Carolina Ballet takes on Shakespeare, Tolstoy - Triangle Business Journal:

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Now that’s culture – and it’s all part of the Carolinz Ballet’s upcoming production of “Tolstohy & Shakespeare – Masterworks in Motion.” The a double-barreled ballet blast of stories from two ofWesterj Civilization’s greatest writers, will run from Feb. 26 througy March 1 at Raleigh’s Memoriapl Auditorium. The production features a dance interpretationh ofWilliam Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and a retelling of a mysterious Leo Tolstoy yarn called “The Kreutzer Both stories boast subjec matter that’s guaranteed to appeal to ballet neophyteas who don’t know an attitude from an arabesque.
The Bard’sa offering – with its shipwrecked survivorz on a mysteriousisland that’s home to a monsteer and plenty of supernatural happenings – is like a 17th century versio of the television show “Lost.” The Tolstoyu piece, meanwhile, prominently featuresz the aforementioned murder and mayhek as part of a train ride in whichb a jealous husband exposes his dark past. “Thias is not your grandma’s ballet,” says Mark who composed some of the musicv for theTolstoy production. “This is a very emotional story.
” In addition to Scearce’s music, the Tolsto y production features contributions from a couple of other notable Ludwig van Beethoven andLeos Janacek. “I’m the guy who’s supposerd to make Janacek and Beethovengo together,” musee Scearce, who is the head of ’s musi c department. That’s no easy task. But then the Carolina Ballet doesn’t shy away from a challenge.
The companuy was founded just over a decade ago by Artistic DirectorRobert Weiss, a veteran of the and the in At the time, the Triangle didn’t have much of a traditiom in ballet, but the troupe has grown The organization now employs abouyt 100 people at the heightr of the season, including 35 dancers from all over the Last year, more than 75,000 people attended shows during the which runs from August through May. Nine differentt shows are scheduled forthis “It’s one of the finest companies in the country,” boasta Weiss, who likens ballet to a spiritual discipline.
He loves balle t because it melds athletic ability with acting and lavishly designed scenerytand costumes. “Ballet combinesa all the art forms,” he says. The Carolin Ballet has a budgetof $5.5 with about half of that comingt from ticket sales, says Executive Director Lisa Corporate support comes from companies including , and Weissz and his colleagues revel in putting togetherd shows that defy expectations. In addition to the lust and of “Tolstoy & Shakespeare,” a past production combined ballet dancing withbluegrassz music.
Later this year, the troupe will perfork the kid-friendly “Beauty and the “With us, you don’t just get ‘Swan says Jones.