|
|
| Arts Calendar / April 12 / Ballet |
|
|
19:00 | Romantic Ballet Evening |
|
|
|
|
The first part of the Romantic Ballet Evening will be a ballet choreographed by Paul Mejia on Tchaikovsky's "Violin Concerto". Second part is a divertissement of most famous ballet works created by legendary choreographers: Marius Petipa, Agrippina Vaganova, Pierre Lakott, Vladimir Vasiliev, Michel Fokin. Shining costumes, excellent choreography, fantastic music - everything is aimed at creating a romantic atmosphere of a big ballet performance. Paul Mejia was born in Lima, Peru, but was raised in New York City New York. He joined the School of American Ballet in 1958, and began his dance training under the tutelage and inspiration of the great master George Balanchine. By the age of fourteen he had choreographed his first ballets. Mr. Mejia joined the New York City Ballet in 1964, and danced principal roles in many of Balanchine’s ballets during his tenure with the company. In 1972, he joined Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the Twentieth Century in Brussels where he danced and choreographed throughout Europe for five seasons. In 1977, he staged a season of ballet for Ballet de Guatemala, where he created four new ballets including Romeo and Juliet, the first of his highly acclaimed Shakespearean ballet series. Romeo and Juliet was later performed by ballerina Suzanne Farrell in New York City and throughout Europe to great public and critical acclaim. In 1981, Maria Tallchief invited Mr. Mejia to be associate artistic director of the Chicago City Ballet, where he became co-artistic director in 1983. During his seven year tenure with the company, he created fifteen new ballets, including: his highly successful version of Cinderella in 1982, which toured nationally and internationally; Eight by Adler, music by Richard Adler in 1984, which was later filmed for PBS and won an Emmy Award for Suzanne Farrell; and Webern Pieces in 1985, which was created for ballerina Maria Terezia Balogh. Subsequent versions of the breathtaking pas de deux garnered national media attention when Ms. Balogh was partnered by Chicago Bears' wide receiver Willie Gault inl 986, and later by Dallas Cowboys' running back Herschel Walker in 1988. Since 2003, Mr. Mejia's ever popular choreography of Peter and the Wolf has been performed annually for the Children's Education Program of Performing Arts Fort Worth in collaboration with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and its director Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Currently, Mr. Mejia teaches master classes and produces ballet performances nationally and internationally. Most recently, his full-length Nutcracker ballet was presented by ARTS San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. ZIL Cultural Center |
|
|
|
|
|
|