SHOW TIME!

Opening night was so exciting.  The dancers and I had a blast performing last night - especially to the incredible live music.  I can't wait to do it again tonight, tomorrow and Sunday!  Theater week is always hectic; there are a million parts to put a show like this together and it involves not just the dancers of course, but stagehands, musicians, singers, wardrobe, wig experts, lighting directors, parent volunteers, ushers, and many more behind the scenes hands to help.  What is truly incredible is that all of these people work together to make the show a resounding success - smoothly run and entertaining as heck!  As the band played one last hit and we bowed for our standing ovation last night, everyone that worked so hard to make the show come off was practically intoxicated with joy.  I am elated to part of this show; Ron Cunningham has created a masterpiece ballet out of "The Great Gatsby" and to my fellow co-workers, thank you for investing your heart and soul into this piece - I am humbled to work with such incredible artists!

Okay, so get your tickets, tell your friends and come see this show! 

See some fantastic photos from Keith Sutter here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151405405355690.501849.242064105689&type=1

Read a review from Opening Night here: http://www.examiner.com/review/world-premiere-of-the-sacramento-ballet-s-the-great-gatsby-was-spectacular

~ Alexandra Cunningham

A Great Appeal

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.

So what was happening in the world in 1922?

So what was happening in the world in 1922?

• The year begins with the British Empire at its largest extent, covering a quarter of the world and ruling over one in four people on earth.
• Christian K. Nelson patents the Eskimo Pie
• Knickerbocker Storm: Snowfall from the biggest-ever recorded snowstorm in Washington D.C causes the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre to collapse, killing 98.
• Pope Pius XI (Achille Ratti) succeeds Pope Benedict XV as the 259th pope.
•  Irish American film director William Desmond Taylor is found murdered at his home in Los Angeles; the case is never solved.
• President of the United States Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House
• Mohandas Gandhi is arrested in Bombay for sedition.
• Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party.
•  In The Bronx, construction begins on Yankee Stadium.
•  A 20-ton meteorite lands near Blackstone, Virginia, USA.
•  Sergei Diaghilev, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Proust and Igor Stravinsky dine together in Paris, at the Majestic hotel, their only joint meeting.
• U.S. President Warren G. Harding makes his first speech on the radio.
•  Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi becomes Reigning Prince Louis II of Monaco.
•  The Hollywood Bowl opens.
•  A typhoon hits Shantou, China, killing more than 50,000 people.
•  The highest temperature in recorded history is taken in at 136.4 degrees F (58 degrees C), in El Aziziyah, Libya in the shade.
•  Hungary joins the League of Nations.
•  Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest ever Prime Minister of Italy at age 39.
•  Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.
•  The California grizzly bear becomes extinct.

- Oliver

Gatsby and Who Cares as an Apprentice

Let me start by saying that I am having an absolute blast with this repertoire. George Balanchine's "Who Cares" and Ron Cunningham's "The Great Gatsby"  have challenged me more than any other show I've performed with the Sacramento Ballet. Not only is the choreography in each ballet physically exhausting, each piece has really put me to the test mentally. The music in Ron's "Gatsby" is fabulous and perfectly emblematic of the "roaring twenties". When it isn't slow and sexy, the music is lightning fast and must be matched by highly energetic and intricate footwork. I think that audience members are going to enjoy seeing how Ron has so creatively meshed together two forms of dance- classical Ballet and the Charleston. I also believe that patrons are going to enjoy the music in each Ballet. The fun, high-energy big-band music in "Gatsby" is paired with some of George Gershwin's most famous songs in George Balanchine's "Who Cares" which I have no doubt that the audience will love the choreography for as well. Much like Ron's choreography for "Gatsby", Balanchine's choreography for "Who Cares" is very high-energy, intricate and difficult. I personally have Mr. Balanchine to thank for a sprained ankle last Tuesday which I am finally almost fully recovered from. All jokes aside though, this repertoire has been really good for me as a dancer. It has challenged me both physically and mentally and I'm thrilled to soon include each of them in my dancing credits!

-Alex Stewart

The Great Gatsby; Inspiration from an Era of Extravagance 

For over a month now, the staff and dancers at Sacramento Ballet  have been working hard to design, create and perfect Ron Cunningham’s “The Great Gatsby”. As you can imagine, our studios have been booming with big band jazz music as dancers bustle from rehearsal to rehearsal, learning to “Charleston” in pointe shoes. Honestly, it has been an absolute blast! I can’t think of a better way to spend my day than dancing my heart out at an extravagant 1920’s blow-out party! But what’s a “roaring twenties” prohibition bash without fringe, feathers and flashy finery?! Thanks to our wonderful costume department, all of the dancers will be decked out in dazzling 1920’s costumes, complete with long strings of pearls and sparkling headbands. 

Now, all of this time spent emulating such a luxurious era has truly inspired a lot of the dancers! This past weekend, me and two of my friends, Maggie and Karina, decided to have a twenties themed girls night in preparation for not only the upcoming show of Gatsby, but also the “Prohibition Party” hosted by Sacramento Ballet (which is sure to be a night to remember!). The three of us spent our Saturday evening scouring the mall for twenties style dresses and accessories. We found ourselves astonished at how intensely the 1920’s affected modern fashion! What we expected to be a struggle for suitable costumes, turned out to be a struggle to decide what to purchase out of the abundance of “twenties-esque” accessories! After we had thoroughly exhausted ourselves with shopping (and Cinnabons...) we headed back home and watched “Midnight in Paris” to continue our vintage theme.

Needless to say, we had an amazing night filled with excitement and anticipation for our upcoming production. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I can’t imagine a more thrilling and exhilarating job than the one that we have the great fortune of doing. Working on “The Great Gatsby” has been an absolute joy and I can hardly wait to move into the theater and start performing! Come join us February 7th through 10th and find yourself inspired by “an extraordinary gift for hope” amidst the glamour and frivolity of the fabulous 1920’s! 

Sarah Hicks

Fun, fun, fun!

This being my first year in a professional ballet company, I am especially excited to be performing in Ron Cunningham's newest ballet, The Great Gatsby. To not only be able to see, but to be a part of, a brand new production as it's being choreographed, is amazing. Slowly, all the scenes start to make sense and you can really see a fantastic story being put together right in front of your eyes and I get to be in it! It's such a blast to rehearse and I can't wait to perform it! The Great Gatsby promises to be full of drama, energy and the best party dance ever created, the Charleston!

- Jarrett