CCM Dance provides a “travelogue” of classical and contemporary works during this installment of CCM’s virtual performance series!
The fourth episode of CCMONSTAGE Online debuts at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, March 20, 2021. The premiere will stream simultaneously on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Travelogue is a 90-minute long virtual performance featuring the CCM Ballet Ensemble. “Travelogue is a mixed repertory performance featuring a vivid array of classical and contemporary ballet, modern and jazz works,” explains CCM Dance Department Chair Shauna Steele, who directs the performance. “As we sat and planned our potential fall season during the unprecedented coronavirus shutdown in spring 2020, we kept returning to the idea that dance is community, it is catharsis, and it is vitally essential, thus Travelogue … where we as the artists could share through a visual medium places and experiences encountered by a ‘traveler.’ It can let us visit people, communities, myths, legends and monumental moments in our shared history allowing the audience to travel without moving.”
The program opens with Les Sylphides, with choreography by Mikhail Fokine restaged by CCM faculty member Deirdre Carberry. This popular one-act Romantic ballet is set to the music of Frédéric Chopin.
The concert features three premieres choreographed by CCM faculty members: Handel Concerto choreographed by Thomas Bell, The Space Between choreographed by Shauna Steele and Death and the Maiden choreographed by Jiang Qi.
The performance concludes with August Bournonville’s iconic Napoli restaged by CCM faculty member Tricia Sundbeck. Subtitled “The Fisherman and His Bride,” this ballet depicts a love story in a small Italian fishing village and is celebrated for its solos. Steele explains: “In Napoli, we see through the eyes of August Bournonville, who visited a small Italian village in 1841, and was so enchanted that he created a composition that would forever capture that joyous, bright day and coincidentally created an enduring and touching ballet.”
A collaboration with CCM’s Department of Theatre Design and Production, Travelogue also features scenic designs by CCM student Karissa Hodge and lighting and projection designs by CCM student Ian MacIntosh.
Like other episodes in CCM’s new virtual performance series, Travelogue features commentary from CCM students and faculty. All episodes of CCMONSTAGE Online can be digitally streamed for free. After the premiere broadcast, each installment in this ongoing series will remain available for on-demand viewing on CCM’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Travelogue was recorded live in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium on Nov. 14, 2020. Video production by MasseyGreenAVP, LLC. This digital performance series is made possible by support from CCMONSTAGE Online Broadcast Sponsors CCMpower and ArtsWave, and CCMONSTAGE Online Production Sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer.
Learn more about CCM’s upcoming video releases courtesy of Janelle Gelfand and the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Streaming Premiere
7:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, March 20, 2021
Performance Details
Les Sylphides
Choreography
Mikhail Fokine
Restaged by
Deirdre Carberry
Music by Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne in A flat Major, Op. 32, No. 2
Valse in G flat Major, Op. 70, No. 1
Mazurka in D Major, Op. 33, No. 2
Mazurka in C Major, Op. 67, No. 3
Valse in C sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2
Valse in E flat Major, Op. 18, No. 1
Soloists
Lauren Sokol, waltz
Hannah Adamczak, mazurka
Louie Novak, mazurka
Carly Herrmann, prelude
Corps de Ballet
Carmen Doll
Sydney D’Orso
Rae Dougherty
Emily Glaccum
Meg Green
Lily Kozub
Jennifer Listerman
Grace Mitchell
Anna Lee Rohovec
Bethany Roup
Mandi Weitz
Claire Zakrajsek
Understudies
Rae Dougherty for Carly Herrmann
Anna Lee Rohovec for Lauren Sokol
Claire Zakrajsek for Hannah Adamczak
Les Sylphides has been abridged and adapted to honor the restrictions of social distancing and Covid-19.
Handel Concerto
Choreography
Thomas Bell
Music by George Frideric Handel
Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 5 in D Major:
Larghetto e staccato, Allegro, Largo, Menuet, Allegro
Dancers
Sarah Bartlett
Isabelle Cummings
Clementine Greely
Madeline Montgomery
Eva Moore
Megan Schroeder
Sofia Stitz
Madelin Talbot
Gracie Zamiska
The Space Between
Choreography
Shauna Steele
Music by Emeli Sandé
Read All About It, Pt. III
Hope
River
Dancers
Hannah Adamczak
Maia Blake
Carmen Doll
Sydney D’Orso
Meg Green
Amanda Kenner
Jennifer Listerman
Ying-Chi Lu
Anne McGovern
Lauren Sokol
Junichiro Tanizaki believed that to “Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides. The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say. Life is a mixture of light and shadow, calm and storm…” For me, that point where light and dark meet and form endless unique shadows is the trigger for the wonderous and endless possibilities in our world. Neither the light nor the dark are evil or good. It is the purpose we assign to them that will either “illuminate our paths or darken our way. [As Maya Angelou said] It is a matter of choice.”
Death and the Maiden
Choreography
Jiang Qi
Music by Franz Schubert
String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor
Dancers in Black
Elaina Didier
Ava Gyurcsik
Emma Phillips
Dancers in White
Hazel Alexander
Rebekah Docea
Rose Engel
Emerson Lecrone
Morgan Montour
Alyssa Pankey
Keenan Pennington
Ellen Pierce
Jillian Sadler
Sarah Santarsiero
Mira Sidhu
“Death is the dropping of the flower, that the fruit may, swell.” – Henry Ward Beecher
Napoli
Choreography
August Bournonville
Restaged by
Tricia Sundbeck
Music by Niels W. Gade, Edvard Helsted and Holger Simon Paulli
Pas De Six
Dancers
Maia Blake
Amanda Kenner
Ying-Chi Lu
Anne McGovern
Gabby Savka
David Lopena
Garrett Steagall
Napoli has been abridged and adapted to honor the restrictions of social distancing and Covid-19.
Choreographers
August Bournonville (1805-1879)
Born in Copenhagen, August Bournonville was a dancer and choreographer who directed the Royal Danish Ballet for nearly 50 years and established the Danish style based on bravura dancing and expressive mime. He studied under his father, Antoine Bournonville, one of the major dancers of his day, before going to Paris for further training under Auguste Vestris and Pierre Gardel. After appearances at the Paris Opera and in London, Bournonville returned to Copenhagen as soloist and choreographer for the Royal Danish Ballet. A strong dancer with excellent elevation and an accomplished mime, he emphasized these qualities in his ballets. His choreographic style also reflected the pre-Romantic approach of his teacher Vestris. Many of his ballets have remained in the repertoire of the Royal Danish Ballet for more than a century. Bournonville also directed the Swedish Royal Opera at Stockholm (1861-64) and staged several of his works in Vienna (1855-56). In 1877, after his return to Denmark, he retired and was knighted. He died on November 30, 1879 in Copenhagen.
Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942)
Born in St Petersburg, Russian choreographer Mikhail Fokine trained at the Imperial Ballet Academy before joining the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1904 he became a premier danseur and the following year he created his first choreographic work, Acis and Galatea, for a pupils’ performance, and The Dying Swan, which would become Anna Pavlova’s most famous role. Fokine was engaged by Diaghilev for his 1909 Paris season and created Le Pavillon d’Armide, Polovtsian Dances, Les Sylphides, and Cleopâtre. He worked for some time for both the Imperial Theatre and for Diaghilev; he did not return to Russia after 1918. For Diaghilev his works include Le Carnaval, Sheherazade, Firebird, Le Spectre de la rose, Narcisse, Petrushka, Papillons, and The Golden Cockerel. When he left Diaghilev’s company he worked as a freelance choreographer, creating new works and reviving his successes. He settled in the USA, where he worked with several dance companies, and in musical theatre and film. The Fokine American Ballet Company made its debut in 1924. Fokine, however, spent much of his time in Europe, and in 1936 was engaged as choreographer-in-chief by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where he created three successful ballets – L’Épreuve d’amour, Don Juan (both 1936) and Les Éléments (1937). He died in 1942, having created more than sixty works.
Faculty choreographer bios can be found on the Dance Department’s webpage.
Performers and Creative Team
Performance Producer
Denton Yockey, TAPAA Division Head
Stage Management Advisor
Michele Kay
Technical Director Advisor
Stirling Shelton
Lighting Design Advisor
Sharon Huizinga
Sound Design Advisor
Matt Tibbs
Dance Department Faculty
Shauna Steele, chair
Deirdre Carberry
Jiang Qi
Michael Tevlin
John Thomas Bell
Isabele Elefson
Stephen Ferre
Jeri Gatch
Jonnie Lynn Jacobs-Percer
Kathleen Johannigman
Molly Perez
Tricia Sundbeck
Physical Therapists
Amber Boyd
Heidi Dunning
Heather Graden
Rose Smith
Dance Program Manager
Colleen Condit
Costume Coordinator
Jonnie Lynn Jacobs-Percer
Costumes
Courtesy of CCM Dance Department
Accompanists
Angelika Bonyhati-Kovacs
Brian Cashwell
Douglas Sutton
Yudong Wang
Technical Director
Jacob Bober
Assistant Technical Director
Jacob Blumberg
Performance Production Manager
Amanda Powell
Scenic Shop Foreman
Kyle Wichman
Scenic Designer
Karissa Hodge
Lighting Designer/Projection Designer
Ian MacIntosh
Screens Producer
Tayler Durantini
Master Electrician
Ethan Fleek
Board Operator
Dionte Mercado
Projection Associate
Rama van Gils
Sound GA Lead
Alex Brock
Stage Manager
Marley Giggey
Assistant Stage Managers
Rosie Burns-Pavlik
Hannah Lee
Haileigh Warren
Master Carpenter
Maya Eberhardt
Video Production
MasseyGreenAVP, llc
Director – John Massey
Producer/Editor – Austin Maynard
Camera Operators
John Tapogna
Glenn Hartong
Matt Green
Video Production Assistant
Paule Casale
Audio Engineer
Simón Sotelo
Senior Director of Performance Operations
Ray Dobson
CCMONSTAGE Online Series Concept Developed and Managed by
Curt Whitacre
CCM Digital Content Team
Kenneth D. Allen
Clarence M. Brown
Kevin Burke
Rebecca Butts
Rayburn Dobson
Mikki Graff
Melissa Neeley-Nicolini
Simón Sotelo
Curt Whitacre
Special thanks to Amber Boyd, Will Brenner, Dr. Kyuran Ann Choe, Dr. Jon Divine, Dr. Tonya Dixon, Dr. Michael Donaworth, Heidi Dunning, Heather Graden, Dale Pickett, Diana Queen of Diana’s Dancewear, and Rose Smith.
About the Series
CCMONSTAGE Online is a series of free digital concerts and performing arts presentations showcasing the unparalleled artistry and expertise of CCM’s students, faculty and staff. Enjoy a sneak peek at a few of our upcoming episodes:
The series has recently been featured by Broadway World, Cincinnati Business Courier, Cincinnati CityBeat, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Magazine, Cincinnati Public Radio, Local 12 WKRC-TV, Movers and Makers, Musical America and The Violin Channel.
A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music offers nearly 120 possible majors, along with a wide variety of pre-collegiate and post-graduate programs.
The synergy created by housing CCM within a comprehensive public university gives the college its unique character and defines its objective: to educate and inspire the whole artist and scholar for positions on the world stage.
For more information, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.
Featured image at top: the CCM Ballet Ensemble performs “Les Sylphides.” Photo/Dale Pickett
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