Aspen Santa Fe Ballet will produce the first evening-length ballet in its 23-year history this summer with Nicolo Fonte\u2019s \u201cBeautiful Decay.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long-time company collaborator, Fonte\u2019s originally created \u201cBeautiful Decay\u201d in 2013 for BalletX in Philadelphia, in a haunting work in two parts that juxtaposes daring athleticism and technical prowess against the reality of aging. It will include septuagenarian guest performers Hilary Cartwright and Gregg Bielemeier.<\/p>\n
With original set design by Tony Award winner Mimi Lien, and set to Vivaldi\u2019s \u201cFour Seasons\u201d and Max Richter\u2019s reinterpretations, the company will perform \u201cBeautiful Decay\u201d on July 9, July 19 and Aug. 24.<\/p>\n
The production is the centerpiece of a summer 2019 season announced Thursday by the company.<\/p>\n
The season will also include a one-night performance by Compagnie Herv\u00e9 Koubi, an all-male troupe from Algeria and Burkina Faso that premiered in Aspen in 2017. The company will perform \u201cLes Nuits Barbares ou Les Premiers Matin du Monde (The Barbarous Nights, or the First Dawns of the World)\u201d on July 24. The piece takes its inspiration from the story of the Mediterranean Basin and the blending of cultures that occurred there throughout history.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter if we are Algerian, Spanish, French, Greek, we are first and foremost Mediterranean and this feeling of belonging is much more ancient than the concept of nations,\u201d choreographer Herv\u00e9 Koubi said in the announcement.<\/p>\n
And the fan favorite Stars of American Ballet will return for one night on Aug. 3. Hand-picked and directed by New York City Ballet principal Daniel Ulbricht, this group of elite dancers will perform a varied program featuring classics by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, as well as Christopher Wheeldon\u2019s stunning This Bitter Earth. This year\u2019s program also features an appearance by ballroom dancer Denys Drozdyuk \u2013 known to television viewers as half of DNA, the ballroom duo \u201cWorld of Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alonzo King LINES Ballet will bring a program of two ballets to Aspen on Aug. 10: \u201cHandel\u201d and \u201cCommon Ground.\u201d Originally created for the Swedish Royal Ballet, \u201cHandel\u201d is master choreographer Alonzo King\u2019s exploration of the dramatic elegance of Baroque expression. \u201cCommon Ground\u201d is the result of a much anticipated collaboration with the renowned Kronos Quartet.<\/p>\n
All performances will be helpd a the Aspen District Theatre.<\/p>\n
Tickets for all summer series performances will go on sale Tuesday, May 21. Available online at aspensantafeballet.com<\/a>, by phone at 970-920-5770 and in-person at the Wheeler Opera House box office. Prices range from $36 to $94.<\/p>\n