Olympic Ballet Theatre presents "Summer Performance"

Rowan Catel in Paquita
Into Dust Photography

Olympic Ballet Theatre presents Summer Performance

Featuring Paquita Grand Pas Classique, a masterpiece of classical ballet,

and a vibrant world premiere by Alberto Gaspar

JUNE 3, 2023, AT 7 PM

Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)

410 4th Ave N, Edmonds, WA 98020

Edmonds, WA – Olympic Ballet Theatre closes its performance season with an eclectic display celebrating the diversity of ballet. This annual production honors tradition and spotlights innovation, featuring excerpts from classical ballets by famed choreographers of the past and new contemporary ballet works by talented choreographers of today.

The 2023 Summer Performance features Paquita Grand Pas Classique, a masterpiece of classical ballet, and a vibrant world premiere by OBT’s company dancer and choreographer Alberto Gaspar on June 3, 2023, at 7 pm, at the Edmonds Center for the Arts.

Paquita Grand Pas Classique
Choreography: Marius Petipa
Music: Ludwig Minkus

This classical ballet excerpt with original choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Ludwig Minkus was added to Act III of Paquita in 1881. While most of the original ballet has been lost to time, Paquita Grand Pas Classique is a treasured part of many ballet companies’ repertoire to this day. This passage is considered a masterpiece of classical ballet, featuring a parade of variations, solos, and corps de ballet.

Taylor Lim and Willian Yin-Lee Bordlerland
Into Dust Photography

A world premiere by OBT company dancer Alberto Gaspar
Choreography: Alberto Gaspar
Music: Sergei Rachmaninov

Alberto Gaspar’s newest piece draws inspiration from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, based on the famous violinist Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices, Caprice No. 24. Rachmaninoff’s piece takes the listener on a glorious journey of emotion, seeming to also take a fanciful look at the controversial violinist himself, and the rumored deal with the devil that Paganini made for his extraordinary musical abilities.

Gaspar’s newest work leans into the technical skill and grand passions of Rachmaninoff’s musical variations, taking the audience through the darkest realms of desperation and death but also soaring into the softer realms of love and hope and celebrating the ineffable transformative power that a single person or moment can have over us—that someone can come into our lives and gift us with a ray of hope and inspiration that allows us to ascend from the darkest places within ourselves with new perspective and purpose.

TICKET INFORMATION

"Summer Performance" is on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 7pm, at Edmonds Center for the Arts. Tickets range from $27 to $40 and can be purchased at online or at the box office at 425-774-7570. For more information, contact OBT at dance@olympicballet.org or visit  the webpage

Olympic Ballet Theatre’s 2022-2023 season is proudly sponsored by the Edmonds Arts Commission, the City of Everett Cultural Arts Commission, The City of Everett Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, Peter Smart/EdwardJones, and Seattle NorthCountry.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Alberto Gaspar is an OBT company dancer and choreographer. He holds an engineering degree in International Business and different diplomas from Tecnológico de Monterrey and Harvard University. His experience as a choreographer began at Saint Louis Ballet, where he created a piece for the Pulitzer Museum that included a live cello piece and several designs from upcoming fashion designers. 

He has been involved with two collaborative groups that performed neoclassical and contemporary pieces set to live music in galleries and museums. His show titled Mexicanismo, featuring Yancy Calvo’s art successfully toured two states in the United States. 

He also created a music video for Lisa Mac and Dreamers, a dance video spotlighting socio-political issues in our country. Alberto has created choreography for Ballet Memphis, including a full-length ballet for the school and three different neoclassical ballets for the company.

At OBT, he previously choreographed Transfigurations in 2019 and 1 in 10^2,685,000 in 2022.

Olympic Ballet Theatre is a professional ballet company presenting four classical and contemporary ballet productions during each performance season. Founded 42 years ago and now under the leadership of co-artistic directors Mara Vinson and Oleg Gorboulev, OBT has become a mainstay of the north Puget Sound arts scene, regularly touring theaters in Everett and Edmonds. 

OLYMPIC BALLET THEATRE
700 Main Street, Edmonds, WA 98020 | 425-774-7570 | OlympicBallet.org