Festival Ballet Providence to Present JuxtaPOSE: Etudes and Coma

The highlight of Festival Ballet Providence's spring season is JuxtaPOSE, including two masterworks of ballet, the Rhode Island premiere of Études and the long awaited return of Coma. The performances take place on Friday, March 13 at 8:00pm and Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 7:30pm at The Vets, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence, RI.

Études is a thrillling and dynamic tour de force of classicism and technical prowess while Coma is a deeply emotional contemporary piece, considered to be one of Viktor Plotnikov's (FBP's resident choreographer) greatest choreographic achievements. "The opposition of these two ballets makes this program unique," said FBP's artistic director, Mihailo Djuric.

This will be the Rhode Island premiere of Études, which was originally choreographed in1948. FBP's production is being staged by Radenko Pavlovich, an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Columbia Classical Ballet in Columbia, South Carolina. He and Mihailo Djuric, artistic director of FBP, are both natives of the former Yugoslavia.

"We are particularly excited to be working with Radenko and the Columbia Classical Ballet and we believe that this first effort will be the first of many collaborations with them," said Mr. Djuric. "We are thrilled to welcome Kota Fujishima, a principal dancer of Columbia Classical Ballet, who will dance in one of the lead roles with our own virtuosos, Ruth Whitney, Vilia Putrius and Mindaugas Bauzys." Fujishima was named the 2014 finalist in the International Ballet Competition, Jackson, MI, the 2014 Bronze medalist in the World Ballet Competition, Orlando, FL, and the 2013 Silver medalist in Valentina Kozlova, International Ballet Competition, NYC.

Plotnikov's Coma is one of the company's best-loved ballets. Since its 2007 premiere at FBP, it has been performed to sold out audiences both in Rhode Island and internationally. The visually stunning ballet received rave reviews when FBP performed it at the invitation-only Belgrade International Dance Festival in 2011, where it was broadcast throughout Europe. "In a sense, bringing Coma back to the VETS stage and Providence brings us full circle." Mr. Djuric added, "We know our audiences will be as excited to revisit it as we are."

Inspired by Michael Crichton's 1978 film Coma, the ballet's premiere received rave reviews. Dance Magazine's Theodore Bale said, "From its first startling scene where suspended bodies float and sway horizontally to the simple tolling of bells, it's evident that Plotnikov's Coma is not merely a danced sci-fi thriller but rather an emphatic and deeply personal effort, realized with singularity and intelligence." He added, "We need more choreographers like Plotnikov, who revere tradition while forging a new language, and still command the attention of an everyday family audience." The ballet, set to music by the hugely popular, minimalist Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, takes the viewer through a classical basis and into a unique contemporary legacy. In three movements, Coma is dreamy, juxtaposing the still bodies against imaginative contemporary gestures.

"It's a touching and daring story told from the point of view of those who experienced coma or clinical death. First part is told by those who have stayed, second part is about the cruel reality of their closest family or friends, and the last part is the addressing of those in coma," explained the Plotnikov, the choreographer.

Festival Ballet Providence - now in its 37th Season - is the resident ballet company of Rhode Island, comprised of 25 classically trained, professional ballet dancers who perform a wide range of classical, neoclassical, and contemporary works. With an associated school surpassing 300 in enrollment, and a successful educational outreach program reaching more than 5,000 children each season, FBP is a powerhouse in the New England dance community.

Photo Credit: Thomas Nola-Rion