Local ballet companies choreograph the future of dance

COURTESY PHOTO
Borderlands Ballet Company dancers Daniel Lindsay and Grace Godman, with Allene Barton as the figure overhead. Bulletin report Borderlands Ballet Company (BBC), the Academy of Ballet and the Las Cruces School of Dance & Music (LCSDM) will present a new one-act ballet titled “The Persistence of Air: A Steampunk Ballet” at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 27, at the ASNMSU Center for the Arts, 1000 E. University Ave. The ballet was professionally choreographed by Jennifer Boren who has recently choreographed material for companies in both Dallas and Albuquerque, according to a news release about the performance. Original dance productions ““are so rewarding for the dancer because they get to sink their teeth into something new and different,” Boren said in the news release. “It's what makes them hungry. And it's great for the audience to get a feel for the fingerprint of a dance company. Well-known ballets are important, of course, but these are hundreds of years old and both dancer and audience are eager for new ideas.” “The Persistence of Air” tells the story of “a post-apocalyptic culture in which mystic inventor Ada has harnessed the power of the elemental being Air to bring her automata to the brink of a human-like existence,” the news release says. “She is opposed in her quest to perfect these beings by her nemesis, Eremus. The mortal struggle between these two ultimately leads to a new beginning for the automata, symbolically captured in a beautiful closing pas de deux. “The story places special demands on the dancers’ skills because they must transition from entirely mechanical to partially mechanical to fully classical movements in the course of the ballet.” “While the steampunk theme is something younger audiences can get into,” Boren said, “the dancers’ movement and characterization will appeal to all ages.” The BBC is a recently founded nonprofit dance company currently housed in LCSDM and serving the entire borderland region with performances and educational outreach. The BBC currently consists of six members: Jessica Ansell, Casen Collins, Lydia Fyock, Grace Godman, Joshua Godman and Daniel Lindsay, plus an apprentice member, Allene Barton. The artistic director is Monique Foster. Auditions for the company are held annually in late summer. Tickets for the performance are available at tututix.com. For more information, call 575-525-5670 or email borderlands.ballet@gmail.com. Visit borderlands-ballet.com.