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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2012)
B RAVO! EUGE NE WE E KLY’ S FAL L GUID E TO T HE PERF ORMI NG ARTS DEVANT SIDE OF THE MOON Ballerinas and brewers take on Pink Floyd B eer and ballet. The combination is so Eugene it’s a wonder this isn’t already a decades-long tradition. It certainly isn’t any more unusual than watching cyclists smoke cigarettes as they lum- ber down Willamette Street, for exam- ple, so an event which brings both of these things together should be something that will please and amuse many. As part of the Hult Center’s 30th birthday celebration, the Eugene Ballet Company (EBC) will be joining forces with Oakshire Brewing and local band the Floydian Slips to perform Toni Pimble’s ballet, Dark Side of the Moon, Oct. 13 and 14. The Pink Floyd album-based ballet, which first premiered in Eugene in 2010, was well- received by audiences then, and there have been numerous requests for an encore performance in the two-plus years that have passed. Pimble has been humbled by the outpouring of support and remains in awe because of this. “I cannot remember having such consistent requests to repeat a ballet, especially only two years after its premiere,” she says. The performance of this ballet has such a level of excitement attached to it that the night can only prove epic for those in the audience. Add to this the fact that local band the Floydian Slips will play the entire legendary Pink Floyd album as the And of course, for some, there is the most exciting element of the performance to consider: the alcohol. Oakshire Brewing will be premiering an all-new brew, Pearl Red, as part of the opening night festivities, so attendees will have the chance to get their drink on, their rock on and their culture on, all in one fell swoop. You can’t do that every night, that’s for sure. But there’s more. Two additional ballets will also be performed that evening: Light Rain and Channel Surfing. Light Rain, which was choreographed by the late Gerald Arpino of the Joffrey Ballet Company until his death in 2008, will be set by Maia Wilkins, a former ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet Company. The ballet will be accompanied by the original East/West fusion-style score by Douglas Adamz and Russ Gauthier. Arpino envisioned this ballet as a love letter to talented PHOTO BY CLIFF COLES young male and female performers. members of the EBC interpret the album’s themes of “It is my gift to these talented youngsters who conflict, greed, mental illness and the passage of time, and are the artists of the ’80s,” he once said. “I am inspired by there is further cause for excitement. It is a bit like mixing their modes, their rituals, their passions.” traditional musical with rock music a la the long-standing It is worth noting that the EBC is one of the few dance Broadway hit Rent — at first glance you think it can’t companies in America that has permission to perform Light possibly work, but then you recognize this combination as Rain, which remains one of the Joffrey Ballet Company’s being the absurd stroke of genius that it is, and you marvel signature and most requested works. that it took this long for someone to think of the idea. And finally, Channel Surfing — a humorous piece that Many of the dancers who will be performing this time will also be choreographed by Pimble — will be performed around are new to the production, with the exception of by the male dancers in the EBC. The dancers will showcase Juan Carlos Amy-Cordero, who returns for another their athleticism in a series of sports vignettes, and in performance and will be the featured dancer for “Breathe” addition, a Don Quixote pas de deux will be performed by and “Time.” “Us & Them” will be interpreted by Yoshie the ballet’s principal dancers, Amy-Cordero and Oshima. Oshima, Takeru Anzai, Mark Tucker and Heather Wallace. This eclectic combination of elements promises to Suzanne Haag will be featured in “Great Gig in the Sky,” make for one heck of an entertaining evening for all who “Brain Damage” and “On the Run,” and this last track will attend. Are you in? — Brian Palmer also include performances by Anzai, Aoi Anraku and Betty Dark Side of the Moon performed by the Eugene Ballet Company and accompanied by Floydian Slips, 7:30pm Tuesday, Oct. 13th, Hult Center, $22-$48. Kondo (who will also be the principal dancer in “Money”). Freudian Slip #%$ + + The Very Little Theatre's 84 th SEASON! FIVE GREAT PLAYS, ONLY $70 Arsenic and Old Lace Oct. 12–27 The Classic Comedy by Joseph Kesselring Sherlock Holmes: the Final Adventure Based on the play by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Jan. 11–26 La Cage aux Folles March 8–30 The Tony Award-Winning Musical! Book by Harvey Fierstein, Music & Lyrics by Jerry Herman Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean May 31–June 15 A Drama by Ed Graczyk ((($!"#& $"! !"(%)$ "&$ ! &# !(%#!&"%% #%#% !( %!( & " '#) ) The Cripple of Inishmaan July 26–August 10 A Comedy-Drama by Martin McDonagh *5($76(/(&7,212)'$7(6 7,&.(7)/(;,%,/,7< $66,67('+($5,1*'(9,&(6 23(1,1*1,*+7*$/$6 For more about the season and VXEVFULEHUEHQH¿WVFKHFNRXU website or call 541-344-7751 for our season brochure. www.TheVLT.com eugeneweekly.com • September 27, 2012 33
