State Street Ballet will close out its 2023-24 season with “Other Voices,” featuring the talents of contemporary creators who push boundaries, redefining the art of dance. Performances are 7:30 pm. Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11 at the Lobero Theatre.
With choreography ranging from classical to experimental idioms, the production includes new works — “Corelli Concerto” by Nilas Martins; “The S.I.T.” by Royce Zackery; and “A Warm Window” by Nicole Powell; plus audience-favorites “As We Always Have” by Laurie Eisenhower, and “Common Ground” by Edgar Zendejas.
Classical ballet, contemporary ballet, and modern dance are the disciplines that inform the four short works that open Other Voices. The pieces showcase aspects of these mediums, setting the stage for the integration of performance styles and techniques in the longer finale “Common Ground.”
“Corelli Concerto” is a classical and ballet-focused piece with precise and clean pointe work, set to music by Arcangelo Corelli. Just under eight minutes in length, it features three women who Martins praised for “their understanding of the musicality and the shifts and transitions in dynamic energy that are required for some of the choreographic sequences.”
“Life itself” is the inspiration for choreographer Zackery’s “The S.I.T.” Based on his observations as an educator, Zackery focuses on the human need to “sit with things you’ve gone through, whether good or bad,” and reflect on them.
Zackery has been a contributor to State Street Ballet since 2010
Powell’s “A Warm Window” is about resilience; experiencing the struggle, hurt, growth, stagnation, and joy that makes us human.
The first section of the work depicts a world with a range of emotions and specific memories in an intimate setting. The second section explores joy and playfulness in a group setting, celebrating individual complexities, accomplishments, and perseverance.
Powell describes her artistic goal as celebrating that “life is not always good or happy. But there is beauty in all we experience, and that gives us the power of resilience.”
“As We Always Have,” with music by Ludivico Einaudi and Armand Amar, and choreography by Eisenhower, was last performed by State Street Ballet in 2019. Focused on the cyclical nature of lives, the innovative and unexpected style of this piece makes it a favorite among serious dance watchers and professional dance makers.
The choreography by Edgar Zendejas, set to Max Richter’s recomposition of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” explores evolutions, changes, and the unfolding of lifes’ paths.
Zendejas uses classical pointe work, contemporary movement, and modern dance segments to portray the uniqueness of each of the seasons, culminating in a finale where all styles are performed on stage together, creating a vision of equity through the common language of dance.
“To find a cycle in seasons brings me to the cycles of life that are offered to us as humans,” Zendejas said. “Interaction with others happens from the moment we are born, always changing and always moving, starting from the new to the old of every relationship. Common Ground explores not the changing of the seasons, but the change of seasons within each of us.”
Tickets are available at www.lobero.org, at 805-963-0761, or at the Lobero Theatre box office. Tickets are priced from from $26-$58. Discounts of 20% are available for parties of 10 or more; call the Lobero box office to purchase.
Visit statestreetballet.com for more information.