performs with the Portland Ballet Orchestra
and the Victorian Festival Singers. Join us in both Portland
and North Conway, NH for this holiday extravaganza.
Educational Outreach program for school groups.
Mozart's REQUIEM
March 30, 2010
at Merrill Auditorium
20 Myrtle Street, Portland
Portland Ballet and the Choral Art Society
collaborate again to bring this masterpiece
to the stage, with live orchestra and
choreography by Kennet Oberly.
“GISELLE” - A DELIGHT!
Photography by Tammy Sarchi Belanger
In March 2009, Portland Ballet triumphantly returned to classical works with a spectacular production of “Giselle”
Here's what the Critics said about the performance:
Portland Ballet has never made a better showing than in its production of “Giselle” over the weekend, thanks in large part to brilliant staging by guest choreographer Catherine Batcheller. Nowhere was this more striking on Saturday evening than in the performance of the corps de ballet, who carry the second act. Portland's corps portrayed the Wilis with precision, and just the right mix of ethereality and haughtiness. Particularly impressive was their execution of the traveling arabesques in a formation of crossing lines, a must-have "Giselle" combination that isn't easy to perform well. These dancers were solid, with their working legs aligned and steady and their upper bodies soft.
As Giselle, Nell Shipman wove a spell throughout her performance in both acts, captivating the audience with both the quality of her dancing and her absorption in the role. Demure and dramatic in the first act, she made her solo a study in joyful innocence and her "mad scene" after Albrecht's betrayal believably tragic. Joining the Wilis in the second act, her body resonated with an understated, sustained sorrow. Shipman executed Giselle's classic arabesque penche, pas de poisson and other traditional steps with confidence, strength and an expressively fluid upper body.
With Wyatt Barr as Albrecht, the famous ballotts of the pas de deux were performed with synchrony and lightness. Barr danced competently, with clean beats and above-average neatness in his landings. His series of entrechats was especially good.
It was a rare opportunity for local audiences to see this classic ballet, and exemplary of the quality this company is capable of delivering.
Jennifer Brewer, Portland Press Herald,
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
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PSB IN PRINT
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to read a story from "Port City Life" about the Portland School of Ballet's C.O.R.P.S. program.
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