Wilmington’s First State Ballet Theatre returns to the stage with a double bill of modern works next weekend.
Dreams in Motion presents two short contemporary ballets, Fantasy to Dvorak and Nonsense (In the Sense of Innocence). Both are choreographed by Viktor Plotnikov, a frequent FSBT collaborator. The ballet’s Claire McGregor says Nonsense (In the Sense of Innocence) was inspired by a sequence of dreams.
“It follows this dream trajectory, and it goes through a series of vignettes, which you can kind of interpret as different dreams," she says. "It's connected by a few characters that you'll see throughout.”
The second work, Fantasy to Dvorak, comes from Plotnikov’s appreciation for the prolific 19th Century Czech composer.
“Victor's talked about his inspiration for this piece being the music of the composer Dvorak, and just kind of a celebration of his music and movement and ballet," McGregor says.
McGregor says that even though modern dance differs in some respects from classical ballets like Swan Lake or The Nutcracker, audiences shouldn’t be intimidated.
“Come with an open mind, especially for this performance. Be ready for it to be something that you haven't seen before," she says. "And it really doesn't need to be intimidating. There are so many different entry points where people can find something to connect with.”
First State Ballet presents Dreams in Motion on February 21 and 22 at the Baby Grand in Wilmington.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
