Ballet Theatre of Scranton, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and Lackawanna County Department of Arts and Culture, Collaborate
by the A
n elegant ballet performed in a lush outdoor setting is not just a safe solution to this year’s challenges. “The Saratoga Performing Arts Center in New York and the Vail Performing Arts Center in Colorado have always hosted various ballet companies, outdoors,” noted Joanne Arduino, Artistic Director of Ballet Theatre of Scranton (BTOS). This year in particular, however, it made a lot of “natural” sense for BTOS to select the beautiful lake setting in Covington Park in Lackawanna County as its location for the outdoor performance of “Ballet by the Beach,”in partnership with the NEPA Philharmonic on May 8 at 5 p.m. The production is part of Lackawanna County’s Art in the Park initiative. Les Sylphides, in particular, is a perfect “nature” ballet. “The airy, ethereal quality of the sylphs (mythical, fairy-like 84
creatures) directly corresponds to the backdrop of the lake and trees. The slope of a natural amphitheater made Covington Park a perfect choice,” noted Arduino. “Ballet by the Beach” is presented in two separate acts. Act One is the classical, romantic period ballet, Les Sylphides (pronounced lay-sil-feed), and will include a gorgeous Chopin score performed by the Philharmonic. “Then, I wanted a contrast for both audience and dancer for Act Two so I chose a ballet I entitled, “Danse Espanol,” a presentation of Spanish divertissements (short dances) from the ballets Carmen, Don Quixote and one variation from Swan Lake. It is fiery and percussive and features a traditional Tablado Flamenco, which was choreographed in 1996 by a friend, the late Ana Consuelo De Diaz from Colombia,” Arduino noted. May 2021
Lily Pavuk
