Sunday, May 10, 2009

Emily Dickinson Ballet to Premiere for 250th




Briefly noted:

Amherst Ballet, in collaboration with the Emily Dickinson Museum, has created an original performance piece to interpret aspects of the life of Amherst's most famous resident. It's noteworthy in several regards, not least of which is the failure of the town to produce an official legacy artwork in conjunction with the 25oth anniversary celebrations.

One hopes that projects such as this can help to fill the void and carry some of this year's accomplishments into the future. It is in the same spirit that the Historical Commission has proposed an ambitious program of preservation projects for consideration at Annual Town Meeting.

Pat Cahill, "Poet's life celebrated in ballet," The Republican, 10 May 2009, reports:
"How on earth," people used to ask Catherine Fair, director of Amherst Ballet, "are you going to write a ballet about a woman who sat at her desk and wrote all the time?"

After this weekend, people may ask the opposite: What medium other than dance could possibly capture the nimble wit and sylph-like image of Emily Dickinson?

Fair and Jane Wald, director of the Emily Dickinson Museum, have created "Emily in Amherst," a four-act ballet that runs on Friday through May 17 at Kirby Theater at Amherst College. (read the rest)

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