Experience Ballet In The Wild: OBT Exposed Returns
August 20 - 24 In Director Park
August 20th through the 24th, OBT will move their dance studios outdoors to Director Park in downtown Portland, offering visitors of all ages the opportunity to sneak a peek inside the choreographic process. Thanks to a collaboration with 2000 White Bird Dance, this year’s OBT Exposed will be a Choreographic Institute featuring international choreographer Pontus Lidberg. Dance lovers of all ages will have the opportunity to watch as Lidberg works with OBT dancers to develop a new contemporary work featuring music by Portland-born, Julliard-trained classical composer Ryan Francis that will premiere in April as part of OBT’s American Music Festival program.
This project represents the first official collaboration between Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon’s leading resident ballet company, and White Bird, the sole dance-only presenter west of the Rockies. OBT Artistic Director Christopher Stowell and White Bird Co-Founders Walter Jaffe and Paul King agreed on the selection of Pontus Lidberg for the Choreographic Institute in light of his growing reputation as a gifted young choreographer who uses classical ballet as a springboard for inventive new work that he often combines with film. One of Lidberg’s acclaimed films will be shown on August 7 during the weeklong residency.
The week will also feature FREE daily creative movement classes for kids, showings of dance films and a lecture/demonstration with Pontus Lidberg.
OBT Exposed Featured Events and Activities
COMPANY CLASS | Daily, 11:00 am - 12:15 pm
Watch the dancers take their daily class, designed to perfect their technique and develop the physical and artistic qualities required of classical dancers. The class begins with barre exercises and continues with complicated combinations of turns and jumps culminating in virtuoso athleticism.
REHEARSAL OF A WORLD PREMIERE| Daily, 12:30 pm -3:00 pm, 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Choreographer Pontus Lidberg works with 6 company dancers to develop a new ballet to premiere in April.
FREE DANCE CLASS FOR CHILDREN
Daily, 3:05 pm to 3:35 pm
The littlest Oregonians are invited to try their moves on stage in a free children’s class led by OBT’s Education & Outreach department. Participation is limited to 30 children aged 6 to 15 and will be available on a first come, first served basis starting ½ an hour before each class.
ASK PONTUS | Daily, 3:45 pm
Audience members throughout the day will have the opportunity to submit questions for Pontus about the work being developed. Each day before the start of afternoon rehearsal a brief Q&A will take place where Pontus and Artistic Director Christopher Stowell will answer the questions posed by the audience. A twitter feed will run concurrently throughout the day as well to keep audience members up to speed on what and who they are seeing, at hashtag #pontus.
FREE DANCE CLASS FOR ADULTS | Tues, August 21st at 6:30 pm
Adult students of all skill levels are welcome in this free adult class. Participation is limited to 30 people on a first come, first served basis starting ½ an hour before each class.
PONTUS FILM SHOWING | Wed, August 22nd, 8:00 pm
Watch the Pontus Lidberg dance film entitled Rain, with Q&A afterward with Mr. Lidberg.
PONTUS LECTURE/DEMONSTRATION | Thurs, August 23rd, 6:30 pm
Gain insight into the choreographic process with this lecture demonstration exploring some of the movement vocabulary and creative impulses that drive Lidberg’s creative work.
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