Ballet Fantastique
Concert Season & Events
THE PERFORMANCE
Ballet Fantastique’s first international tour kicks off with a “yeehaw” in their playful, all-original Wild West interpretation of one of William Shakespeare’s sweetest romantic comedies!
This ballet’s original choreography by Donna and Hannah Bontrager infuses the formality of classical ballet with the flavor, sentiment and candor of the informal American West. As You Like It: A Wild West Ballet is a playful, rambunctious choreographic tribute to Shakespeare’s vivacious story. Throughout, the banjo-playing Touchstone (actor-musician Adam Goldthwaite) narrates in Shakespearean verse with a Western twist.
Through dramatic dancing and expressive choreography, Ballet Fantastique tells a pastoral comedy about two feuding brothers who have two lovable daughters who teach two estranged brothers how to love. To the sounds of American composers including Gershwin, Copland, and Kay, saloon girl legs can-can and cowboys spar in the town saloon. Rosie (disguised as a cowboy) and Celia make their grand escape from the clutches of Sheriff Frederick to the Range of Ardenne, where characters meet, fall in love, whirl to a wild rodeo hoedown, and marry.
THE TOUR
Support our tour! Read more about the As You Like It Italy project
4TH ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC
A benefit for Ballet Fantastique's 2013 Italy Tour
Fri. Jun. 14: Diamond Woods Golf Course, Monroe, OR (just outside of Eugene)
Please join us for Ballet Fantastique’s Fourth Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser at the gorgeous Diamond Woods Golf Course in Eugene! Individual players or teams are welcome—every dollar in proceeds from this event directly sponsors the company on our first international tour.
ACADEMY OF BALLET FANTASTIQUE
Sat. Jun. 22: Outlaw Overtures (Spring Concert)
Wildish Theater, Springfield, OR
A playful mix of new works inspired by the Wild West and performed by the next generation of Ballet Fantastique dancers—with special guests from the Ballet Fantastique contemporary chamber company.
Dancer: Ashley Bontrager (Photo: Greg Burns)
ITALY TOUR: AS YOU LIKE IT: A WILD WEST BALLET
Fri. Jul. 26: Sala Auditorium, PalaRiviera Theater, San Benedetto, Italy
Ballet Fantastique’s first international tour kicks off with a “yeehaw” in their playful, all-original Wild West interpretation of one of William Shakespeare’s sweetest romantic comedies!