Ballet Arizona performs at Desert Botanical Garden

Ballet Arizona is presenting its latest production on an unexpected stage with a stunning background. “Round: Reimagined for a New Stage” is being performed at Desert Botanical Garden, embracing the scenic beauty of the Sonoran Desert as its backdrop. On Arizona Horizon, we talked to Ballet Arizona’s Director of Marketing, Mallory Porter.

Inspired by his 2016 world premiere, Round, Ballet Arizona Artistic Director Ib Andersen revisits his production with re-imagined choreography that embraces and showcases desert scenery. The dancers of Ballet Arizona evolve, take chances, and challenge the boundaries of contemporary ballet in the desert that we call our home. The 50-minute performance showcases Andersen’s modern ballet choreography, set to the music of a wide variety of composers – Thomas Ades, J.S. Bach, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

The production was created with themes designed to explore man’s connection to nature.  The audience will be immersed in the artistry, seated in four sections around the circular stage, amid ramps that the dancers will use as part of the choreography to enter the stage. “This will be an experience like no other for our audiences,” said Andersen.

Porter talked to us about this final performance of the season. “It is a spectacular, abstract, contemporary dance performance,” says Porter. “This is different from some of the other performances you may have seen that are more ‘storybook.'”

Porter told us what the audience can expect when seeing this performance. “When you go, you get to sit outside, which is rare. We usually perform at Symphony Hall,” she said. “So anyone who attends gets to sit outdoors in a space we created at Desert Botanical Garden… and you’ll actually get to watch the sunset as the dancers start performing.”

The show is not performed on a “round” stage, as it was in the original 2016 show,. But it does contain elements of “Mosaik,” an abstract ballet that has not performed by Ballet Arizona in years. “It hasn’t been seen at all since 2011, so it hasn’t been seen in more than a decade,” said Porter.

“We are constantly trying to push ourselves as a company,” Porter said.

The show runs Tuesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m. nightly, at Desert Botanical Garden. The production runs through June 2.

You can call the Ballet Arizona Box Office at 602-381-1096. Or, for more information, visit the Ballet Arizona website.

Transcript:

Ballet Arizona is presenting its latest production on an unexpected stage with a stunning background. "Round: Reimagined for a New Stage" is being performed at Desert Botanical Garden, embracing the scenic beauty of the Sonoran Desert as its backdrop. On Arizona Horizon, we talked to Ballet Arizona's Director of Marketing, Mallory Porter.