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Duke Dance Raises the 'Barre' with ‘Reflections’

Duke Dance faculty and students will perform in the Choreolab concert, March 29-30
Duke Dance faculty and students will perform in the Choreolab concert, March 29-30

This year, the Duke Dance Program's spring dance performance "ChoreoLab 2013" adds Gerald Arpino, the co-founder of Joffrey Ballet, to its program of ballet, modern, African and jazz dance performances by students and faculty.

ChoreoLab 2013 runs Friday and Saturday, March 29 and 30, in Reynolds Industries Theater in the Bryan Center on Duke West Campus. Tickets are $15, $5 for students and $10 for seniors. Tickets are available at the Duke Box Office, tickets.duke.edu or 919-684-4444.

Duke dance professor Julie Janus Walters, a former principal ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet, helped acquire the rights for ballet students to perform an excerpt of Arpino's work, "Reflections."

"'Reflections' is emblazoned in my mind as one of the most beautiful and challenging works of Gerald Arpino," Walters said. "Having danced an extensive repertoire of his works with the Joffrey Ballet, I have a fondness for this neoclassical ensemble work."

Set to Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme for Violoncello and Orchestra, op. 33," Arpino re-created the 1971 ballet in 1985 after it had been out of active repertoire for a decade.

Arpino, who died in 2008, had been Joffrey Ballet's resident choreographer since 1963 and later became its artistic director after Robert Joffrey died in 1988.

Walters said she had the good fortune to be in the company in 1985 when the ballet was restaged, and she learned the majority of the "pas de deux" and solos.

"'Reflections' features each dancer as a soloist and allows the personality of each dancer to shine," Walters said. "The quick pace of many of the sections dares the dancers to blaze an image using the neoclassical technique. Arpino's ballets are always very physical and energetic and 'Reflections' highlights both the subtle beauty and lightning speed that have been a hallmark of his choreographic legacy."

Senior dance major Betsy Boxberger said the ballet is challenging and exhilarating.

"This is my first experience with Gerald Arpino's choreography, and there's always a challenge in learning a new choreographer's style," Boxberger said. "One of the things I love about 'Reflections' is how well the choreography fits with the music. In addition to creating beautiful visuals, the musicality makes it fun to dance. In order to hit the specific musical cues, there are certain parts where we have to fly through the steps quickly."

First-year Duke student Stephanie Joe will dance one of the seven female solos in 'Reflections.' Joe's preparation includes six years in pre-professional ballet training at the Houston Ballet'S Ben Stevenson Academy.

"Arpino wanted more than perfectly placed classical ballet technique from his dancers -- some movements are slightly exaggerated, in some positions an arm or a leg is higher," Joe said. "The pieces were hard to learn at first. The choreography is challenging because it is very fast and the music is hard to count."

Joe said she has appreciated being able to take ballet classes five times a week at Duke. "I am very thankful for the quality of ballet instruction here. I appreciate the technically challenging combinations and the emphasis on analyzing the concepts behind movement and the use of space and energy and musicality."

The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation as well as the Gerald Arpino and Robert Joffrey Foundation are sponsoring the performance.