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Peoria Ballet is ready to rock

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The rock group Queen did opera, so it's almost fitting that its music can be used in ballet. But dancing ballet to the music of James Brown? Or Led Zeppelin? The Beatles and Elvis? Van Halen?

That's the music that 40 of the students at the Peoria Ballet will be dancing to this weekend when the ballet presents "Art That Rocks" at Five Points in Washington, starting at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. They can be ordered by calling the Peoria Ballet at (309) 690-7990. For more information call the ballet or email info@peoriaballet.com.

"A departure from traditional classical Ballet performance, the 2012 Spring Show will feature something for every taste as classical ballet is fused with modern music. The performance will feature original choreography by Servy Gallardo, artistic director of the Peoria Ballet, set to contemporary music ranging from Frank Sinatra to Michael Bublé to Queen," the organization said in a news release.

Expanding on that, Gallardo said the dances will be "high energy" and a "non-stop blend of ballet and modern dance that will dazzle our audiences."

The group that annually stages "The Nutcracker" at the Peoria Civic Center, the Peoria Ballet is venturing into a modern dance concert for the first time and Gallardo said the students have worked hard and are pumped to perform it.

"Most people have not seen anything like this, dancers starting a song with graceful ballet steps, them breaking into modern dances to the music being done. This is a great opportunity for us to showcase all of our dancers and their talents as well as show Peoria the other things we can do here. We want the public to see that we can do more than the 'Nutcracker'," Gallardo said in between rehearsals this week.

The show will start with the Queen classic "We Will Rock You," and will then feature well-known songs from Elvis Presley, James Brown, Van Halen, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Journey, Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble. Another Queen favorite, "Bohemian Rhapsody" from its "A Night at the Opera" album, will be featured in a recording by a string quarter.

There also will be a tango, Gallardo said. "I'm Latin; I had to include a tango," added the native of Venezuela.

He has been in Peoria about six months and said "Art That Rocks" was already on the calendar when he arrived. "I thought 'why not?' This is something that keeps the students interested. We do ballet, put up a crazy sequence of music and break into modern dance. They are having a lot of fun with it. This is all about the kids and they are great an amazing amount of work," he said.

Noting many dancers will get to do solo dances in the performances, Gallardo said most relish that opportunity. "I have challenged them to be better and they have met the challenge. I push them and they accept it. A dancer's career is short and I want them to get as much from their talent as they can. There is tremendous talent here," he said.

Peoria Ballet students have enjoyed success recently as 17 competed in Youth America Grand Prix International Competition in Indianapolis.

Alexandra James, 19, and Lark Commanday, 16, both of Peoria, will dance in the Youth America Grand Prix International Competition Finals this weekend in New York City, dancing to original choreography by Gallardo.

Also, Sophie Challacombe, 11, of Dunlap, daughter of Peoria Ballet instructor Tamra Challacombe, place third overall in the Pre-Competitive Classical division and Top 12 in both classical and contemporary at the Grand Prix regional event in Indianapolis last month.

Also last month the Illinois Arts Alliance for Arts Education awarded the Peoria Ballet with its 2012 Public and Community Service Award in recognitions of the ballet presenting local schools the chance to see performances of its shows at discounted rates, including "The Nutcracker."

It will do the same on Friday at noon, offering a school performance of "Art That Rocks" for $5.

"We want as many people as possible to see this show and see what we can do. We have a great organization here and we get great support from the public. It's a good place to be," said Gallardo, who has performed, choreographed and taught in several cities in the United States and in Venezuela. In his native country he was a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Venezuela. He himself is a Youth America Grand Prix International Competition winner, being named the Philadelphia region's Outstanding Choreographer in 2007.

Paul Gordon is editor of The Peorian. He can be reached at 692-7880 or editor@thepeorian.com

 

About the Author
Paul Gordon is the editor of The Peorian after spending 29 years of indentured servitude at the Peoria Journal Star. He’s an award-winning writer, raconteur and song-and-dance man. He also went to a high school whose team name is the Alices (that’s Vincennes Lincoln High School in Indiana; you can look it up).