Ballet Fantastique

Ballet Fantastique
Industry Performance dance, Education
Founded 2000
Headquarters Eugene, Oregon
Area served
Pacific Northwest
Key people
Donna and Hannah Bontrager
Website www.balletfantastique.org

Ballet Fantastique is a 501(c)3 nonprofit chamber ballet company based in Eugene, Oregon, and co-directed by mother-daughter team Donna and Hannah Bontrager. Ballet Fantastique was founded in October 2000 and currently has three components: A professional chamber ballet company, a pre-professional academy in the Russian Vaganova method of training, and a busy outreach wing (bringing dance to a range of audiences both in-school and in-theater). Ballet Fantastique became a resident company at Eugene's Hult Center for the Performing Arts in June 2014.

Chamber Company

The Ballet Fantastique contemporary chamber company is directed by mother-daughter choreographer-producers Donna Marisa and Hannah Bontrager and composed of 7-12 professional artists. The company fields auditions from dancers across the US.[1] Since 2003, the company has presented all-original contemporary ballet productions each season at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Ballet Fantastique also tours, and has performed with Ballet Rogue in Medford, Oregon,[2] at the internationally recognized Oregon Shakespeare Festival[3] in Ashland, Oregon, and at the Lincoln Performance Hall in downtown Portland, Oregon,[4] to name just a few. The company has been called a "bold, cross-disciplinary dance company" by Dante Zuniga-West of the Eugene Weekly (2011).[5] According to Portland Center Stage Reviews, Ballet Fantastique has "made a name for itself in out-of-the-box revisions of classic story ballets."[6]

Ballet Fantastique concerts often feature collaborations with live artists and musicians.[7] Projections of local gallery paintings were used as backdrops for the performance Danse en Rouge: Variations in Red at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, which also included the Trio Voronezh and classical guitarist John Jarvie.[8] In 2009, Ballet Fantastique collaborated with composer Jeremy Schropp and a 25-part orchestra in Visions d’Amour: 10 Ballets in Paris for the world premiere of his ballet inspired by Vincent van Gogh, “Night at the Café Terrace." Other notable collaborations include the Oregon Mozart Players,[9] the Karin Clarke Gallery,[10] the Eugene Symphony,[11] Shelley and Cal James and their Agents of Unity Band for Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet,[12] and the LA-based band Incendio.[13]

Academy of Ballet Fantastique

The Academy of Ballet Fantastique teaches ballet classes for dancers ages 4–24, and also offers a separate Adult Ballet Program. The academy admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin.

In the Professional Training Division, dancers age 9 and up study the Vaganova Method of training in limited class sizes of six students or fewer. Artistic Director Donna Marisa Bontrager works directly with every Professional Division student in his or her training.[14]

The Young Dancer Program at The Academy of Ballet Fantastique is for dancers age 4-8, and follows a progressive training approach as well, while introducing young children to creative movement, music education, and fundamentals of ballet.

Students participate in professional performances with the company, and may audition for company positions and apprenticeships upon graduation. Academy of Ballet Fantastique coaches are experienced in the Vaganova method of training as well as in pedagogy and professional performance.

Outreach

Ballet Fantastique’s busy outreach programming includes scholarships for dancers in financial need, free tickets for youth to attend concerts, in-school integrated arts residencies,[15] and school assembly performances.[16]

History

Ballet Fantastique became an Oregon non-profit in 2003 and earned 501(c)(3) non-profit status in 2006.[17] The organization was established to bring dance training, performance opportunities and performances to the Lane County area. The company's first performance at the Hult Center was Danse Renaissance in June 2003. On October 30, 2010, Ballet Fantastique opened its highly visible City Center for Dance at 960 Oak Street, funded largely by a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust.[18]

Company repertoire

Selected list of new works created and choreographed by Donna and Hannah Bontrager for Ballet Fantastique:

Title Music Premiere
The Odyssey: The Ballet Original live looping violin by Cullen Vance February 27-March 1, 2015
An American Christmas Carol Halie Loren, singing original arrangements of 1940s holiday jazz standards December 12–14, 2014
The Book of Esther: A Rock Gospel Ballet UO Gospel Singers May 9–11, 2014
Tales from the Floating World Original music by Portland Taiko and Mitsuki Dazai February 7–9, 2014
Zorro: The Ballet Original music by Incendio, the Latin world guitar fusion band from L.A, and virtuoso violinist Kim Angelis October 17–19, 2013
Pride and Prejudice: A Parisian Jazz Ballet Gerry Rempel Jazz Syndicate May 4–5, 2013
The Misadventures of Casanova Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jean-Baptiste de Lully, Johann Sebastian Bach February 2–3, 2013
Cirque de la Lune Original music, played live by Betty & the Boy, Troupe Carnivale, and Mood Area 52 October 20–21, 2012
Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet Hits from the 1960s, played live by Shelley & Cal James and the Agents of Unity May 12–13, 2012
Arabian Nights Traditional music January 28, 2012
Tango Para Abel, St. Margaret's Tears, Illumination, Misterioso, Magie Noire, Viheula, and Jaco y Paco Incendio, the Latin world guitar fusion band from L.A. October 22, 2011
As You Like It: A Wild West Ballet (full-length ballet; two acts with prologue) Aaron Copland, Hershy Kay, George Gershwin, Jacques Offenbach, Leroy Anderson, John Philip Sousa, Ferde Grofé, traditional saloon music, and original compositions for honkytonk piano by Jeremy DeKyle Schropp April 16, 2011
Tango Forte Dublex Inc. January 29, 2011
Sunday Table Pink Martini January 29, 2011
Libertango Astor Piazzolla January 29, 2011
Gaucho, De Ushuaia a la Quiaca, Pampa Gustavo Santaolalla January 29, 2011
Juan Loco Rodrigo y Gabriela January 29, 2011
Jongo--No. 3 Suite Brasileira Lorenzo Fernandez January 29, 2011
Cinquenta Anos de Soledad Original score Charles Gurke January 29, 2011
Dime Amor Enrique Cardenas, arranged and sung by Jessie Marquez January 29, 2011
Mi Confesion Gotan Project January 29, 2011
Girl from Ipanema Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto January 29, 2011
Folk Suite Traditional Irish and Celtic folk medleys November 20, 2010
Desperation, Obsession, and Passion John Corigliano, music from The Red Violin, with art by Adam Grosowsky from the Karin Clarke Gallery, suite of variations November 20, 2010
Orion Metallica, played by the Scorched Earth Orchestra November 20, 2010
Bulgarska Tantsova Suita Original score Jeremy DeKyle Schropp, suite of variations November 20, 2010
Christmas Adagio Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6, No. 8, Arcangelo Corelli November 20, 2010
Tales of Beatrix Potter (one-act ballet) John Lanchbery April 30, 2010
Love at the Cafe Terrace (25-minute ballet) An original score (world premiere) by Eugene-based composer Jeremy DeKyle Schropp, with art by Rob Adams 2009
Pourquoi me Reveiller, Je Crois Entendre Encore, Song to the Moon, Apres un Reve Jules Massenet, from the opera Werther; Georges Bizet, from the opera The Pearl Fishers; Antonín Dvořák, from the opera Rusalka; Gabriel Fauré 2009
La Vie en Rose, Je Suis une Enfant, Milord, Ma Jeunesse, Ta Tienne Edith Piaf; Carla Bruni 2009
Lagrima and Adelita Guitar meditations with classical guitarist John Jarvie 2009
Argentinian Dance and Besame Mucho Trio Voronezh 2009
Russian Ragtime, Waltz for Nicky and Strauss Polka Trio Voronezh, suite of variations 2009
New York Tango Trio Voronezh 2009
Breakfast at Tiffany's Henry Mancini, Suite of variations 2008
Carnival of the Animals Commissioned by Eugene Symphony 2008
Four Novelettes Commissioned by and performed with the Oregon Mozart Players 2008
Daphnis and Chloe Commissioned by Eugene Symphony 2008
La Soledad Pink Martini, with art by Adam Grosowsky from the Karin Clarke Gallery 2007
La Musica Notturna Delle Strade Di Madrid No. 6, Op. 30 Luigi Boccherini 2007 and 2010
Brazil Pink Martini 2005
Goldilocks & the Three Bears Hérold-Lanchbery, La Fille Mal Gardee 2005
Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf Tchaikovsky, Petipa, The Sleeping Beauty 2005
Madama Butterfly Giacomo Puccini 2004
The Cakewalk Ballet Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Kay 2005
Casta Diva Vincenzo Bellini (from the opera Norma) 2003
Handel's Water Music George Frideric Handel 2003
Chopin Waltzes Frédéric Chopin 2003

External links

References

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