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Show 'll I Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, February Marks Takes Ballet West in New Directions Salt Lake Citys Ballet is last becoming a major repertory dance company. It is remarkable really that a city so small has so fine a company. Already Ballet West is nationally renowned. It has toured many of the nations major cities with its repertoire and has received rave reviews. Now, artistic director Bruce Marks would like to see it become one of the countrys major companies and perhaps an international company. 4 '4 I That is why he attacks epic tales such as and and "Don Juan Quixote interprets them from a 20th century point of view. Each of his ballets could well become one of the new classics he talks about donating to the next generation. Some companies are committed to the repertoire of the past, he said. But Ballet West not only can do 19th century ballet. It also has the flexibility to dance new ballet. Thats where the contribution lies w e can give something to the 21st century. Marks is trying to build as quickly as possible a unique repertoire with which the ballet can tour the nation That, he believes, is the secret of becoming one of the nations major dance companies. Don r Marks, who is himself an internationally famed danseur and choreographer, feels the company, as Wiliam F. Christensen has built it, has the most potential of any ballet company in America. i As artistic director, Marks hopes to lead Ballet West in new directions toward becoming a nationally prominent company. And why not? Marks has all the qualifications to take the ballet to its artistic limit. His credentials are impressive indeed principal dancer with American Ballet Theater, celebrated premier danseur with the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen. (He has also choregraphed works for that company.) Marks has definite plans of bringing 3allet West to the forefront of American ballet. He firmly believes one of the keys is for the ballet to have its own unique repertoire. Already Marks is making fascinating progress toward that quest. The company has a number of original ballets in its repertory, including several world premiers choreographed by Marks himself. There was his Don Quixote in the 1977-7- 8 season. Marks first ballet, it was dubbed the outstanding dance event of 1977, a standout in a season, by one critic. full-leng- th earlier given the company his world premiere of Don Juan in the Discovery Season program in February of He had 1976. Then was Songs of the Valley. earlier this month he presented his latest world premiere, the spectacular And "Sanctus, an amazing combination of two artistic worlds. Marks has done more, perhaps, than any other artist to bring Ballet West its own Cl 0 Already, Ballet West is renowned for its the brain child of Wiliam Christensen. We are known to have the best Nutcracker in America, he said. "And that is not local prejudice. Ballet West's version is the Nutcracker. Nutcracker, Bruce Marks, Ballet West unique look. It is a task he finds taxing, as well as challenging. The job of presenting a big classical company is extremely difficult, he said. Of course we must pay attention to the classics. But we also have to make a contribution to the next generation. So we Coppelia perform The Nutcracker, and Giselle, at the same time creating new classics for the repertory. That can be an awesome task. But, it is a task Marks is meeting with finesse and grandeur. The company and his dances work beautifully together. With 20 years of hard work, Ballet West Artistic Director Wiliam Christensen two years ago handed Marks an accomplished company that would measure up to his demanding ballets. Marks feels very strongly that the new ballets are vital to the companys national success. The company must have new it must have its own look. ballets ... row it-- 0 to- - mi - 14- - IlYiliifi JOmO SfcMWfcJll). 'T 'ill)') ox' 0 Iff- - EiVgXlRC: IDCSfe 'IfclilDFJSOii dii' CEiarj mi; 2 Marks came to Salt Lake City two years ago with his wife Toni Lander, also an internationally celebrated ballerina with the Royal Danish Ballet. The move has proved a beneficial one both for Marks and the ballet. Here, we can do what we want, he said. Bill Christensen had built such a good company that there was nothing to break down, only something to build up. Marks has continued in Christensens tradition to raise the standard of the company. If I succeed here, Ill have a company I can believe in, he said. Ive been a dancer for 25 years and Ive criticized other choreographers. Now I have to prove my way will work. Marks is highly respected by the dancers in the company. He is an artist who possesses that personal magnetism and Salt Lake City is Utahs buquerque Dance cultural mecca of sorts. Theatre and art shows Three major dance from the Utah Museum companies, its own sym- of Fine Arts plus many other cultural programs phony and opera, numerwere seen by rural audious theaters and art galences thanks to the tour. leries. in The theatre troupes of a life that Its fact Utah, most cultural at- and music ensembles tractions and perfor- traveling with the conmances are found in sortium also offer workmore populated areas, shops, lecturedemon-stration- s and miniespecially those with close access to colleges concerts in conjunction with their comn unity and universities. performances. excitNow, there is an Greater efficiency in ing new program to the touring program has spread that rich assortment of arts to rural been achieved by dividcommunities throughout ing Utah into four touring districts. Performers arthe state. to tour the state in For the past year, the range four circuits regional Rural Arts Consortium Tour has been bringing which have been designated as Color Country theater, music, dance Canyonland and' the visual arts to Arts, Mountain Counrural communities that Arts, dont often have the op- try Arts, and Great Salt Lake Arts. portunity' of funds to The region system has enjoy many of the states enabled the tour to work fine arts. The program is funded up a package arrangefive by the Division of Fine ment, offering of touring proArts and the National groupings in conEndowment for the Arts ductions varying to each tent and price with the rural communiregion. rety funding the mainder. Packages include Deseret String Band, Bill In its 1976-7- 7 season, Dance the statewide tour deli- Evans Seattle Irving Company, to vered 86 performances The Oregon 18 Utah communities. Productions of Taming Mime Troupe, University of Utah Symphony Orof the Shrew, chestra or even a magic Huckleberry Finn, as show. well as musical productions of BYU Symphony Package prices range Band, University of Utah from $1700 to $1900. Community groups Faculty Piar.o Trio, dance from Childrens Al-Dance Theatre, RDT, wishing to sponsor con- sortium programming need no prior experience in presenting performances. A consortium tour coordinator works hand in hand with new sponsors in advance preparation for touring programs. Organizing ticket sales, coordination identifying of facilities, programming with local schools, promotion and publicity are some kinds of assistance available to community sponsors this year. Although anyone in a community (provided they have the resources) can sponsor a tour, tours are more often arranged by the arts council of the community. According to Lyn War- ing, consortium tour program director, one of the tours greatest achievements has been the growth of arts coun- cils throughout communities. rural OPEN TO THE PUBLIC , you wouldn't know. amounting to $17.83 per $1,000 earned in 1976 ranks far above the national average of $11 12 per $1,000 earned, the associations report said. On a per capita basis, Utah ranks sixth in higher education spending with $95 40 per capita. The national average is $71.36 per capita. Utahs high ranking is partly due to its comparatively high college enrollment, the association study showed company. Marks believes that now is an exciting time to be developing a ballet company. Dance is becoming one of the most important art forms, he said. It hasnt had the prestige of the symphony or the opera, but its rapidly getting there. The idea that dance is a performing art equal to other arts is a notion that has held sway only in Denmark and Russia during the 20th century. Now, in America, there is a dance explosion with a reported jump in live audience attendance from one million to 17 million in three years. Ballet is now taught at 11 major universities (the University of Utah included). Regional dance companies have cropped up everywhere. Millions of tickets are sold each year to dance events. The dance explosion is making superstars of dancers like Baryshnikov, Nureyev and Fonteyn. Marks feels that television has been one reason for the increased popularity. Television has been instrumental in bringing the art to the public. Such increased visibility on the home screen has had something to do with the ballet craze. FOR THE FINEST IN million people saw dance on television last year, according to Marks. That has helped put ballet on Mainstreet U.S.A. People are seeing ballet who never saw it before, he said. Companies are touring cities and towns who have not had ballet exposure before. 15 DIAMONDS vvvYsvVa . At a time when Americans are into body consciousness, physical fitness and form, dance is a natural star. Dancers are the heroes of that whole physical awareness movement, he said. I think that best explains the new success of ballet. The beauty of it, the work that goes into it, the discipline of it. Its like a admiring athletes in the Olympics moment of beauty where everyone escapes drudgery. And Ballet West is a beautiful, wonderful part of that intriguing and enchanting world of ballet. When the tours began there were only five arts councils in the state. Today the state can boast of 17 arts councils. The tour is largely responsible for that incredible increase, Waring said. The real growth is in these community arts councils. Were trying to get communities to put arts into their local governments. Cultural enrichment should be as much a part of government as any thing else. The tour is also helping the newly formed councils with a new program called Outreach Assistance. The program utilizes state and federal funds to provide incentive and resources for developing localized arts councils. The tour takes five workshops a year to the newly formed arts councils. Workshops deal with in 1976, Salt Lake City ,.s. 2.0.0-0- " organizational structure and planning, volunteer-ism- , fundraising, sponsorship, promotion and marketing tools, audience development and grantsmanship. The tour is doing much Ads to develop and promote the arts for all the states people. The tour has done more to expose Utahns to a variety of cultural events than anything in years, one community sponsor said. It is filling a real void in many communities and offering residents an alternative to the type of entertainment they have available. But most important, it is advancing enthusiasm and interest in the fine arts in all parts of Utah. are in The aVsNaniu The Little Ads that pay off BIG! Professionally 'Designed Kitchens ART SUPPLIES Was-serma- r Without advertising, for College Deeper i Utah's higher education expenditure to all ho come under his influence. He is an artistic director who is genuinely interested in the individual dancer and his personal growth . . . something he feels is very important to the success of a v, More than He came at the invitation of Christensen director. to serve as O Creatively Planned PICTURE FRAMES Artistically Decorated Work-Savin- g VISIT US! The Professionals Features .-- S7 WOHLERS ART & GALLERY Ph. 262-148- 9 4337 S. State . Complete Remodeling Expertly Installed Exclusively Yours Textured Steel Oxboflke, Quiak JlaxqtCt SfetecCUmi of OPEN MON. FRI. 6 00 P.M. SATS. 9:00 A.M. 5.30P.M. 582-929- 2 Furniture FASHION Woods . Pecan Cherry Walnut Oak Maple Mah ogany Wood f 200 - 1 UNIVERSITY blk. from 1 3th East) i- -M uakevTITaiO Genuine Wooden Kitchens Millet's Mens DESIGNERS AND DECORATORS SPECIALIZING 1344 South 2100 East (2nd So. KITCHENS cabinetry Decorative Formica Qa Suppttei 8 00 AM. 7 Utahns pay a higher portion of their income for higher education than residents of any other state, according to a Utah Taxpayers Association study. humannananism that endears him Arts Spread to Rural Areas . W Right now were not at a point where we can compete with the American Ballet Theatre or the New York Ballet, he said. We must create a repertoire that is unique to Ballet West. If were going to make it, we have to tour our own ba.lets. OO 26, 1978 Come in IN REMODELING Phone 581-006- 6 See our displays |
