Ballet season opens with 'Les Sylphides'

"Les Sylphides" will open IU Ballet Theatre's fall program at 8 p.m. Friday in the Musical Arts Center. It is a Mikhail Fokine ballet, choreographed in 1908, set to the music of Fredric Chopin. "Les Sylphides" is a monumental piece of dance that has withstood the test of time and continues to be performed by ballet companies across the globe.\nThe ballet itself has no official plot but instead is a suite of dances set in a romantic atmosphere. The characters of the ballet -- sylphides, or sylph-like magical creatures -- dance with a "poet," as he is called. \n"The dancer's movements to music invoke the romantic imagination to a story of its own," according to George Balanchine in his "Complete Stories of the Great Ballets." "It is the music, and the care with which the classical dance embodies it, that tells us the story of these magical creatures who dance in the light of the moon."\nThe ballet is composed of 8 sections, which will be performed by the dancers of the IU ballet department. The "pas de deux" will be danced by senior Laurie Basloe and junior John Gluckman. \nThe female dancers will be dressed in sylph-like costumes of white mesh intended to add to the romantic essence of the performance. \nBecause of its name, "Les Sylphides" is often confused with the ballet entitled "La Sylphide." The two are very different ballets. "La Sylphide" was choreographed in 1832 by Philippe Taglioni, but is most known for its later adaptation, created in 1836 by Danish choreographer Auguste Bournoville. "Les Syphildes" was originally titled "Chopiniana" after Chopin. The name was changed for the Paris premiere of the ballet due to the confusion among the audience with "La Sylphide."\nVirginia Cesbron, chair of the ballet department, said she is excited to have the School of Music professor and concert pianist Emile Naoumoff playing the music for "Les Sylphides" live for the performances. \n"Les Sylphides" has been staged for the fall program by former ballerina Anya Evans, who will join the faculty as a visiting professor. Cesbron said she is proud to have such an established dancer working in conjunction with the department. \nEvans began her training in New York City and moved on to dance with ballet companies both in the United States and in Europe. In 1969, she was accepted into the prestigious Royal Ballet as a soloist and was the first dancer admitted into England's exclusive ballet company without having the training of the Royal Ballet School. After a solid career of dancing, Evans began a new adventure as an instructor of dance. She came to Indiana this fall to share her expertise.\n"Les Sylphides" has survived close to 100 years as a staple ballet in the repertoire of ballet companies all over the world. IU Ballet Theatre's performance staged by Evans, played by Naoumoff and danced by the department will give its audience a very professional production of a fundamental ballet in dance history.