Boston Ballet

Fancy Free • ELA, Rhapsody in Blue • Blake Works I

Lia Cirio and Patric Palkens in William Forsythe’s Blake Works I © Angela Sterling
maria-alvarez-photo-by-angela-sterling
María Álvarez in William Forsythe’s Blake Works I © Angela Sterling
Roddy Doble and Chyrstyn Fentroy in Blake Works I © Angela Sterling
boston-ballet-photo-by-angela-sterling
Blake Works I © Angela Sterling
Isaac Akiba, Patrick Palkens and Paul Craig in Fancy Free © Rosalie O'Connor
Isaac Akiba in Fancy Free © Rosalie O'Connor
180905-boston-2528-boston-ballet-in-jerome-robbins-fancy-free-photo-by-rosalie-oconnor-courtesy-of-boston-ballet
© Rosalie O'Connor
Kathleen Breen Combes with artists of Boston Ballet in ELA, Rhapsody in Blue © Rachel Neville Photography
Kathleen Breen Combes with artists of Boston Ballet in ELA, Rhapsody in Blue © Rachel Neville Photography
Kathleen Breen Combes with artists of Boston Ballet in ELA, Rhapsody in Blue © Rachel Neville Photography
Dance Ballet with Orchestra
“William Forsythe is widely recognized as one of the most important choreographers working today" The New York Times
  • ≈ 2 hours and 15 minutes · With intermission

In recognition and thanks for invaluable donor support, the NAC Orchestra and NAC Dance grants insider access to donors to audit a working rehearsal in Southam Hall. Often, an artist or member of the artistic team gives insights into the creative process and invites questions from donors. Seating is limited.

Featuring the National Arts Centre Orchestra

One of North America’s top ballet companies, Boston Ballet mesmerizes audiences with its sweeping repertoire that showcases the highest caliber of international talent. The evening includes with William Forsythe’s Blake Works I, a light and joyous “love letter to the art of ballet” (The New York Times) set to the poetic ballads of English musician James Blake. George Gershwin’s sultry Rhapsody in Blue accompanies a new work by Boston Ballet Principal Dancer Paulo Arrais. And, the 1940s Broadway vibe of Jerome Robbins’ showstopper Fancy Free to Leonard Bernstein’s witty score will leave audiences enraptured.

Running Time:
Fancy Free – 35 minutes
Intermission – 20 minutes

ELA, Rhapsody in Blue – 19 minutes
Intermission – 20 minutes

Blake Works I - 35 minutes
***

Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free

Premiering in 1944, Fancy Free was the first ballet Robbins choreographed and his first collaboration with then up-and-coming composer Leonard Bernstein. The ballet depicts sailors on shore leave in New York City during the 1940s. Fancy Free immediately became a runaway hit and inspired their Tony Award-winning full-length musical On the Town. Boston Ballet premiered Fancy Free in 2012, which Karen Campbell of The Boston Globe described as “full of comic flair and brilliant choreography.”


Paulo Arrais’ ELA, Rhapsody in Blue

Principal Dancer Paulo Arrais’ ELA, Rhapsody in Blue¬ made its world premiere in 2019. Featuring a cast of 14 men and one central female dancer, the work is set to a jazzy and sultry score by George Gershwin with scenic and costume design by Nissinen. Inspired by his mother and other female influences, the ballet tells a deeply personal story of one woman’s experience of defying expectations and rising against the odds. Arrais hopes this ballet will generate conversation while celebrating powerful women everywhere.

Note: smoke machine, ELA, Rhapsody in Blue may contain adult themes


William Forsythe’s Blake Works I

Blake Works I is a work for 21 dancers set to music from GRAMMY-nominated British musician James Blake’s album “The Colour in Anything.” According to Forsythe, the ballet is dedicated to all the teachers who have enabled us to see the joy in rigor. Premiered in 2016 for Paris Opera Ballet, Blake Works I was described as “sheer joy” by Roslyn Sulcas of The New York Times.

Performance is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes including intermission

Artists

  • mikko-nissinen-cr-liza-voll
    Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen
  • jeromerobbins-cr-frederic-ohringer
    Choreographer, Fancy Free Jerome Robbins
  • paulo-arrais-cr-liza-voll
    Choreographer, ELA, Rhapsody in Blue Paulo Arrais