BALLET ARIZONA

BALLET ARIZONA gracefully pivots en pointe

By Michelle Glicksman

A ballet performance requires many elements — trained ballet dancers, flexibility, choreographed movements, and often, many close movements between dance partners as a dance unfolds.

“It’s interesting to see how the idea of social distancing has an impact,” says Samantha Turner, Ballet Arizona’s executive director. “Our dancers, the people who work backstage, the costumers, our employees, and of course, our patrons. How do we change that paradigm? How do we make those things work?”

“We want to make sure the arts are still getting out there, because now — more than ever — people need these respites from all that we’re dealing with. Everyone has a different way that they need to relax and escape, and we want to be able to present this as an option.”

During the early months of the pandemic, the Ballet experimented with new ways to provide access to performances and streamed archival footage from its repertoire.

In determining the 2020-2021 season, the senior leadership team, including Artistic Director Ib Andersen, worked alongside Ballet Arizona’s board of directors, taking into consideration feedback from the community and staff to create a safe plan to move forward and bring ballet to a community of which more than 85,000 patrons typically view live ballet performances throughout a season.

The current plan includes a mix of favorite contemporary works presented digitally, a new work by Andersen that incorporates socially distanced choreography, and a reimagined version of Ballet Arizona’s holiday classic, The Nutcracker. One of the first steps Ballet Arizona took was identifying which dancers would be able to dance together.

“We have a number of dancers who are married or are in relationships, and therefore they can dance together because they are together all day long. We’re using those relationships to find pas de deux that we can present. For other dancers who might not be able to do anything but be socially distant, we have some wonderful solos,” says Turner.

Dancers are presenting Inspire, featuring Andersen’s new work as well as several other pieces, from mid-October through the end of November. Tickets for live, socially distanced performances are available to subscribers, while tickets for a streamed on-demand video are available to the public.

After The Nutcracker Suite, which will be performed to limited audiences as well as streamed, Ballet Arizona plans live performances of Andersen’s new work Four Seasons from the Vivaldi works, which are scheduled to be performed at Desert Botanical Garden during An Evening at Desert Botanical Garden between May 18-June 5, 2021.

Ballet Arizona also launched the Ballet Arizona Book Club, which meets quarterly via Zoom.

Toward the end of 2020, the organization will reassess its upcoming performances and decide if they can safely resume at Symphony Hall in the spring, or if the Ballet should continue performing at Dorrance Theatre with streaming options.

In fact, Ballet Arizona hopes to continue offering streaming options post-pandemic.

“We would like to continue to offer a streamed version of performances for the public who are unable to attend, or who have never been to the ballet before, or who wants to give it a try but don't have the opportunity to make much investment of time or money,” Turner says.

In order to ensure that everyone who is associated with the performances, as well as those patrons who visit in-person, are as safe as possible, not only is Ballet Arizona following CDC guidelines, but they proactively enlisted the services of HealthyVerify.

“We reached out to this third-party organization to have them take a look at our health and safety protocols, make sure they are up to the standards of the CDC, and to also look at some of the special circumstances that the CDC probably isn’t thinking about—like dancers rehearsing. HealthyVerify works closely with Arizona State University to reduce the workplace risk of spreading infectious diseases. We decided it was better for our employees and our patrons to have a third party advising us,” Turner explains. “And then they also do a certification process to make sure we are upholding all of those protocols.”

In order to help Ballet Arizona “bridge over” this season, Jacquie and Bennett Dorrance kicked off a $1.1 million “Be Our Bridge” Relief Fund campaign with a $250,000 donation.

“It’s cliché, but it’s true — every gift, no matter the amount, helps. It all adds up to a total amount that helps keep the dancers on stage. We’re grateful for any gift that someone gives that’s from their heart,” says Turner.

In the meantime, Ballet Arizona perseveres with its innovative programing. And, says Turner, when performances are able to resume at Symphony Hall, they look forward to showcasing an extremely unique production based on Juan Gabriel, the beloved late singer/ composer from Mexico. The production was initially scheduled for February 2021.

“Like many, we are just waiting to see what happens and adapting and being flexible — and who better to be flexible than a dancer!”