Festival Ballet Providence Presents MIRRORS - An Evening of Captivating Contemporary Dance

Festival Ballet Providence (FBP) is thrilled to present an evening of three striking contemporary ballets at The VETS, February 15-17, 2019. The impressive program includes the return of Viktor Plotnikov's gripping dance-drama Coma, the Rhode Island premiere of George Balanchine's sumptuous Serenade, and Yury Yanowsky's apocalyptic Smoke & Mirrors, also a Company premiere.Showcasing the versatility of the FBP dancers, this riveting program reflects something for everyone.

"The concept of reflection inspired this program," said Mihailo (Misha) Djuric, Artistic Director of FBP, adding, "Each ballet highlights the dynamic nature of contemporary choreography. By combining these three different pieces, we hope to introduce new audiences to the emotional and transformative power of dance."

Viktor Plotnikov, FBP's Resident Choreographer, was inspired to create Coma after seeing Michael Crichton's 1978 sci-fi film of the same name. Audiences have come to appreciate Plotnikov's unique style, wrought with intricate shapes, angles, and perspectives. Coma elegantly demonstrates Plotnikov's unmatched design, at turns tender and gripping. From its startling opening tableau, where suspended bodies float and sway, to the simple tolling of bells in Arvo Pärt's powerful, minimalist score, the experience is both cinematic and transcendent. Dance Magazine'swriter Theodore Bale said, "Plotnikov's Coma is not merely a danced sci-fi thriller but rather an emphatic and deeply personal effort, realized with singularity and intelligence."

A romantic addition the program, George Balanchine's Serenadewill have its Rhode Island premiere. This elegant ballet is considered a milestone in the history of American dance as the first work Balanchine created in the United States in 1934. With its signature powder blue tutus, Serenade is a visual treat, seeping in moonlight and bursting with energy. Set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's magnificent Serenade for Strings, the work premiered in 1934, as the first ballet Balanchine created in New York City after emigrating to the United States. the ballet has evolved over time, as this master choreographer incorporated not only unexpected rehearsal events into the choreography (such as one girl's fall and another's late arrival) but also styles of the time. FBP is one of only two companies in New England authorized by the Balanchine Trust to perform his closely protected works. The New Yorker's Joan Acocella said of the ballet, "The piece is a story about hope... beautiful-stirring, sweeping."

Rounding out the evening, Yury Yanowsky's Smoke and Mirrorsalso makes its Rhode Island premiere. Commissioned 2016 by the Boston Ballet, the contemporary work appears to be set in an apocalyptic future. Dancers costumed in corsets seem to reflect the idea that our society are merely puppets of "the system," struggling to escape their self-imposed restrictions. Smoke and Mirrorsseemingly has no beginning and no end, existing in its own mysterious world with the audience peeking in. The score, by Yanowsky's cousin, Lucas Vidal, a film composer best known for his score for Fast & Furious 6, creates an air of apprehension with its atmospheric use of sirens and muffled voices. Of Smoke and Mirrors, Iris Fanger writing in the Patriot Ledger said, "Yanowsky's innovative revisions of ballet technique come on fast and furious...with alternating pas de deux and group passages partially obscured by billowing smoke from off-stage that is cut by shafts of light."

"Mirrors" will take place at The Vets, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence, RI, Fri. Feb. 15, 2019 - 7:30pm; Sat. Feb. 16, 2019 - 7:30pm; Sun. Feb. 17, 2019 - 2:00pm. Tickets can be purchased at thevetsri.com or 401-421-ARTS.