Over the Rhine is one of my all time favorite bands. My husband and I have both been listening to them since high school and we look forward to their concerts each year. Now you can enjoy Over the Rhine’s beautiful music even more as you watch the Cincinnati Ballet perform to their music live on April 25-26 at the Aronoff.
Cincinnati Ballet partners with local, nationally-recognized alternative indie band Over the Rhine for a weekend of live dance and live music April 25 and 26, 2014 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. This unique collaboration between the genres of rock music and ballet has become a staple of Cincinnati Ballet, having recently performed with Grammy Award-winning guitarist Peter Frampton and with Over the Rhine previously in 2011.
Cincinnati Ballet & Over the Rhine Live features two choreographic world premieres and returning favorites from Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard, Jodie Gates and Cincinnati Ballet’s resident choreographer Adam Hougland. Over the Rhine is the husband-wife duo of Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler, accompanied by a cast of musicians fleshing out their soulful style. Cincinnati Ballet and Over the Rhine’s previous collaboration, 2011’s Infamous Love Songs, was acclaimed by the Cincinnati Enquirer as “an experience that is as rich theatrically as it is musically.” This year’s production will be presented in the same way, with three distinct choreographic movements set to the choreographer’s song selections from Over the Rhine’s varied musical canon.
Sacred Ground, choreographed by Jodie Gates, includes a variety of songs taken from Over the Rhine’s September 2013 release Meet Me At The Edge of The World. Gates was invited to preview her section at the 2013 Kaplan New Works Series. Gates describes her choreographic process as intuitive, and says “as a freelancer, you have to make quick decisions. I ask the dancers to learn a phrase and then create from it. I use the essence of that as my building block. I’ve also taken time to know your city. I love the architecture of Over-the-Rhine, with its beautiful arcs and curves.”
All My Favorite People, choreographed by Adam Hougland, is set to music from multiple Over the Rhine albums, including 2005’s Drunkard’s Prayer, 2010’s The Long Surrender, 2007’s The Trumpet Child and 2013’s release, Meet Me At The Edge Of The World. Hougland has been involved in Cincinnati Ballet’s record-breaking musical collaborations before, most recently with Grammy Award-winning guitarist Peter Frampton in 2013’s Frampton & Cincinnati Ballet Live. Says Hougland of the diversity in his music selection: “The music has so much emotion and depth. The lyrics are so clever and poetic…so much fun to work with. I narrowed it down to ten or so songs that I really loved. I wanted ones with different tempos and moods so All My Favorite People would have a real range. I finally cut it down to six, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Burning Moon, choreographed by frequent Cincinnati Ballet contributors and husband-and-wife duo Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard, closes out the production. Zimmer and Hubbard presented new works during the 2011 collaboration, and are thrilled to return.
“We’re ecstatic that our ballet from the last collaboration in 2011 was chosen to be brought back to our Cincinnati audiences,” says Zimmer, “and to have the opportunity to revisit this dynamic music and revamp our last work,” says Zimmer. “Burning Moon takes place in a cabaret-like setting, so it’s soulful and mysterious and sexy. It’s so great to have this chance to work with familiar and new dancers. The dynamic is always changing, and that’s what’s so intriguing about working with Over the Rhine again. We change, the dancers change and OTR changes. We are truly honored to return!”
ABOUT THE BAND
Native Ohioans Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist launched Over the Rhine as a quartet in the spring of 1989, naming the ensemble after the historic, bohemian Cincinnati neighborhood Over-the-Rhine, where they lived and first wrote and recorded together. Paste has praised Over the Rhine’s “lovely, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting musical mosaic,” while USA Today made note of the group’s “mature, graceful and sad songs (and) intimate, soulful arrangements,” which “showcase Bergquist’s achingly beautiful voice.” Newsday described the music as “aggressively beautiful, like those ’60s protesters who confronted soldiers with flowers.” Their latest release, Meet Me At The Edge Of The World, is composed of effortlessly engaging, timelessly resonant songs more than justify such loyalty, once again validating Over the Rhine’s enduring musical mission. “We see our catalog as our life’s work,” says Bergquist. “It’s imperfect and broken, but we’ve also come to see our records as strangely beautiful and valid in their own way—much like life itself.”
MEET THE ARTISTS
Cincinnati Ballet invites ticket holders to a pre-show conversation with members of the creative team of Cincinnati Ballet & Over the Rhine Live, at 7:00 pm on Friday, April 25.
Don’t miss out!!!!
PERFORMANCE DATES AND INFORMATION
WHO: Cincinnati Ballet
Choreography: Jodie Gates, Adam Hougland, Andrew Hubbard and Missy Lay Zimmer
Music: Over the Rhine, live onstage
WHAT: Cincinnati Ballet & Over the Rhine Live
WHEN: Friday, April 25 – 8:00 pm, Saturday, April 26 – 2:00 pm, Saturday, April 26– 8:00 pm
WHERE: Aronoff Center for the Arts
650 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
HOW: Call 513.621.5282, visit cballet.org,
visit the Cincinnati Ballet Box Office at 1555 Central Parkway or the Aronoff Center box office at 650 Walnut Street
Tickets start at $32
You can connect with the Cincinnati Ballet online, facebook and twitter.
Disclosure: I was given tickets for promotional purposes. All opinions are my own.
The post Cincinnati Ballet & Over The Rhine April 25-26 appeared first on Adventure Mom Blog.