Department of Dance

BYU Theatre Ballet Celebrates 40th Anniversary

by Leah Hill

Forty years ago BYU ballet dancers designed their own costumes, built their own performance sets and collected dues for the ballet club.

“This was quite a bit of overload for them,” said Sandra Allen, associate chair of the Department of Dance and the first full-time ballet faculty member. “And so with the increase of faculty and an increased budget of course, we are able to do all of that in a professional way.”

Now, as a successful ballet performance company and program, the students and faculty feel the growth is worth celebrating.

In collaboration with the School of Music, Theatre Media Arts and Visual Arts Department, BYU Theatre Ballet recently commemorated its 40th anniversary with an original full-length ballet production of Cinderella.

Allen said the concert is a celebration of achievements.

“We get to make a comparison of where we were to where we’ve come,” she said. “It has been a very satisfying experience to see the growth and the caliber of dancers that are coming to us, and the wonderful faculty that we have been able to hire. We are prepared for it to continue on very well.”

Artistic director Shani Robison created the original choreography with live accompaniment of Sergei Prokofiev’s score by the BYU Philharmonic orchestra. Visual arts student Kristi Harmon created the illustrative designs for the performance. Rodger Sorenson, chair of the Department of Theatre and Media Arts, coached the dancers in acting.

“What is really neat about this is that we have so many different artists working together,” said Jennifer Benham, a senior dance and athletic training major who played Cinderella. “Just the dynamics of the music makes the whole [performance] come to light. It really brings a special touch to the ballet.”

Performing Prokofiev’s Cinderella challenged both the dancers and the musicians.

Dr. Kory Katseanes, director of the School of Music and conductor of the BYU Philharmonic, which accompanied the performance, said the two-hour show consists of a hundred thousand notes and 36 different parts on the score, an extreme challenge for students to play three nights in a row.

“For us to replace an academic portion of our year, it has to be compelling and it has to be worthy musically,” said Katseanes. “And Prokofiev’s Cinderella is fantastic music because Prokofiev is a fantastic composer.”

Since there is no set dance for the music, dancers learned fresh choreography.

“It is rare that an original full-length ballet is set on a university company,” Robison said.

Benham said it was unique to learn new choreography instead of taking from past dances or videos.

“We get to work together and if a step doesn’t feel right, (Shani) lets us figure it out,” Benham said.

The concert also challenged dancers to act the part.

“To have Rodger [Sorenson] come in has been so invaluable,” said Robison. “The dancers have been so excited to be able to connect with their characters to make the ballet come alive. I will never do a full-length ballet again without that collaboration.”

Tomas Farnsworth, a junior mathematics major who plays Prince Charming, said Sorenson gave him his first acting training.

“Playing the part with Cinderella and the shoe, it was muddled in my mind, but after working with Rodger Sorenson it got really clear,” Farnsworth said. “Because of that, I feel like my ballet technique has gotten better as well.”

Dancers portrayed their characters before the performance as well. For the first time, the dancers conducted a “Prince and Princess Party” where children were encouraged to dress up in costumes and meet the fairy tale dancers.

Farnsworth said the program took him back in time.

“I have always wanted to be a prince, ever sense I was a little kid,” he said. “[The ballet] gave me the opportunity to fulfill a dream of mine since I was three or four, so it was really fun.”

The performance was funded by the Laycock Center for Collaboration in the Arts Grant and the Mary Lou Fulton Chair Award. Robison, who applied for the grants, said her goal is to bridge student’s experience at the university to a professional company.

“I really have a vision for Theatre Ballet and the ballet program,” Robison said. “That is why I apply for grants every year, so that I can open up those mentoring opportunities to them, and give them opportunities that they would not normally have in a normal university experience.”

Benham, who has danced with a professional company, said at BYU she has grown academically and as a dancer.

“BYU does a phenomenal job to really push the dancers and challenge us with choreography and give us lots of opportunities to perform with other dance teams,” Benham said. “We get to go on tour and share. So they make the curriculum nice and rigorous for us.”