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ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET20th Anniversary Tour 2015 / 2016

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Ballet’s dynamic story in the American West

In 1996 Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Founder Bebe Schweppe invited Tom Mossbrucker and Jean-Philippe Malaty to create a ballet company in Aspen. A unique, multidimensional arts organization developed rapidly from the ballet school Schweppe had established in the Rocky Mountains.

“Bebe’s vision for Aspen to have its own ballet company was the project of a lifetime,” says Malaty, ASFB’s executive director. “We embarked together on a serendipitous adventure. Eighteen years later, the connection between the dancers and our two communities is deep and inextricable.”

Forging a new frontier

The company began modestly, with six dancers. Growth was organic. Friends in the field – Gerald Arpino, Trey McIntyre, Septime Webre, Dwight Rhoden – offered start-up repertoire. Moses Pendleton’s highly popular Noir Blanc was a seminal event for the young ASFB. It launched a tradition of commissioning new works. An open, exploratory style emerged as Mossbrucker and Malaty tapped the creative scene in Europe where classical ballet was breaking from its boundaries. The athletic and adventurous American dancers found themselves at a crossroads of dance history. The divide between ballet and modern dance was dissolving.

Innovative business model

In 2000 the Aspen, Colorado-based ballet company forged a dual-city relationship with Santa Fe, New Mexico, broadening its scope and lending

crucial revenue diversification. Under this hybrid business model, a roster of arts activities takes wing, year-round, in both cities. Performance, education, presentation and community outreach all join in the mix. Within this innovative structure, ASFB anticipates its 20th anniversary season in 2015-16.

New commissions

ASFB’s mission places the highest priority on developing new choreography and nurturing relationships with emerging choreographers. The company fostered the early careers of now in-demand global dance makers like Nicolo Fonte (eight commissioned Fonte works in the ASFB repertoire), Jorma Elo (three commissioned Elo works), Edwaard Liang, Jacopo Godani, Helen Pickett, Cayetano Soto, Alejandro Cerrudo and others. Works by late 20th century masters – William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Twyla Tharp – round out the repertoire.

“We value building relationships with choreographers who become integral to the company. The natural beauty of our surroundings has a profound impact on creativity and our choreographers find it inspiring to create here,” says Mossbrucker, ASFB’s artistic director.

National reputation

Based for eighteen years in the American West, ASFB now sits at the vanguard of its field, brandishing a strong national reputation. Repeat engagements at the American Dance Festival, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Joyce Theater, The Kennedy Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Wolf Trap testify to the company’s popularity and ability to please audiences. Overseas invitations arrived and ASFB embarked on international tours to Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, Guatemala, Israel, Italy and Russia. Premier funders – National Endowment of the Arts, Joyce Foundation, Wolf Trap Foundation, Dance St. Louis, Jerome Robbins Foundation and Princess Grace Foundation – have supported ASFB’s growth.

Flamenco joins the fold

In January 2014 Aspen Santa Fe Ballet announced with pride the addition of Juan Siddi Flamenco Santa Fe under its arts management umbrella. The collaboration with the seven-year old flamenco company provides the benefits of economies of scale and other business synergies, as well as a simpatico artistic alliance. The addition of Juan Siddi Flamenco Santa Fe is a further expression of ASFB’s core mission. It represents an opportunity to celebrate cultural heritage, expand diversity, serve as a catalyst for new ventures and play a role in fortifying a heritage art form.

Accolades into the future

In recognition of their pioneering and innovative model for American dance, Tom Mossbrucker and Jean-Philippe Malaty were honored by the Joyce Theater Foundation with the Joyce Theater Award in 2010.

The 2014-15 season sees the company’s return engagements in Denver, Pittsburgh, Tucson and debuts in Akron, East Lansing, Penn State and San Antonio, as well as the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The company anticipates its seventh presentation at New York’s Joyce Theater. The fast evolving Aspen Santa Fe Ballet looks to a bright future with energy and optimism.

Aspen Santa FeBallet History

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Dear Presenters,

Greetings from the American West. It is hard to believe that Aspen Santa Fe Ballet will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary! We wish to keep you abreast of our news and what lies ahead for Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.

Last season, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet enjoyed debuts in Los Angeles, Purchase and Escondido; and return engagements in Portland, Laguna Beach, Maui and Princeton. The company performed at Chicago’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance, and in a special honor, closed the summer Festival at the famed Jacob’s Pillow – our fifth appearance there.

The company has expanded its ranks to eleven skilled and charismatic dancers who slip lithely through a diverse array of engaging choreography. The newly commissioned The Heart(s)pace by longtime collaborator Nicolo Fonte was a highlight of last season and has become a touring staple alongside works by Cayetano Soto, Norbert De La Cruz, Alejandro Cerrudo, Jorma Elo and Jiří Kylián. Works by all of these acclaimed choreographers are available for our 20th Anniversary Tour in 2015-16.

Looking ahead, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is pleased to make debuts in Akron, Burlington, Penn State, Virginia Tech, San Antonio, East Lansing and Ottawa. Return engagements to Pittsburgh, Beaver Creek, Denver, Omaha, St Louis, Tucson and Los Angeles round out a busy touring season that also includes a week-long run at the Joyce Theater in New York, our seventh presentation there.

The biggest news this season is the acquisition of Juan Siddi Flamenco Santa Fe. In an unprecedented and innovative act of arts entrepreneurialism, this iconic Santa Fe ensemble of extraordinary dancers and musicians has come under the management of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.

Over the course of our history, we have come to know many of you and have had the great pleasure of performing for your audience. On the cusp of our 20th anniversary season, we thank you all for your efforts in bringing dance to your community. As always, we hope you will include Aspen Santa Fe Ballet on your dance card! Our agents Cathy Pruzan (US and Canada) and Margaret Selby (international) would love to hear from you.

Jean-Philippe MalatyTom Mossbrucker

PHOTO: JANA CRUDER

USA and Canada:

Cathy PruzanArtist Representative4709 Paradise DriveTiburon, CA 94920

phone 415-789-5051 | fax 415-789-5055cpruzan@aol.com

International:

Margaret SelbyColumbia Arts Management1790 Broadway, 16th Floor

NY, NY 10019phone 212-841-9554 | fax 212-841-9770

mselby@cami.com

FOR BOOKINGS PLEASE CONTACT:

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Nicolo Fonte has just completed his eighth original work for Aspen Santa Fe Ballet: an octet choreographed to three movements from Italian composer Ezio Bosso’s second symphony, called Under the Trees’ Voices.

By phone from Colorado, Fonte sounds at ease. “We finished yesterday,” he clarifies. “Now it’s just looking at it, tweaking it and working with the dancers, although it’s in great shape and I don’t want to overcorrect it. That can really kill the spontaneity and the joy, you know?”

As Fonte explains further what he means by the twin dangers “over-prepared” and “over-ready,” it’s apparent that, for him, “completed” and “finished” hold unique meanings in this particular context. A dictionary might define them as “consummate” or “lacking nothing” but, for this choreographer, such finality means a kind of death for a piece still three weeks away from its world premiere.

“I told Tom [Mossbrucker, ASFB’s artistic director], ’Don’t rehearse it every day when I’m gone next week,’” Fonte continues. “‘Go two, maybe three days without running it in the studio. I don’t want the dancers discovering everything about it before they get onstage.’ I like it when they can take responsibility and are involved in the decision-making process.”

The Heart(s)pace skips the first two movements of Bosso’s 2012 composition and dives right into its driving, ecstatic middle, a scherzo for strings. Bosso’s fourth section, the ballet’s middle, lays long, plaintive phrases over first pizzicato, then a storm. Both the score and choreography conclude in a presto finale.

Company member Paul Busch, 25 and also a pianist, half-jokingly complains that he appears only in the first and third scenes of Fonte’s new work. “My favorite music is the pas de deux, which I don’t dance,” he says, referencing The Heart(s)pace’s centerpiece duet for Peter Franc and Seia Rassenti, “which has been hard for me because I’m so madly in love with it.” Busch finds more than enough inspiration for his role in the bookend movements, however, thanks specifically to their frequent shifts in tone. “There’s a regality, there’s sensitivity, quiet, sadness, joy, bursts of energy and parts that are very rhythmic,” he explains. “The music brings out…it demands so many different qualities from our dancing.”

Threading the

NeedleSeeking a fresh

perspective, choreographer Nicolo

Fonte swims upstream — while being careful not to cut across the

grain.

by Zachary Whittenburg

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ASFB ON TOUR 2015

What neither the music nor the choreography does is brood. By design, The Heart(s)pace bucks certain shadowy trends in contemporary dance. Audiences and performing-arts presenters alike wonder whether it’s time to declare the apotheosis of a Northern European aesthetic — born in the early ’90s and recognized for dimly lit, slightly hostile and clinical compositions — over and done.

Not that being among the first to propose a new paradigm is easy, say Fonte and Mossbrucker. Just because viewers are ready for something different doesn’t mean they’ll eagerly consume whatever’s offered. What the hard-edged, cold world of choreography today handily avoids is sentimentality, and neither men see the answer in a pendulum swing. In late November, just more than halfway through the creation of The Heart(s)pace, Fonte openly expressed his concerns about how exactly to paint a more luminous picture.

“I want to keep the integrity of my work, of what I do. I also want to see how to incorporate more light, both in terms of the audience being able to see more clearly what’s happening onstage, and generating more positive feeling, a celebratory feeling…without becoming cheesy.” (Perhaps paradoxically, Fonte sought to accomplish this in part by spending his first week with ASFB’s dancers in total privacy. “I almost got curtains for the windows,” he says, “and made people knock on the door — I was that serious.”)

Echoing Fonte’s concerns about simply exchanging astringent gloom for cloying gloss, Busch confesses that, onstage, the depth of a feeling is more important for him than its type.

“If the choreography generates the mood within me, if it’s inspiring and I’m moved by it to make it real then, yes, I can be joyful onstage. Otherwise I won’t be, because it’s fake. I don’t smile in photos often. I’m a fairly serious guy, and very shy. So this common quality of contemporary dance right now, that seriousness that the public so often sees, is comfortable for me.

While the exuberant characteristics of The Heart(s)pace represent something of a departure for Fonte the choreographer, they’re not unexpected by some familiar with Fonte the person. This project marks the second time dancer Peter Franc has originated a role for him, the first while a member of Houston Ballet. The 27-year-old dancer describes an

artist whose manner in the studio is more day than night, more summer than winter. “Nicolo’s extremely positive in the studio, which allows everybody to move freely and their creative juices to flow… It’s rare that you find someone so comfortable and fun, who’s so easy to have a back-and-forth with during something as difficult as the creative process.” ASFB dancer Sadie Brown, 22, agrees: “He never seems stressed. I guess he must have some pet peeves, but I haven’t discovered any of them yet.”

I ask the choreographer what he focuses on with the cast. “Intention,” he says plainly. “Helping them identify, at every moment, why each next step is what it is.” He’s silent for a second, then continues.

“You know, dance is a complicated thing. What we’re doing in contemporary dance is, in general, abstract. We’re not dealing in literal narratives anymore. I do, however, have trouble with empty gestures and we’ve been working on that from the get-go. Most younger dancers today are very good at being cold and edgy. Aloof. That’s where we are right now, in this art form — that’s still in vogue at the moment. Not that there isn’t any fury in The Heart(s)pace, but it’s more about the human heart. Every movement needs to be motivated by a sense of compassion. Without it becoming sentimental, without any overacting. It’s hard to find that balance.”

Boulder, Colorado native Zachary Whittenburg has written dance and culture stories for numerous publications including Dance International, Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, Dance Spirit, Hoy, Pointe, Time Out Chicago, Total Theatre UK, Flavorpill and the Windy City Times. He is also Manager of Communication at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

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August 20-24Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

Becket, MA

October 5 Akron, OH

October 11Pittsburgh, PA

October 14University Park, PA

October 18Burlington, VT

October 22-26Joyce Theater,New York, NY

October 30Blacksburg, VA

December 13-14Aspen, CO

December 20-21Santa Fe, NM

January 22Beaver Creek, CO

ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET2 0 1 4 / 2 0 1 5 S E A S O N

February 19Omaha, NE

February 20-21Denver, CO

February 27-28St. Louis, MO

March 24-26Tucson, AZ

March 28Los Angeles, CA

April 10San Antonio, TX

April 16East Lansing, MI

May 20Burlington, ON, Canada

May 21Markham, ON, Canada

May 23Ottawa, ON, Canada

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ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET2 0 1 5 / 2 0 1 6 T O U R I N G R E P E R T O I R E

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s repertoire, ranging from accessible to sophisticated, resonates with energy and eclecticism. A house-style emerges across this diverse dance menu, layering American athleticism on a base of European refinement. The company’s identity is tethered to its repertoire, which speaks a complex language, challenges audiences and advances the art form.

Since its inception, ASFB has been deeply committed to commissioning new works. Of the 28 ballets created since 1996, many are by world-

leading choreographers whose important first assignments came from ASFB. Many ballets have gone on to grace the repertories of renowned global dance companies. Nurturing lasting relationships with dance makers is a company hallmark. Among the choreographer-collaborators creating multiple works on ASFB are Alejandro Cerrudo, Jorma Elo, Nicolo Fonte, Trey McIntyre, Moses Pendleton and Cayetano Soto.

Beautiful MistakeASFB Commissioned WorkChoreography: Cayetano SotoMusic: Ólafur Arnalds, Charles WilsonUnderwritten by: Toby Devan LewisPremiere: July 6, 2013

"Nothing in this ballet — not a beat nor a move — seems less than purpose-ful. A massive abstract exploration of shifts of body weight manifest in exceptional partnering. Soto’s splendid co-conspirators are the sleek, detail-driven ASFB dancers who nail his skewed contortions—the asymmetric dance-design, off-kilter lifts, zigzagged body wrappings. It all has integrity, class and taste, and enjoys the high level of combined individual artistry that is the hallmark of this 17-year-old boutique dance troupe."– Debra Levine, dance writer for The Los Angeles Times

Specialized technical requirements: Grey marley, special electric with 30 PARcans, split black, manually operated electricsRun Time: 19 mins

PHOTO: ROSALIE O'CONNOR

1st FlashChoreography: Jorma EloMusic: Jean SibeliusPremiere: September 18, 2003, Nederlands Dans Theater

“Magnificent use of light and dark, 1st Flash was a seamless cross of classi-cal dance and sharp linear movements...precision-driven choreography.”– Examiner.com

Specialized technical requirements: Grey marleyRun Time: 19 mins

PHOTO: ROSALIE O'CONNOR

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The Heart(s)paceASFB Commissioned WorkChoreography: Nicolo FonteMusic: Ezio BossoUnderwritten by: Kelli and Allen QuestromPremiere: February 14, 2014

Specialized technical requirements: Grey marley, top and bottom pipe (1" and 1 1/2" interior diameter) at an overall length of 23'-6" each for a cyc sidewall (provided by ASFB). 6 of the 8 side booms (wings 2-4) to be at least 16' tall. Up to three flymen may be required depending on house labor rules.Run Time: 24 mins

OVER GLOWASFB Commissioned WorkChoreography: Jorma EloMusic: Felix Mendelssohn and Ludwig van BeethovenUnderwritten by: Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts with additional support by Kelli and Allen Questrom.Premiere: July 12, 2011

“It’s an unexpected love letter from Elo – one of the kings of contemporary – to the art of ballet, where it all started long ago.” – Janine Parker, The Boston Globe

Specialized technical requirements: Grey marley, seamless bounce and cyc or RPRun Time: 25 mins

PHOTO: ROSALIE O'CONNOR

PHOTO: SHAREN BRADFORD

LastASFB Commissioned WorkChoreography: Alejandro CerrudoMusic: Henryk GóreckiUnderwritten by: The Joyce Theater Foundation and Toby Devan LewisPremiere: July 13, 2012

“Last hit its stride immediately. [Alejandro] Cerrudo had the men whoosh their partners in low circles, the women's legs open, toes lightly skimming the ground. A male bird, fallen, pivoted on one strong arm; a girl oozed through the narrow space below his hovering body — a quiet miracle.” – Debra Levine, The Los Angeles Times

Specialized technical requirements: Grey marley, manually operated upstage blackout and electric, split blackRun Time: 18 mins

PHOTO:SHAREN BRADFORD

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Return to a Strange LandChoreography: Jiří KyliánMusic: Leoš JanáčekUnderwritten by: Sherry and Eddie WachsASFB Premiere: February 15, 2013

“In the summer of 1973, the former director of the Stuttgart Ballet asked me to create a ballet in John Cranko’s memory. The title is a contradiction. How can you return to a land where you have never been before? This ballet is about death and reincarnation: disappearance, reappearance, death and rebirth were its main sources of inspiration. At the end, the sensation is created that something abstract has taken life from inside the bodies. The return, full of yearning for the past, takes us to an apparently well-known place, to an unknown presence. Can it be the premonition of death?” – Jiří Kylián

Specialized technical requirements: Black marley, seamless bounce and cyc or RP, scrimRun Time: 20 mins

PHOTO: ROSALIE O'CONNOR

Square NoneASFB Commissioned WorkChoreography: Norbert De La Cruz IIIMusic: Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Michelle Ross, George Frederic Handel, Aphex TwinUnderwritten by: The Jerome Robbins Foundation’s New Essential Works (NEW) Program with additional support by Dr. Dan Luedke, in honor of his wife, Dr. Susan Luedke.Premiere: April 13, 2012

“Ambitious and expansive … the kind of work that one would expect from a young choreographer eager to explore the inexhaustible possibilities of movement. Square None made imaginative use of the dancers’ athleticism in its pursuit of abstraction. But the piece also yielded moments of grace that suggested that De La Cruz is as much a poet as … a craftsman.”– Calvin Wilson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch

Specialized technical requirements: Black marley, manually operated electrics, requires instrumentation and circuiting beyond technical rider specificationsRun Time: 18 mins

PHOTO: ROSALIE O'CONNOR

New Commission by Alejandro CerrudoPremiere: July 2015This is the second commissioned work by Cerrudo for ASFB

PHOTO: ROSALIE O'CONNOR

For further information regarding technical requirements for these pieces, as well as other general company information, please see our tech rider located atwww.aspensantafeballet.com