Tickets available at The O'Shaughnessy Ticket Office in person or by calling 651-690-6700
Tickets also available online at www.ticketmaster.com


Show Dates:
Friday, April 11th at 8PM
Saturday, April 12th at 11AM - *First Chance Dance
Saturday, April 12th at 8PM
Sunday, April 13th at 2PM


Prices:
$31 - Adult
$9-* First Chance Dance
$15 Students / Children 12 and under
$26 CSC Alum, Faculty and Staff
$26 Groups of 10 or More
$10 CSC Students

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Spring Program

Program Subject to Change

Social Movements- Premier
Choreographed by James Sewell
Original Music by Steve Heitzeg


If This Then What - Premier
Choreographed by James Sewell and dancers


Table Waltz
CHoreographed by Penelope Freeh
2005, JSB Premier


By the Gypsy River Banks
Choreography by Sally Rousse
2005


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A program of four ballets

The spring program of four ballets will offer different kinds of dance dramas, each created from a distinct impetus: “Social Movements,” “By the Gypsy River Banks,” “Table Waltz,” and “If This Then What.”

“Social Movements”

In 2005, the St. Paul-based composer Steve Heitzeg asked James Sewell to collaborate with him on the creation of a ballet for which Heitzeg would compose the music. “Social Movements,” a 30-minute ballet in four movements, is the result.

The company’s dancers collaborated on this work as a collective, spending hours in conversation, searching for a way to create a worthwhile piece by finding a worthwhile peace with the material and the composer’s notes. Their journey begins at a peace march, and traverses from there the volatile terrain of self-immolation, the Green movement, displacement, and gay rights. Members of the community comprise a chorus that serves alternately as the dancers’ obstacles and to bear witness.

Heitzeg, who received an Emmy Award for his 1999 score for the PBS production of “Death of the Dream (Farmhouses in the Heartland),” has amassed a large body of orchestral, choral, and chamber music works that address social and ecological issues. The composition of “Social Movements” was supported by a Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship.

Heitzeg’s program notes describe the four movements:

     1. Burning for Peace (for Norman Morrison and the others)  This is an anti-war dance in
     three sections, based on the sacrifice of Norman Morrison, a 31-year-old Quaker who set
     himself on fire in front of the Pentagon, Nov. 2, 1965, to protest the Vietnam War.

     2. Green Movement  This movement is scored for Gentoo and Adelie Penguin bones from
     Antarctica. The movement is in seven sections for the seven continents.

     3. I’ve come a long way to nowhere (refugee song)  This movement bears witness to all
     refugees displaced by war and other disasters.

     4. Rainbow Dance (“El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz.”) “Respecting other people’s
     rights is peace.” As I composed this movement, I had images of dancers in great swirls of
     rainbow colors in my mind. I wanted the music to sweep away all bigotry, hatred, and
     racism. It is an affirmation of all people and each person’s rights as a human being.

“By the Gypsy River Banks”

In choreographing “By the Gypsy River Banks” in 2005, Sally Rousse, company co-founder, created a 20-minute work with six movements that include full-group dancing, solos, duets, and trios, with varied tempos and moods.

“Table Waltz”

“Table Waltz” is a playful and sensuous coming of age dance. Penelope Freeh, the company’s artistic associate, created the nine-minute work in 2005, set to music by John Halle.

“If This Then What”

In their past work, Sewell and the dancers have used improvisation as a technique to craft dance. With the new ballet, “If This Then What,” they use improvisation to craft nonverbal dramas in the moment, borrowing dramatic structures from the theater.

Anne Morrison-Welsh at pre-performance discussions

In her book, “Fire of the Heart: Norman Morrison’s Legacy In Vietnam And At Home,” Anne Morrison-Welsh recounted the self-immolation of her husband, Norman Morrison, and her response.

Morrison-Welsh will participate with Sewell and Heitzeg in pre-performance talks before the Apr. 4 and 5 performances of “Social Movements.”

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* First Chance Dance: Bring your Child - or inner child - of any age to First Chance
Dance, an informal way to experience ballet in a short performance. Performances
last one hour with no intermission. House lights remain partially illuminated.
You are free to come and go as your needs require.

All tickets are $10 General Admission. Children under the age of 3 are welcome to
attend at no charge.


Pre-Performance Talks
Begin 25 minutes before each Friday and Saturday performance. April 11th and 12th at 8PM.
Talks will be ASL interpreted on Saturday April 12th.

Post Performance Q and A Sessions
With James Sewell begin 5 minutes after every Sunday 2PM Matinee April 13th, 2008.


Visit www.jsballet.org for more information on the James Sewell Ballet or
to learn more about purchasing season tickets to the James Sewell Ballet