Oregon Ballet Theatre Ends 25th Anniversary Season With IMPACT

Saturday, April 11, 2015

GoLocalPDX Arts Team

Photo Credit: Oregon Ballet Theater Facebook (image cropped)

Oregon Ballet Theatre ends their 25th anniversary season with IMPACT, a showcase of four powerful works, including a world premiere from Darrell Grand Moultrie.

“Art must engage with the public in a way that creates conversations. The works in this program are not simply to be admired for their beauty and technical achievement,” says for Artistic Director Kevin Irving. “They may just compel us to consider the world in a different way. In this way we remain a vital part of our community.”

IMPACT opens with Instinctual Confidence, a world premiere work by sought-after choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie, winner of the Princess Grace Fellowship Award. Moultrie has been commissioned to create pieces for renowned ballet companies, and stars like Savion Glover and Beyoncé.

“Ballet dancers now are not just one thing anymore,” Moultrie explains. “They really want to explore!” Moultrie takes inspiration from his unique background growing up in New York City, where he was exposed to so many dance forms and forced to respect them. His “genre jumping” approach is welcomed by classically trained dancers and will keep audiences mesmerized throughout.

IMPACT will also celebrate founding OBT Resident Choreographer Dennis Spaight, with the return of Crayola to the OBT stage for the first time in nearly two decades. Crayola will feature two young artists of OBT2, a new initiative launched to create performing opportunities for dancers in the early stages of their professional careers.

Following Crayola is Nicolo Fonte’s Presto, with music by Italian composer Ezio Bosso. The company’s most advanced dancers will hit the stage for this impressive piece.

Closing the show is OBT’s premier of Rassemblement by Nacho Duato. Duato’s choreography was recently introduced to Portland in last season’s Por Vos Muero and Cor Perdut.

The potent and emotionally gripping piece will be set to songs by Haitian artist Toto Bissainthe, drawn from the stories of slaves longing for their homeland. The physical piece is a new experience for many of OBT’s dancers, as its danced barefoot. The audience will surely be enthralled by the breathtaking movement and feel the full historical significance of the piece. Rassemblement captures the universal human instinct to strive for freedom in the face of subjugation.

IMPACT, Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway Ave., April 16th - 25th, $27+. For more information click HERE.