Colorado Ballet's Second Season of ATTITUDE ON SANTA FE To Feature Three New Ballets, 9/23

Colorado Ballet's second season of Attitude on Santa Fe will feature three new ballets choreographed and performed by Colorado Ballet dancers on September 23 and 24 in the Black Box Theater at the Armstrong Center for Dance, 1075 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO. The September 23 Attitude will only include the performance and the September 24 Attitude will include a catered dinner that features a three course meal and wine prior to the performance.

The choreographers for the September Attitude on Santa Fe include Principal dancer Domenico Luciano, Soloist dancer Kevin Gaël Thomas and Corps de Ballet dancer Tracy Jones.

"We are extremely excited to present the second season of Attitude on Santa Fe," said Gil Boggs, Colorado Ballet Artistic Director. "The first season of Attitude was extremely successful and the audience response was overwhelmingly positive. Patrons in the two sold out performances last season enjoyed watching new, innovative ballets created by emerging choreographers from within the Company in our Black Box Theater. Due to the popularity of Attitude last season, we will offer two performances in September and two performances with different works in March this season."

Luciano's new work, Sirens highlights the power of women by featuring strong, Amazon-like warrior-princess characters. The ballet includes seven women and three men exploring the partnering technique; but it is not just the men who partner in Luciano's ballet. The songs featured are "Placidetti Zefiretti" and "Alto Giove," from the opera Polifemo. A countertenor sings the music and according to Luciano, even though it is a male voice, it sounds very feminine, which reinforces the strong female theme and demonstrates that women can be just as strong as men.

Thomas' new ballet is called Riviera and is an homage to the tragedy that occurred in Nice in July. As a native of France, Thomas wanted to tell the story of young people traveling to the French Riviera. The people first arrive by train, discover and explore the city, visit the beach by boat, and then visit the club. The dancers wander the streets of Nice, then go to watch the fireworks on July 14, Bastille Day. The atmosphere is joyous and festive, when all of a sudden a white truck makes its way to the Promenade de Anglais and drives through the panicked crowd. "We all know the dramatic ending, but what we must remember is the solidarity and unity that came out of this tragedy," said Thomas. "This ballet is love and compassion to the ones who left us that night." The music is "Easy" by Son Lux, "Damas" by Fakear, "La Malinche" by Feu Chatterton and "Sarajevo" by Max Richter.

Jones' new work is called Circadian and was inspired by three pieces of music; one by Max Richter and two by Philip Glass. According to Jones, all three pieces have a very repetitive structure, which she interpreted as mirroring the passing of time. Her ballet includes six dancers; three ladies and three men; and the dancers explore different groupings including duets, trios, solos, and using all six dancers together. "You cannot control how quickly or slowly time goes," said Jones. "The ongoing rhythm consistently stays the same, however you can control how you as a human being move through time from day to day. I am excited for the opportunity to share my first professional choreographic work with a new audience in September."

"All of our Company members are given the opportunity to choreograph new works for Attitude and we are thrilled to present the first Attitude ballet choreographed by one of our female dancers," said Boggs. "Presenting new works in an intimate setting was one of our goals, along with the creation of new works, which will keep the art form alive. These performances give our dancers the opportunity to explore their creativity through the creation of new choreography and additional performance opportunities outside of our main performance season."

The doors will open at 7 p.m. on September 23 and the performance begins at 7:30 p.m. The cost for the performance is $25. For the September 24 event with dinner and the performance, doors open at 6 p.m., dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. and the performance starts at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $85. Seating is limited for both events. To register, visit www.coloradoballet.org/events.

Colorado Ballet plans to host another Attitude on Santa Fe with different works in March 2017.

About Colorado Ballet

Established in 1961 by Lillian Covillo and Freidann Parker, Colorado Ballet is a non-profit organization celebrating 56 years of presenting world-class classical ballet and superior dance in Denver. Under the direction of Artistic Director Gil Boggs, Colorado Ballet presents more than 50 performances annually. Colorado Ballet enhances the cultural life of Colorado through performances of the professional company, training at the Academy, and Education & Community Engagement programs. Visitwww.coloradoballet.org.