Ballet West's Firebird

Yesterday I went to a matinee Ballet West performance featuring a trio of ballets celebrating the 60th anniversary of the company.  I definitely prefer full length ballets but, over the years, I have come to appreciate these one-act pieces and I really enjoyed this production.  The first piece, Firebird, is a classical ballet choreographed by Ballet West's founder William Christensen and it is based on a Russian fairy tale with music by Igor Stravinsky (so I obviously loved it).  An Evil Magician (Tyler Gum) keeps a group of princesses captive in his castle and turns the knights who come to rescue them into stone.  A Prince (Jordan Veit) enters the Magician's garden and encounters the Firebird (Amy Potter), a magical creature illuminated by light, and immediately captures her.   In a beautiful Pas de Deux, the Firebird struggles in the Prince's arms so he releases her.  In gratitude, she gives him one of her feathers to use if he is ever in peril.  When the princesses are released into the garden, the Prince woos the loveliest one (Kazlyn Nielsen) in another beautiful Pas de Deux where they vow their love for each other.  He attempts to rescue the Princess but the Magician appears with a group of wild animals, who wear incredible masks created by Logan Long (I especially loved the insects) and wield torches of fire, and tries to turn him into stone.  He reveals the Firebird's feather which summons her to the garden and soon the Magician is defeated (very dramatically), the princesses are released, and the stone knights are brought back to life.  The ballet concludes with the marriage and coronation of the Prince and Princess.  I especially enjoyed Potter's performance as the Firebird, because all of her stylized movements mimic those of a bird, and the traditional Russian costumes in the coronation scene.  Next came the world premiere of Fever Dream which is a modern ballet choreographed by former Ballet West soloist Joshua Whitehead (I liked him when he danced with the company) featuring music that he composed and contemporary costumes.  In this piece, a dreamer is torn between his mundane life and the unsettling and eerie dream world and I loved all of the innovative patterns created by different groups of dancers and the dramatic use of red to highlight some of the dancers.  The final ballet, Stars & Stripes, is a patriotic extravaganza choreographed by George Balanchine with music by John Philip Sousa.  It is divided into five campaigns with three different regiments of dancers, a Pas de Deux, and a thrilling finale and it is meant to mimic a parade with marches in unison and athletic leaps and spins.  My favorite was the second campaign because the regiment was led by my favorite dancer, Katlyn Addison.  The costumes for the women are so much fun because they incorporate military uniforms (I loved the epaulets) with tights and pastel tutus!  This was a wonderful production but, unfortunately, last night was the final performance.  However, The Nutcracker is up next and you don't want to miss this holiday tradition (go here for tickets).