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Ballet Ariel’s newest offering, The Birth of Rock and Roll, tells the story of a traveling musician. But rather than travel from town to town, this musician travels through time periods. “In each era, he changes into a different style of musician,” explains artistic director Ilena Norton. “Each of the vignettes has a little story that goes along with it that’s typical of that era.” The ballet traces the evolution of rock from the 1930s to the 1950s — from the swing music of the Benny Goodman era to a sultry blues scene to an American Bandstand-like rock-and-roll performance – complete with period costumes, dance movements and classic tunes performed by the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra.
Opening the show will be Greg Gonzales’s short ballet …que más…es toda una vida…, a contemporary piece that uses jazz and tango to explore themes of romance and passion.
The two pieces debut at 2 p.m. today at the Cleo Parker Robinson Theatre, 119 Park Avenue West; the performances will be repeated at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue in Parker. Tickets, which start at $16, are available online at balletariel.org.
Sun., April 28, 2 p.m., 2013
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