MEDIA + PRESS RELEASES

Recent press

What’s happening in Eugene and Springfield this weekend? Here are 4 events and a hike to check out
”The Springfield Arts and Culture Awards is honoring local artists, art organizations and distinctive culture that enriches the Springfield community.”

Masquerade balls, music and more: New Year's Eve events going on in Eugene-Springfield
“…here are some of the events around Lane county that can help you celebrate the ending of 2021 and the beginning of the new year…Ballet Fantastique’s ‘ARRIVALS:RIO.’”

Ballet Fantastique returns to Hult Center for live shows this weekend
“…first live and professional stage production of the company’s 20th anniversary season. This weekend’s shows offer a tour of vignettes, highlighting original dance theatre collaborations from the last 20 years.”

Eugene-Springfield 2020 holiday shows preview: Exceptional production during an unexpected season
“BFan planned, produced and directed this show (American Christmas Carol) over the past few months, an intense effort to create an at-home holiday experience and an opportunity for communal gathering.”

CAFE 541: Ballet Fantastique pivots to new venues to hold its first shows in six months
“Both Bontragers profess to being inspired by dancer and teacher dedication to continuing practice and classes with masks while remaining socially spaced during this slow return.”

Cafe 541's 2020 Fall/Winter Performing Arts Preview, Part II: Color and sound abound
“Fortunately for audiences, the company will livestream the balletic gaucho romance through Rio streets on a Carnival night to Ipanema’s sun-soaked beaches, inland to the rural pampas and further afield to the Amazon and Buenos Aires.”

May DanceWatch: A culturally rich month of dance and music
”Ballet Fantastique’s mother-daughter creative team, Donna Marisa and Hannah Bontrager, present ‘Robin Hood & Maid Marian,’ a reimagining of the legend of Robin Hood with new resonance, power, and voices.”

March DanceWatch: A month of dance from near and far
”Ballet Fantastique immerses audiences in an elaborate Venetian masquerade, RomCom, with a twist.”

November DanceWatch: An explosion of creative impulse
”…this reimagining of Babes in Toyland will transport some back to the technicolor holiday television specials of yore and will introduce new generations to the bizarre vintage entertainment for the first time.”

October DanceWatch: Pulse, Parsons, Pearls & more
”Rock and roll meets Colonial America in this comedic dance theatre adaptation of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

Dancewatch: Dear March, come in! Oregon's dance month marches in like a lion, a tango, ballet, butoh, funk, fish, bootleggers and more
“In this genre-defying hybrid dance-theater work, Ballet Fantastique delves deep into Celtic mythology, bringing to life an array of women characters and imagining a narrative where all of the characters meet.”

DanceWatch: Virtual Nutcrackers and Happy Hours
“In this made-for-TV dance film, filmed throughout Oregon, the ever-inventive Ballet Fantastique has reimagined Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as a 1940’s post-war American novella.”

Eggnog & Nutcrackers to the 2020 rescue
“Eugene’s Ballet Fantastique has produced a made-in-Oregon film variation, American Christmas Carol: A Ballet Movie…it reimagines the story.”

December DanceWatch: Cupcakes, Nutcrackers, and more
“Ballet Fantastique takes the holiday celebration to a new level with Arrivals: Rio.”

Ho Ho Ho for the Holidays
”A very different interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s music will be performed by Eugene’s other ballet company, the younger and somewhat hipper Ballet Fantastique.”

Eugene Weekly’s Holiday Happenings Calendar
”Ballet Fantastique: Babes in Toyland”

Feeling (20)22
“For something a touch fancier, check out Ballet Fantastique: ARRIVALS:RIO with NYE After Party.”

In Flight on the Last Night of 2021
“Arrivals:Rio, which has been in the works for three years now because of the pandemic, seeks to ring together the voices and visions of many artists to create a truly immersive experience.”

Jewels: New Vintage Vignettes from BFAN
“It’s a series of vignettes from past BFAN performances celebrating he company’s 20 years.”

A Grinchy Christmas
“…Ballet Fantastique promises to transport viewers to the boisterous streets of Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires in its new Year’s premiere of Luna Mística.”

Ballet on The Green— Preview Night
“…patrons are so starved for Ballet Fantastique in this pandemic cocoon we live in that two of the performances have sold out.”

Getting Back on Stage: After half a year on hiatus, Eugene's performing arts groups seek a path back to live audiences
“…BFan is doing a series of small outdoor performances at a winery and at a golf course to audiences of a few dozen. The shows are designed, Bontrager says, to allow the audience to enjoy ballet, but at a safe distance.”

Ballet Fantastique
“Another heatwave comes late this week, but don’t fret— Ballet Fantastique comes to the rescue with the first of its sizzling summer outdoor performances…”

Ballet Fantastique's Alice in Wonderland Watch Party
“Relax from the stifling news of the pandemic and follow the trails of Alice in Wonderland.”

A Legacy in Dance: Meet the Bontragers of Ballet Fantastique
“Rooted in classical ballet technique, BFan’s art moves well beyond tradition, reaching for the stratosphere of new dance theater.”

Dance Macabre: Ballet Fantastique dances a horror show in Nevermore
“Nevermore is a beautiful and bizarre production, more gothic dance theater than stiff ballet.”

Aladdin turned rock ballet performance Mother’s Day weekend “Just in time for Mother’s Day, the performance provides something to do out of the usual Mother’s Day brunch or hike.”

Ballet Fantastique Returns to In-Person Performances With JEWELS
“Classic stories in innovated settings. Elegant craftsmanship. Dazzling characters. Brilliant, multi-faceted gems.”

ABAE 2022 Annual Report
”Ballet Fantastique’s Donna Marisa and Hannah Bontrager spin Victor Herbert’s madcap fairytale mashup with hot jazz— and bring a lost holiday classic to life in splashy dance theater”

Isabelle Bloodgood brings you a “treat” at “Murder at the Ballet” “Ballet Fantastique created world premieres that I have never heard of before.”

Lizzy and Darcy welcome the season of love through ballet
“Ballet Fantastique’s production of “Pride and Prejudice” highlights love as Valentine’s day approaches”

Ballet Fantastique’s “Aladdin: The Rock Opera” brings dreams to stage
“Girls have Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, and we have Aladdin,” Di Stabile said, “I want to be a superhero to the children who come.”

REVIEW: Ballet Fantastique: American Christmas Carol

“American Christmas Carol” was more than a show; it was a magical celebration of dance, music, and storytelling.”

New ballet honors powerful women on-stage and behind the scenes
”Choreographers Donna Marisa Bontrager and Hannah Bontrager bring Ballet Fantastique’s storytelling to this new adventure, fusing new dance theater choreography with powerful music.”

Hult Center hosts Ballet Fantastique’s rendition of ‘Babes in Toyland’
”With jazz from Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker woven in, Ballet Fantastique is hoping to give your family a new Christmas tradition.”

Ballet Fantastique presents long awaited New Year's Eve performance in Eugene
“This show will take people on a cultural journey.”

With risk-levels dropping, the ballet is returning to the Hult Center
“There’s an excited energy at Ballet Fantastique’s studio.”

Ballet Fantastique offers up virtual Halloween performance
“Ramirez says they’ve been brainstorming how they can still connect with people during these tough times, and he’s glad they found a way to do it safely.”

Ballet Fantastique gets new flooring at long last
“Not only did the community donate enough money to help them replace the floors. Locals have also donated more than eight thousand dollars to keep them going through the pandemic.”

Angel donor gifts Ballet Fantastique with $7,000 donation
“…an angel donor gave $7,000, that’s half of the non-profit’s goal.”

Eugene ballet company to perform gothic retelling of Beauty and the Beast
“Ballet Fantastique will be performing a gothic retelling of Beauty and the Beast.”

What to Expect at Your First Dance-Contract Meeting
“‘We invite dancers to be candid with us about their artistic goals,’ Bontrager says, ‘and we’re candid with them about their growth and development within our community.’”

Ballet Fantastique's "American Christmas Carol" - A Holiday Ballet Film
“You really need to see this remarkable film to appreciate what the filmmakers, choreographers, company dancers and film crew have accomplished.”

The dance lives on: Roseburg woman remembered in Eugene ballet
“Ball’s legacy continues to live on. Ballet Fantastique has wrapped two of her works into a new ballet called ‘Arrivals: Rio.’”

Ballet Fantastique brings Latin America to Eugene with 'ARRIVALS: RIO' on New Year's Eve
“The piece has been reimagined, rearranged and is ready to finally see the light of the stage.”

New ballet honors powerful women on-stage and behind the scenes
”The new dance theatre premiere features a groundbreaking all-female creative team…”

Ballet Fantastique to perform gothic retelling of Beauty and the Beast
“A local ballet company is finding new ways to get students interested in the arts.”

NYE Arrivals: Rio at the Hult Center
“Let your New Year’s getaway begin— with Ballet Fantastique and your arrival in Rio.”

Ballet in the Park
“Bring your picnic blanket and enjoy distanced excerpts from the upcoming Ballet Fantastique Hult Center season.”

The Misadventures of Casanova
”In this richly-textured Venetian masquerade, anything can happen and no one is who they seem…”

Ballet Fantastique performs “Babes in Toyland”
”Ballet Fantastique is putting on a performance of ‘Babes in Toyland’ the weekend after Thanksgiving to kick off the holidays.”

Kick off the holidays with Christmas-themed ballet
”’Babes in Toyland” is a magical experience for the entire family.”

Ballet Fantastique to ring in New Year with 'Arrivals: Rio'
“The dancers will wear more than 150 pieces of new custom art… What makes this show unique is it’s an original.”

Ballet Fantastique offers a new take on Beauty and the Beast
“If you love the Disney classic, you’ll love this show, but it’s a little different.”

Onstage This Week: new Ratmansky at ABT, Pennsylvania Ballet Presents Restaged "La Bayadere," and More!
“Mother-daughter choreographic duo Donna and Hannah Bontrager, artistic directors of Ballet Fantastique, present their newest full-length ballet Dragon & the Night Queen.”

Ballet Fantastique Gives Famed Colonial Ghost Story The Virtual Treatment
“The classic tale of schoolmaster Ichabod Crane being chased by a headless horseman is retold through gothic sets, dazzling costumes, and an atmospheric original score.”

Holiday Entertainment At Home
“Ballet Fantastique, which usually performs at the Hult Center, has created American Christmas Carol: A Ballet Movie. Yes, it’s a real movie, beautifully produced and running online.”

A Year Later, Some Eugene Performing Artists Hang On Despite Uncertainty
“Ballet Fantastique returned in early April to a limited audience that was live-streamed.”

Ballet premiere takes audiences on a flight into the New Year
“A world premiere ballet at the Hult Center in Eugene will transport guests to Brazil and Argentina on New Year’s Eve.”

What’s Happening Downtown in November
”The holiday season launchers with Ballet Fantastique’s blockbuster original spin o Babes in Toyland, glowing with retrogram choreography and bright whimsy.”