Ballet Theater Company will perform “Up Close: Fall” in West Hartford on October 1-2.
Submitted
The community is invited to join the Ballet Theater Company (BTC) on October 1 and 2 for its first performance of the season. “Up Close: Fall,” an intimate performance with mixed repertoire, will feature two world premieres from local choreographer Calvin Bittner and BTC artistic director Stephanie Dattellas.
This show offers the unique chance to see the professional dancers of the Ballet Theater Company and the students of the Junior Corps de Ballet up close, providing a whole new perspective on ballet that will appeal to new and old audiences alike. While dancing in a traditional theater setting is thrilling, hearing the breath and shoes of the dancers on the floor and watching them prepare in the “wings” between each entrance brings viewers into the physical reality behind this art form. powerful.
Up close: Spring 2022. Courtesy photo
To open the program, Calvin Bittner, a local performer, teacher and guest choreographer for BTC, will present his brand new work, “Conspicuous Figures”.
“Conspicuous Figures” is an exploration of mid-century faux-exoticism, projected through the prism of experimental dance theatre. It features a number of “characters” who weave their unhappy dramas into a landscape of abstract, indifferent bodies.
Bittner graduated from The Hartt School in 2017 with a degree in dance. Since then he has spent a year as a company artist with the Hartford Ballet (formerly Vivid Ballet), and is now freelance as a choreographer, teacher and performer. As a choreographer, his work revolves around inventive movement styles, elevated abstract concepts, and cultivating the unexpected and delighting the audience. Her work has been featured at the American College Dance Association, Saint Joseph’s University, Alvin Ailey School and Jacob’s Pillow.
Bittner’s artistic portfolio includes drag performances and professional wig styling.
“I am very happy to be able to work with a company that I have seen emerge and prosper even in the short time I have lived in Hartford,” shares Bittner. “It is rare to find such a professional environment in which to create new work, and the opportunity to do so was a happy surprise that brought me out of a long break in my choreographic research. I hope this work will kick-start my creativity and set me on a path of continued choreographic exploration.
Preview of Up Close: Autumn. Courtesy picture
Dattellas’ “Movements for Dvorák” is a vibrant neoclassical work, showcasing rapid footwork intertwined with soft, prolonged movements that highlight the ebb and flow of Dvorák’s masterful composition. Dattellas will feature two of the ballet’s seven movements in “Up Close: Fall.”
Performances are offered October 1 at 7 p.m. and October 2 at 2 p.m. at BTC’s home theater, the Ron and Nancy Compton Studio at 20 Jefferson Ave. Tickets are available at dancebtc.org/up-close-fall. Audiences ages 8 and up are recommended to attend the show. A limited number of in-person seats are available as well as an on-demand video ticket option. Buy your Fall and Spring Up-Close tickets in the same transaction and save $10 per set. Discount applies to order at checkout.
Ballet Theater Company is supported in part by: Ron and Nancy Compton, State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Office of the Arts, CT Humanities, The Greater Hartford Arts Council, The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation, The Maximilian E. and Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, The Ahearn Family Foundation, Homestead Funding Corp, The Robert and Margaret Patricelli Foundation, Henry Hall Charitable Trust, Bank of America, NA, Trustee, The Ellen Jeanne Goldfarb Memorial Charitable Trust, The Buchalter and Breslow Family, We-Ha.com, Beam & Barre, Laurel Graphic Design, Virtus, Cricket Press, Hearst Media Group, SKY Investment Group, State Farm of West Hartford and by individual patrons.
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