Even before its members step onto the Civic Center stage this month to begin a new performance season, the OKC Ballet will already have achieved something noteworthy: In its 54-year history, the company has never been larger. The addition of 19 new artists and apprentices brings the total roster up to 47 dancers, and that comparatively huge collection of immense talent is about to begin strutting its stuff with a triad of performances October 21-23.
Rodeo: A Triple Bill: This show is three performances in one, headlined by the legendary Agnes de Mille’s most beloved and most frequently presented ballet. Inspired by American composer Aaron Copland’s world-famous score, “Rodeo” premiered in 1942 at the Metropolitan Opera House. And don’t doubt these dancers’ commitment to the Western theme; I asked, and they will be performing in cowboy boots.
Rounding out the slate are “Serenade,” the first original ballet George Balanchine created in America and one of the signature works of New York City Ballet’s repertory, and the premiere of an abstract contemporary ballet titled “Our Private Rooms,” choreographed by OKC Ballet Artistic Director Robert Mills.
“I am excited to begin a new season with these beautiful artists,” Mills says. “I’ve assembled what I believe to be our strongest company to date; I look forward to working with them all year.”
And that year begins … nnnnnow.
