DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST PRESENTS HISTORICAL FOKINE MASTERPIECE
By Melanie Kirk-Stauffer
On June 20th at 7:00 pm and on June 21st at 4:00 pm Dance Theatre Northwest will present full length performances of Les Sylphides at the Mount Tahoma High School Auditorium. Originally titled Chopiniana by its creator Michael Fokine, Les Sylphides has great historical significance; a ballet with no plot or theme, it is an atmospheric masterpiece set in a moonlit glade that helped to usher in the period of experimentalism in ballet.
In Les Sylphides, the dancers exist merely as themselves and for the beauty they create in a magical design of dance pieces set to music by Frederick Chopin. The buoyant movements and airy costumes with transparent wings create an ethereal scene like no other. This ballet, so full of enchantment, leaves its mark on every viewer, as it has historically on everyone in the world of ballet and classical dance. Les Sylphides features professional performers Vadne Domeika and Chhay Mam. The beautiful moonlit forest backdrop is being painted by well known Tacoma artist Renee Healey.

A first in the history of classical ballet, Les Sylphides is an important link in the advancement of ballet as a theatrical art form. While it uses ballet’s technical strengths, it also adds theatrical appeal by creating a dramatic presentation with the requirement that each dancer dig deep into his or her sense of self expression and spirituality to literally become the almost weightless presence of the sylphs on stage. This ballet is remarkable in its ability to affect its audience in a way that no other can and its performances will leave a lasting impression on Tacoma area audiences and artists for its enduring beauty and significance.
Les Sylphides embodies the idea of a new form of ballet that includes round arm lines, gestures and movements that directly support the theatrical aspect of the ballet, a harmonious use of the corps de ballet, and a move away from purely technical classical dance to a unified presentation of background, dance, staging and drama.

The first formal full length performances will be presented at the Mount Tahoma High School Auditorium at 4634 South 74th, Tacoma, Washington, 98409 on Saturday, June 20th at 7:00pm and on Sunday, June 21st at 4:00pm, 2009.

Even though DTN has received generous support from the Pierce County Arts Commission, Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Foundation, Lasting Beauty, the May Bell Hansen Memorial Fund, and the John Richard Lathrop Memorial Fund, Elartech, a Matching Grant, and numerous individuals, groups and small businesses, there is a modest admission charge. Visit our website for more information: www.dancetheatrenorthwest.org.  Call today for tickets: 253-565-5149.

More information will be posted soon
DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST
WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL formal concerts as well as
FREE PERFORMANCES IN 2009
LOCATIONS, DATES AND TIMES
TO BE ANNOUNCED