Early 20th century inspires ballet season debut

In coming up with a theme for this years fall ballet, IU Ballet Theater Chair Michael Vernon knew he wanted to try something different.\n“I’ve looked at the ballets in the past that the school has done, and there seems to be no real concept behind them,” he said. “I thought it was time for a change.”\n The result is “Perspectives 1900,” a collection of ballets that will premiere 8 p.m. Friday in the Musical Arts Center. Vernon said he drew inspiration for the show from the “creative time period of the 1900s” when “instead of ballet following fashion, it influenced fashion.” This is Vernon’s first complete season as chair of the IU Ballet Theater, after joining the Jacobs School of Music faculty last year. \nThe show opens with Michael Fokine’s ballet “Les Sylphides,” set to the music of Frederic Chopin. Staged by world-renowned ballerina Cynthia Gregory and orchestrated by students in the Jacobs School of Music Composition Department, the ballet is famous for its airy quality of movement, according to a press release.\n“Les Sylphides” is challenging in terms stamina, but I like it because it has a lot of jumps and is fun to perform,” said Ava Chatterson, a junior in the IU Ballet Theater.\nFollowing “Les Sylphides,” the performance flows into a more modern concept with “Isadora Dances,” a collection of solos and group dances choreographed by modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan and staged by Lori Belilove, founder and artistic director of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation. Duncan believed that “freeing” dancers from the restrictions of classical ballet created fluidity in their movement.\n“‘Isadora Dances’ is unlike anything I’ve done before,” said senior Lauren Collier, who will perform the Spanish gypsy solo in the piece. “Her style has really let me explore different movements with my upper half that are more free and liberating then most ballet pieces I’ve danced.” \nThe Egyptian hieroglyphic influenced “L’Apres Midi d’un Faune,” choreographed by famed dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, is next in the program. The piece, set to the music of Claude Debussy and staged by Ann Hutchinson Guest, is famous for its measured steps and controversial ending. Vernon said the ballet is hard for dancers because there is so little movement in the piece.\n“The choreography (in L’Apres Midi d’un Faune) is so different from anything people will expect and is so stylized,” sophomore Benjamin Delony said. “Trying to be precise with rather easy-looking movement has been hard on everyone.”\nThe program continues with Michael Fokine’s “Le Spectre de la Rose,” which Vernon updated. New York City Ballet Principle Dancer Daniel Ulbricht will dance the role of the Spectre.\n“I love to invite people to dance, and I used Daniel because he’s a brilliant dancer,” he said. “He’s very similar to the person that originally danced the part, who was Nijinsky.”\nClosing the program is Vernon’s “Brandenburg IV,” set to music by Bach and played by the IU Baroque Orchestra. According to a press release, the ballet is choreographed in three parts, each with a different style of movement: baroque, romantic and neo-classic, or contemporary. This is the world-premiere of the ballet.\n“Perspectives 1900” will begin at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Musical Arts Center. Tickets are $12 to $20 for the general public and $8 to $16 for students. They may be purchased at the Musical Arts Center Box Office or by phone at 333-9955.