Ballet Ensemble of Texas’ A Celebration of Dance

Ballet Ensemble of Texas (BET), one of Dallas’ best-reviewed pre-professional ballet companies, will present its annual A Celebration of Dance on Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10 at 7:30pm at the Irving Arts Center. The mixed repertoire program includes George Skibine’s Firebird; Swan Lake, Act 2, featuring American Ballet Theatre guest artists; Gerald Arpino’s Confetti; and two premieres by resident choreographers Jenny Johnston and Tammie Reinsch.

For more information, visit balletensembleoftexas.org. Please note that masks are still required. Capacity remains limited and COVID protocols remain in place.

Firebird
George Skibine’s Firebird, based on Russian folk tales of the mythical creature, has been a Dallas audience favorite for more than 50 years. This is the third staging of the ballet for BET by Clower, the repetiteur of the Skibine estate. Skibine re-choreographed the ballet for the Paris Opera from the original 1910 version by Michel Fokine set to Igor Stravinsky’s famous score for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe.

Many of the costumes in the BET production are from Skibine’s Paris Opera Ballet production and the Harkness Ballet where he was subsequently artistic director. Skibine arrived in Dallas in 1969 as artistic director of Dallas Civic Ballet, and in 1975 founded professional dance in North Texas. The silk of the princess dresses and the leather of the creatures are literally “dancing history.”

Confetti
BET is proud to present Gerald Arpino's Confetti, created on Joffrey Ballet in 1970. Like its title, the brightly colored ballet is light and fluttery, and is a piece performed many times by BET Founding Director Lisa Slagle during her career with Joffrey Ballet. BET is the only pre-professional company granted permission to perform this work.

Two Premieres
BET continues to add to its own repertoire history with two premiere pieces by resident choreographers Jenny Johnston and Tammie Reinsch. Ms. Johnston challenges BET dancers with contemporary movement in Spatial Percussion, set to a strong percussive beat by John Mackey. Ms. Reinsch’s duet In a Nutshell is a concentrated, fast-paced homage to The Nutcracker that takes Clara on a whirlwind journey to the familiar Land of Sweets where all the dreamlike treats come to life in less than four minutes.