Menlowe Ballet marks its five-year anniversary with TRIBUTE, a celebratory program featuring world premieres, a classical jewel, and the revival of a signature company work, November 3, 5 & 6 at Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton, CA.
Performances take place Thursday, November 3 at 7:30pm, Saturday, November 5 at 2pm & 8pm, and Sunday, November 6 at 2pm. Tickets are available at www.menloweballet.org or by calling 800-595-4TIX (4849). Group tickets rates are available.
In just five years, Menlowe Ballet has risen to become one of the Bay Area’s most compelling and unique professional ballet companies. To honor the anniversary, illustrious dance icon Dennis Nahat returns to the Menlowe to stage his rapturous version of the classical Le Corsaire Pas de Deux.
The program includes other new works. In After Hours, Artistic Director Michael Lowe weaves a tale of mystery, romance and high jinks as the colorful waitstaff of a stylish Shanghai nightclub ring in the New Year. Portraits honors the spirit and accomplishments of women from history who have touched the world with courage and creativity. Portraits marks the professional choreographic debut of Associate Artistic Director Sarah-Jane Measor.
Lowe’s Tribute, choreographed in 2013, is an exultant company showpiece that captures the company’s spirited dancing. The ballet honors Lowe’s participation in two seminal productions of Ravel’s Bolero during his tenure as a principal dancer with Oakland Ballet. In 1974, Lowe appeared as an original cast member in Marc Wilde’s Bolero, and in 1995, he danced in Oakland’s revival of Bronislava Nijinska’s 1928 version. In Tribute, Lowe imaginatively references both works to thrilling effect and exemplifies the musical inspiration and intention behind Ravel’s masterpiece.