Nilas Martins returns to UA Dance this year to stage George Balanchine’s masterpiece, The Four Temperaments. Also returning as a guest will be Alvin Ailey principal, Kanji Segawa, as he delivers to UA Dance Jessica Lang’s Escaping the Weight of Darkness. Premium Blend will also offer choreography by faculty members Autumn Eckman and Elizabeth George-Fesch.
Balanchine choreographed The Four Temperaments for the 1946 opening program of Ballet Society, the forerunner of New York City Ballet. The titles of the ballet’s four movements – “Melancholic,” “Sanguinic,” “Phlegmatic,” and “Choleric” – are inspired by the medieval belief that human beings are made up of four different humors that determine a person’s temperament. The stunning illustration of these temperaments, through both movement and the commissioned music of Paul Hindemith, has made this ballet one of the most sought after Balanchine works in history.
Escaping the Weight of Darkness was created for the National Ballet of Japan by American choreographer Jessica Lang in 2014 and made in collaboration with Molo, a Vancouver-based design company. This excerpt is set to the emotional score by Olafur Arnalds that accompanies this journey between isolation and hope. On a stage illuminated by sculptural lanterns in a black void, the dancers are left to navigate a great divide. The audience is left to see what is visible, and to imagine what is not…
Autumn Eckman’s piece for men, titled Gold Jackets, is inspired by the monumental music of Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack to the film, The Mission. In contrast, the sweetness of composer Henry Hadley’s Meditation performed by cellist Theodore Buchholz and pianist Mark Schafer, will guide a female ensemble as they perform to live music with choreography by Elizabeth George-Fesch.
TICKETS: Adult $35 / Senior, Military $30 / UA Employee $30 / Student $15
Season Subscriptions Available
- Wednesday, November 13, 7:30 PM
- Thursday, November 14, 7:30 PM
- Friday, November 15, 7:30 PM
- Saturday, November 16, 1:30 PM
- Saturday, November 16, 7:30 PM
- Sunday, November 17, 1:30 PM
- Sunday, November 17, 6:00 PM
UA Dance is proud to be part of the UA Presents Dance Series for 2019-20, and to be presenting these beautiful, historic pieces of choreography.
The Four Temperaments is made possible through the generous support of The James H. and Frances R. Allen Family Foundation, the Fikkan and Sherwood Artist in Residence Fund, the Glasser Artist in Residence Fund, and the Ballet Masterworks Fund.