Have you ever wondered what dancers really want to perform? What moves their soul, what makes them stretch, moan, bleed, sweat, and create movement every day? Thursday night, you’ll get your chance to peek behind the curtain, step inside Colorado Ballet studios, and get intimate with the ethereal dancers themselves.
For the third year in a row, the dancers are choosing their own choreography, followed by a silent auction, to showcase what speaks to them. I asked one of my favorite ballerinas, who Denverites can catch on the Mall Bus, and on the Light Rail, standing en pointe, marketing the 2012-2013 season. Dana Benton, ladies and gents.
How long have you been doing Fancy Footwork? What’s the backstory behind it?
This is Fancy Footwork’s 3rd year. Formerly, as part of our regular season a “Patron Show” was performed by the dancers. When the recession hit, Colorado Ballet had to make some tough decisions, and putting the “Patron Show” on the backburner was one of them. After a couple of years the dancers still wanted to do something for our patrons and for the company as a thank you for the support throughout the years. We decided to bring back the “Patron Show” and evolve into something new with a different flare; that is how Fancy Footwork was born.
What type of choreography can we expect to see? Give us a little bit of a teaser.
Fancy Footwork features selections that range from excerpts of the great classics to new contemporary works by choreographers within the Colorado Ballet family. Some highlights from this year’s performance include the Second Act pas de deux from Giselle performed by Principal dancers Maria Mosina and Alexei Tyukov, and a brand new work choreographed by Corps de Ballet member Kevin Gael Thomas. Also, some featured items in our silent auction include dinner and drinks with a couple of our dancers, and original photography of company dancers shot by Corps de Ballet member Francisco Estevez.
What’s something unique about this production outside of the choreography?
What we love about Fancy Footwork is that the dancers produce the entire event. We create the advertising, the program, and form a silent auction. This provides us an outlet where we can display our other talents off the stage.
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Support the dancers of Colorado Ballet this Thursday, through the purchase of a silent auction item (including a bag handmade by Dana!), or by just attending the performance. A suggested donation of $10 at the door is requested.
The performance will take place at Colorado Ballet studios – 1278 Lincoln Street, at 7:30 pm.