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| Newsletter: Ballet Yuma Presents Giselle | |||||||||||||
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Ballet Yuma Presents Giselle In addition to Giselle, Act II, Ballet Yuma will perform The Orchid, by Daniel Marshall, Valse Elegant, by Jeffrey Gribler, Ballet Petit, by Kathleen Sinclair, and Billy and the Hil’lilies, by Emma MK Cong. Giselle was first presented in Paris in 1841 and continues as one of the most popular and well known of truly classical ballets. The story is of a country girl named Giselle who falls completely in love with Count Albrecht, who has been posing as a commoner. When his deception is revealed, the shock and grief are too great - leading to the trusting, fragile Giselle’s death. Act II involves Giselle's ghost and vengeful spirits, or 'Wilis', who are the ghosts of girls promised to be married but jilted before their wedding day. At night, they come from their tombs to seek revenge by dancing to death any man they encounter. Giselle is welcomed by the group, but must try to thwart their attempt to kill Albrecht, whom she discovers she still loves. Special guest choreographers Daniel Marshall and Jeffrey Gribler have come to Yuma to work with, and stage their ballets, The Orchid and Valse Elegant, for Ballet Yuma Company dancers. Marshall is an award winning choreographer and director of LaDiego Dance Theatre in San Diego, and Gribler has been the Principal Dancer and Ballet Master for Pennsylvania Ballet and has staged works across the United States and in Europe. Emma MK Cong (Billy and the Hil’lilies) is the Artistic Assistant for Ballet Yuma and has won awards for her choreography through Regional Dance America. Kathleen Sinclair (Ballet Petit) is Ballet yuma’s Co-Artistic Director. Ariana Samuelsson (Giselle) received her training primarily from her parents Steven and Elizabeth Wistrich. She became a principal dancer with the City Ballet of San Diego where she danced such roles as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Kitri in the full-length Don Quixote and the title role in Giselle. Additionally, she has been featured in leading roles in contemporary ballets and works by George Balanchine, including Agon, Valse Fantaisie and Who Cares? She danced a season with Atlanta Ballet and two seasons with the Joffrey Ballet, under the direction of Gerald Arpino, prior to returning to City Ballet this season. She has also performed as a guest artist with the American National Ballet and currently teaches in the City Ballet School. Geoff Gonzalez (Albrecht), from Tempe, Arizona, received his training at the Tempe Dance Academy and the School of Ballet Arizona before entering the University of Arizona as a Dance Major. While at the U of A, Geoff performed in numerous works, including George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, Tchaikovsky's Pas de Deux, Serenade, Paul Taylor's Esplanade and Ben Stevenson's End of Time. In 2007 Geoff was one of the top 25 male finalists for "So You Think You Can Dance" television show. He is now a principal dancer with City Ballet of San Diego, performing in ballets such as Don Quixote, A Midsummer Night's Dream(A Lover), The Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux, The Nutcracker(Cavalier), Giselle(Peasant Pas de Duex), Balanchine's The Four Temperaments(Phlegmatic), The Seasons and various other contemporary works. Ballet Yuma is a non-profit arts organization which is recognized for excellence on the national level. For more information regarding the Company, its events, dancers, and programs, go to www.balletyuma.org.
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