Fall Ballet: Steps in Time Held At Indiana University Ballet Theater 10/7-8

Indiana University Ballet Theater opens its 2011-2012 season of ballet productions Oct. 7-8 with Steps in Time, a diverse display of works by three revolutionary American choreographers from the 20th and 21st centuries who have played leading roles in rejuvenating the international art of ballet.

Beginning with the iconic "Concerto Barrocco," choreographed by ballet genius George Balanchine and set to a live performance of the Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins by J. S. Bach, the program moves to "Dear Frédéric" by Dwight Rhoden, which is set to piano works by Frédéric Chopin and Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji. Completing the shift away from traditional ballet, Paul Taylor's "Company B" uses music by the Andrews Sisters to evoke the times, music and dance styles of the World War II era.

"The evening is a feast of dance and choreographic entertainment that is in keeping with the current trend of IU Ballet Theatre," said Michael Vernon, artistic director of IUBT and chair of the ballet department in the IU Jacobs School of Music. "It's also an excellent example of programming major companies in the U.S. and abroad are using today."

George Balanchine is regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet. A major artistic figure of the 20th century, he revolutionized the look of classical ballet by heightening, quickening, expanding, streamlining and even inverting the fundamentals of the 400-year-old dance language. Although at first his style seemed particularly suited to the energy and speed of American dancers, especially those he trained in New York, his ballets are now performed by all the major classical ballet companies throughout the world.

The founding artistic director and resident choreographer of New York-based Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dwight Rhoden is considered one of the most sought-after choreographers in contemporary ballet. With a boundary-breaking sensibility and visionary style, he seamlessly mixes classical ballet with jazz and street moves, resulting in a physical language that is both poetic and explosive.

Paul Taylor is the last living member of the pantheon that created America's indigenous art of modern dance. At an age when most artists' best work is behind them, he continues to win acclaim for the vibrancy, relevance and power of his recent dances as well as his classics. Taylor is known for his wide-ranging musical taste and has set dances to ragtime, reggae and rock, tango, Tin Pan Alley and barbershop quartets; works by baroque masters Bach, Boyce and Handel and iconoclasts Feldman, Ligeti and Varése; even monotonous time announcements, plaintive loon calls and hysterical laughter.

Steps in Time will be danced by students in the Jacobs School of Music's ballet department, many of whom have been featured on stage in recent productions such as The Nutcracker, A Choreographer's Evening, and New York, New York. Collaborating instrumentalists are students and faculty in Jacobs School of Music, as well as soloists from the pre-college String Academy.

Tickets are on sale now through the Musical Arts Center box office, 812-855-7433, online at http://music.indiana.edu/ballet or at any Ticketmaster location.

For more information about the Jacobs School of Music, see http://music.indiana.edu.