Duration of performance: approx. 70 minutes (no intermission)

The full Dayton Ballet company of dancers is thrilled to be back on stage at their home at the Victoria Theatre for their first live in-person performance after being shut down for nearly a year because of COVID-19, and what better weekend to celebrate than Valentine’s Day weekend! The dancers have prepared a series of duets that explore all the emotions of love, from ecstasy to anger to tenderness to adoration, and everything in between. Enjoy the artistry, athleticism, and sheer beauty of dance, and celebrate your loved ones this weekend, with love from Dayton Ballet, as you experience the following dances:

Red Roses
choreographed by Stephen Mills, Artistic Director, Ballet Austin
Eight dancers celebrate love by revealing different facets of this complex emotion, from romantic to comical, as they dance to famous French love songs, including “La Vie en Rose” and “Comme Moi,” a recorded version sung by Ohio native Samantha Gossard and played by musicians from Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

Berceuse
choreographed by Penny Saunders, Resident Choreographer, Grand Rapids Ballet
Originally created for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 2017 and set to the music of Benjamin Godard, Berceuse explores the nuanced line between classical and contemporary dance. The sweeping and intricate vocabulary expresses the cadence of a love affair, or perhaps the memory of a love affair, that inevitably comes to an end, as all things do.

Interlude
choreographed by Dermot Burke, former Artistic Director, Dayton Ballet
Interlude is a romantic piece for two couples, danced to the beautiful music of Shostakovich. This piece explores relationships and where they may or may not lead.

Fluctuating Hemlines
choreographed by Septime Webre, Artistic Director, Hong Kong Ballet
Animalistic contemporary music by Tigger Benford and stylized dance vocabulary make these two duets from Fluctuating Hemlines extra exciting to experience. The piece is about the facades in which people cloak themselves during their daily lives and what lies underneath once these facades are stripped away.

Vocalise
choreographed by Karen Russo Burke, Artistic Director, Dayton Ballet
Karen offers her tribute to colleague Tom Bankston in celebration of his 25^th anniversary as Artistic Director of Dayton Opera. This piece of music was one of the first collaborations between Dayton Ballet and Dayton Opera. The Vocalise is one of the most beautiful and challenging vocal pieces that lends itself fittingly to the richness of the dance vocabulary.

Stillwater Is No Drink – WORLD PREMIERE
choreographed by Karen Russo Burke, Artistic Director, Dayton Ballet
This emotionally-enriched music by New York City’s Kevin Keller moved Karen in such a way that it led her to create this brand new piece for Dayton Ballet. The work touches upon how nourishing socialization is to all of us in a way that feels very similar to our need as humans for water to survive.

6 Feet Apart
choreographed by Karen Russo Burke, Artistic Director, Dayton Ballet
On the lighter side of the current pandemic world in which we are are living, this work is Karen’s take on the new everyday terminology we have all adopted over the last year. The elbow hand shake, the 20-second hand washing, and the heat flashes that the all-consuming faces masks bring are “dances” we have all perfected. The energized and whimsical music of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto is the perfect accompaniment to this depiction our new normal, and the hope is that the work brings a smile to the faces of the audience as they recognize the dances we are all doing now in our worlds every day.