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
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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,
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A Drama by Ed Graczyk
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For more about the season and
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website or call 541-344-7751
for our season brochure.
www.TheVLT.com
eugeneweekly.com • September 27, 2012
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