To mark the opening of its landmark 40th season, The Ruby Season, Nashville Ballet brings If I Can Dream to TPAC October 10 — 12. Set to the music of Elvis Presley, choreographer Travis Bradley fuses classical ballet with rock & roll rhythm in this heartfelt homage to an American icon. To demonstrate the enduring power of dance, Nashville Ballet pairs Bradley’s work with George Balanchine’s sparkling masterpiece, Rubies, and renowned choreographer Jiří Kylián’s Un Ballo.
The evening begins with Nashville Ballet’s performance of Balanchine’s Rubies
Accompanied by the Nashville Symphony performing Igor Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, the evening begins with Balanchine’s Rubies. First performed in 1967, Rubies is one of three movements from Jewels, which Balanchine created for the New York City Ballet. In a review of the inaugural performance for the New York Times, critic Clive Barnes wrote: “Rubies is the most scintillating of the three pieces; it is witty, off-beat, and choreographed in that special style of character-classicism that started with the strange visual harmonies of [Balanchine’s 1946] The Four Temperaments.”
In view of Nilas Martins‘ staging on behalf of the George Balanchine Trust, Nashville Ballet’s performance promises to bring the rhythmic vitality and fiery elegance of Rubies to the Polk Theatre stage.
Kylián’s Un Ballo adds themes of transience and the metaphysical
Contrasting the neoclassical clarity of Rubies is the contemporary depth and emotional nuance of Kylián’s Un Ballo (A Ball). The prolific Czech choreographer sought to create an etude for the young dancers of the Nederlands Dans Theater II, “to develop their musicality, the art of pas de deux, and their sensibility in general.” However, the underlying theme of transience and passing lends the 1991 piece an emotional weight well-positioned in the evening’s oeuvre.
Two pieces by Maurice Ravel, the Forlane from Le Tombeau de Couperin and Pavane pour une infante défunte, performed by the Nashville Symphony, are the musical accompaniment. Each serves as a requiem, expressly chosen by Kylián for this reason. He cites Diego Velásquez’s portraits of Spanish princesses as his visual inspiration, saying, “Although these vulnerable faces of children are so sensitively painted, they cannot disguise the fact that death is just around the corner.”
Showcasing the extraordinary range and versatility of the Nashville Ballet company, staging by Travis Bradley brings Un Ballo to life at TPAC.
If I Can Dream brings the evening to a rock & roll close
The audience favorite from the 2024 Nashville Dance Festival, If I Can Dream promises a powerful close to an evening of wide-ranging emotion. Set to original recordings by the King of Rock & Roll, Travis Bradley’s choreography infuses his work with the soul, spirit, and reverence due this legendary icon. Rhythm and rebellion combine with the electric to bring the evening’s energy fully into the present. The inaugural performance at Belmont’s Fisher Center literally brought the curtain down!
Bradley discusses the project during a recent interview with the Ballet’s Briona Richardson on the Inside the Ballet podcast.
“It’s about six tracks of music,“ he says of the musical accompaniment. “And what I love about it is that it spans decades of time. So you get a little flirtation with ‘Kiss Me Quick.‘
“You get a little more heartfelt and longing with ‘It Hurts Me.‘ And then you kind of close it out with ‘If I Can Dream‘ — with this kind of glimmer of hope that’s just hoping for all of us to be better in life.”
Indeed, there’s something for every ballet lover throughout the evening, as the company moves from the 6/8 time of Stravinsky to the four on the floor rock & roll of Elvis. Nashville Ballet’s artistic director, Nick Mullikin, once again brings the contemporary and the classical together for an unforgettable show.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 11 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 12 at 2 p.m.
All performances are held the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Polk Theatre
Tickets are available at the TPAC box office