Getting the chance to choreograph new pieces allows dancers the chance to step outside their comfort zones and express themselves in a different way. Each year, Ballet Tucson highlights these emerging choreographers as part of their annual event “Footprints at the Fox.”
This showcase will open the season on Thursday, Sept. 19.
As part of this performance, audience members have a chance to vote on their favorites. The winning work will be staged again during the company’s fall concert “Spirit Garden,” which will run Friday to Sunday, Nov. 1 to 3 at Leo Rich Theater. This concert will also feature “Swan Lake” Act II and Chieko Imada’s Dia de Los Muertos inspired piece “Spirit Garden.”
“Footprints at the Fox” will be followed by a Q&A with the choreographers, which will be moderated by artistic director, Margaret Mullin.
Ballet Tucson started to put on the event in 2006. In the past, the company invited outside choreographers to present their pieces. Recently, it has been more focused around company dancers’ work.
The pieces don’t have to be ballet-focused. Mullin said they can be whatever the choreographer chooses. She said this year, they aren’t all ballet-based.
“I think that’s reflective of our group of dancers,” Mullin said. “We have a really versatile group of dancers. Our rep within the mainstage season has expanded so much that we look for dancers that have a variety of skill sets beyond just traditional, classical ballet. That’s definitely showing up in their work because this is a group that has all trained in a variety of styles. They are interested to explore many things that they grew up learning.”
This year, dancers are bringing pieces inspired by Scandinavian folk tales, the Greek god Pan and Russian character dance. Other works explore topics such as complicated relationships from childhood viewed through a different lens as an adult.
Mullin has noticed that audiences seem to like a variety of different works.
“I will say over the last two years, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see people step out of their comfort zones, as far as our audience,” Mullin said. “My very first year back in Tucson, when I was associate artistic director, within the top five, every single one of those pieces that the audience responded to was a ballet piece, very traditional ballet, pointe shoes…. Over the last few years, I’ve been seeing the audience get a lot more adventurous, which has been exciting. Some ballet, some contemporary, some provocative narrative things that I wasn’t sure how people would feel they could relate to, they have really responded to.…We’ve been working within our mainstage season to really diversify our (repertoire), and I think people are starting to realize the depth and breadth of all that ballet dancers can do and all that ballet can be, including encapsulating contemporary dance.”
Mullin said that the competition will feature a mix of eight new and returning choreographers, including the top three from last year. She explained for dancers who are new to choreographing, it can be a good chance for them to grow in their abilities.
“One of the dancers, it’s her first time choreographing,” Mullin said. “She was so nervous to present it and so nervous for the feedback. This is a safe space and time to build that muscle around expressing your creativity in different ways.”
When applying, dancers are required to submit a formal proposal with information such as the approximate number of dancers, their music of choice, the style of the piece and the type of footwear. They also have to provide an abstract, or overview of the piece, in which they detail if there is a narrative, what their piece was inspired by, what type of story they are hoping to tell and what type of costume ideas they have in mind.
“A lot of that was driven by a mentor of mine that we actually perform work by,” Mullin said. “His name is Kiyon Ross. He’s the associate artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle…. He himself being a choreographer went through the experience as an early-stage choreographer, reaching out to companies, trying to get work on the stage…When writing to a ballet company to create a work, he had to provide a decent amount of information. You have to be able to articulate your vision for the ballet and that you have definite intent around what you are hoping to create for that company. So, it’s trying to get them the skill set of knowing how to market themselves in that way and knowing how to articulate their vision.”
Dancers have four weeks in the studio and two days in the theater to prepare. Throughout the process, the company’s artistic staff is available to assist them. The dancers are required to utilize an ensemble of at least four dancers, although they can incorporate solos or duets within their pieces. They are able to have up to 10 or 11 dancers. The works feature a mix of company and apprentice dancers, who are the younger and newer members of the company.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to shine in ways that they might not otherwise the rest of the season, and it’s also a great chance for our artistic staff to evaluate the apprentices in a variety of ways heading into the main season,” Mullin said. “We might see things in a young dancer that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise going into normal rep like ‘The Nutcracker…’ We get to see them stand out a bit more and see if we want to select people to push in various portions of the season beyond the normal apprentice workload.”
All of the apprentices are 18 and older. A number of them graduated from university dance programs, including the University of Arizona’s. Others have worked with other companies in other parts of the country. A few of the current apprentices started out with the company’s school, the School of Ballet Tucson, as young children.
Within the school, the students take a variety of different classes, including jazz, lyrical, modern, tap and choreography classes. Mullin said it is important to be well-rounded as a dancer.
“When you go out into the dance world, if you want a career in dance, even if it’s with a ballet company, this is the reality of ballet companies now, not just Ballet Tucson,” she said.
Mullin is an alumnus of the school. She got her start as a choreographer while taking a choreography class with them.
“Seeing that program, it definitely inspired me to pursue choreographic work with other places,” Mullin said.
Upper-level students from the school, who are taking choreography classes, have a chance to come into the studio to see the dancers’ pieces in progress. They are also given the night off from classes so that they can attend the event at the Fox.
“It’s such a cool opportunity for them to see such a variety in dance,” Mullin said. “It really seems to get a lot of young people excited.”
Footprints at the Fox
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19
WHERE: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: $22 to $35
INFO: 520-547-3040, ballettucson.org/footprints-at-the-fox
Spirit Garden
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3
WHERE: Leo Rich Theater, 260 S. Church Street, Tucson
COST: $34
INFO: ballettucson.org/spirit-garden
