Adaptations are always amusing. Whether you boast the critic, performer, audience, or adapter, you will bring a very particular judgment and interpretation to the table. In light of Ron Cunningham's coming premier of this timeless classic, I decided to reread The Great Gatsby. Many know the tale: Gatsby and Daisy, lovers disconnected by the passage of time attempt to rekindle an impossible idea for one another within an era dictating higher callings. The Roaring Twenties. A decade of seemingly endless, ultimately disillusioned wealth. Where, as Fitzgerald believed, the vitality of America was wasted on the pursuit of unworthy desires. Throughout our creative process here at Sacramento Ballet, I have been piecing these overarching concepts together from the essence of Ron's choreography. Playing the fool, high off the rage of the Charleston provides the boundless excitement, while trifling through rigorous movement as a worker hailing from the valley of ashes creates overwhelming mood. The mood of a dreamer depressed from the stagnation of un-improving circumstance. Then, of course, there are the main characters themselves. For that take, however, I think we'll just have to see the show. I mean, this is the party we don't want to miss...
-Jackson J.
