ALL ABOARD! NEW DANCE SEASON SETS SAIL
BY: Hal de Becker
The 2018 dance and opera season is off to an exciting start with ‘A Love for Dance’ on February 2nd at Starbright Theater.
Outstanding local dance professionals will perform classical ballet solos as well as contemporary works set to music of the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and more. All the dancers participated in creating the often innovative choreography.
Performers include former Nevada Ballet Theatre lead Mary LaCroix whose performances in Jewels, Nutcracker and especially as Juliet in NBT’s Romeo and Juliet, were always memorable.
Other performers are Elizabeth Linstruth and Barrington Lohr both former NBT dancers; Tyrell Rolle formerly with Cirque du Soliel; Dempsey Ward and Yui Tadokoro past dancers with Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theatre; and the Jaffar Smith hip hop company, The Collective.
The performance benefits the newly formed Las Vegas Dance Academy and the Gateway Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides scholarships to young dancers, musicians and singers. Ticket info at 702-255-0695.
The next ‘port of call’ is Summerlin Library Performing Arts Center, February 10th and 11th, where Sin City Opera performs a new version of its 2015 sell-out, ‘Opera in the Movies’.
Operatic selections from movies will be performed by members of the talented troupe along with film clips from the corresponding motion pictures, including The Godfather, Casino and many more. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more info and tickets.
Nevada Ballet Theatre sails into The Smith Center February 17th and 18th with Lew Christensen’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’. It’s a visually spectacular production including an elaborate castle, mysterious forest and of course outstanding dancing.
Mr. Christensen was an early and much admired Balanchine dancer and a prolific choreographer. He later directed San Francisco Ballet. His works are not as widely performed as they deserve to be and NB T’s mounting of the ballet promises to be a rare treat.
UNLV’s celebrated dance department presents ‘In Composition’ at Judy Bayley Theatre March 2nd and 3rd. A highlight of the program will be ‘Interactions’ set to a new score by renowned composer and pedagogue Beth Mehocic.
Nancy Uscher, Dean of the UNLV College of Fine Arts, will perform a solo choreographed by department chair, Louis Kavouras.
Other works have been choreographed by faculty members Cathy Allen, Victoria Dale,
Margot Mink Colbert, Dolly Kelepecz-Momot and Richard Havey. Tickets available at 702-895-2787.
Sin City Opera embarks on another Spring cruise April 20 to the 29th with an updated rendition of ‘Pagliacci’ (Vesti la giubba!) at Winchester Cultural Center. Although their version takes a comic approach, the drama and emotion are retained. More info at 702- 455-7340.
The final Spring voyage pushes off April 27th at Nicholas Horn Theatre with Community College of Southern Nevada’s ‘Dear Lenny’. It is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of beloved composer-conductor-pedagogue, Leonard Bernstein.
The program consists of works set to a selection of maestro Bernstein’s compositions choreographed by CCSN’s maestro of dance, Kelly Roth. Ticket info at 702-651-5483.
