Company C Contemporary Ballet April 5, 2008

Company C Contemporary Ballet returns to the Spreckels Performing Arts Center to present David Grenke's Vespers, Michael Smuin's Starshadows, Alexandre Proia's Rhapsody in Blue and Charles Anderson's Bolero and Echoes of Innocence.

Company C Contemporary Ballet is pleased to honor the memory of Michael Smuin with performances of Smuin's Starshadows. This lovely adagio for three couples, set to music by Ravel, brings romance and emotional depth the Company's repertoire.

Vespers, described by the New York Times as "a tour de force of choreographic ingenuity," is a sensational, physically demanding duet by David Grenke, a former principal dancer for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. The duet, lit by a single, intimate down spot and accompanied by Tom Waits' smoky "Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)," evokes sadness, futility, loss and dependence. Choreographed by Grenke at the time of his mother's death, the piece addresses the weight of grief and memories that are slipping just out of reach.

Rhapsody in Blue returns to the repertoire for a second season after earning standing ovations from audiences in 2007. Commissioned by the Mendocino Music Festival in 2007, Proia's Rhapsody in Blue, set to Gershwin's famous classical-jazz compositions is a playful, flirtatious ballet for four dancers.

Returning to the Company's 2008 repertoire will be Charles Anderson's Echoes of Innocence. Ingram Marshall's haunting score is the inspiration for this intriguing and provocative look at the lost innocence of childhood. The video installation that illustrates Echoes of Innocence was created by Oakland-based artist Dan Nelson.

The final work will be Bolero, Anderson's fresh, contemporary interpretation of Ravel's famous composition. Also commissioned by the 2007 Mendocino Music Festival, this ballet for ten dancers radiates the strength and physicality that are the hallmarks of Anderson's choreography.

$24.00 adult/$21.00 senior and student.

Official Website: http://www.companycballet.org