Director’s Choice
April 11 – 14, 2019 | Five Shows Only | Newmark Theatre
1111 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205 (inside Antoinette Hatfield Hall)
Artistic Director Kevin Irving’s unique approach to 21st century American ballet reflects the vigor of an ever-evolving art form. In Director’s Choice, he has curated some of the company’s most loved contemporary works in an intimate program at the Newmark Theatre.Gioconda Barbuto’s BringingOutsideIn, one of three works created for 2017’s Choreography XX in Washington Park, was a standout hit that thrilled audiences. Resident Choreographer Nicolo Fonte’s Presto was called “a short trip in a very fast machine. As soon as it’s over you want to press replay and see it all over again.” And Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s most famous work Jardí Tancat electrified the theater in Terra. We close this ambitious evening with Fonte’s Giants Before Us, which mixes both extreme physicality of movement and the romanticism of an earlier era. With Hunter Noack repeating his acclaimed performance of the Franz Liszt score, we will say a poignant farewell to Principal Dancer Chauncey Parsons, who retires after eleven seasons with OBT. To learn more about Chauncey or to make a donation in his honor, Click Here.
Performance Schedule
Presto
Nicolo Fonte / Ezio Bosso
BringingOutsideIn
Gioconda Barbuto / Owen Belton, Sarah
Neufeld, Gabriel Prokofiev & Peter Gregson
Love
OBT Premiere
Excerpt from Vital Sensations
Darrell Grand Moultrie / Antônio Carlos Jobim & Vinícius de Moraes
LOVE is made possible through the generous support of Karen and Mike Weddle in honor of Chauncey Parsons work over the past eleven seasons with OBT.
Jardí Tancat
Nacho Duato / Maria del Mar Bonet
Giants Before Us
Nicolo Fonte / Franz Liszt & Franz Schubert
Featuring pianist Hunter Noack
Videos

Photos
Casting
(Subject to change)
Presto
Kelsie Nobriga
Eva Burton
Thomas Baker
Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
BringingOutsideIn
Xuan Cheng
Hannah Davis
Jessica Lind
Katherine Monogue
Emily Parker
Peter Franc
Adam Hartley
Christopher Kaiser
Michael Linsmeier
Brian Simcoe
Love
Makino Hayashi
Chauncey Parsons
Jardí Tancat
Katherine Monogue
Emily Parker
Kelsie Nobriga
Colby Parsons
Michael Linsmeier
Brian Simcoe
Giants Before Us
Xuan Cheng
Peter Franc
Thomas Baker
Michael Linsmeier
Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
Adam Hartley
Colby Parsons
Christopher Kaiser
Marc LaPierre
Theodore Watler
Presto
Kelsie Nobriga
Kimberly Fromm
Thomas Baker
Colby Parsons
BringingOutsideIn
Xuan Cheng
Hannah Davis
Jessica Lind
Katherine Monogue
Emily Parker
Peter Franc
Adam Hartley
Christopher Kaiser
Michael Linsmeier
Brian Simcoe
Love
Ansa Capizzi
Chauncey Parsons
Jardí Tancat
Kimberly Fromm
Jessica Lind
Makino Hayashi
Adam Hartley
Peter Franc
Thomas Baker
Giants Before Us
Emily Parker
Brian Simcoe
Chauncey Parsons
Michael Linsmeier
Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
Adam Hartley
Colby Parsons
Christopher Kaiser
Thomas Baker
Theodore Watler
Presto
Kelsie Nobriga
Kimberly Fromm
Thomas Baker
Colby Parsons
BringingOutsideIn
Xuan Cheng
Hannah Davis
Jessica Lind
Katherine Monogue
Emily Parker
Peter Franc
Adam Hartley
Christopher Kaiser
Michael Linsmeier
Brian Simcoe
Love
Xuan Cheng
Chauncey Parsons
Jardí Tancat
Kimberly Fromm
Jessica Lind
Makino Hayashi
Adam Hartley
Peter Franc
Thomas Baker
Giants Before Us
Emily Parker
Brian Simcoe
Chauncey Parsons
Michael Linsmeier
Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
Adam Hartley
Colby Parsons
Christopher Kaiser
Thomas Baker
Theodore Watler
Presto
Ansa Capizzi
Eva Burton
Chauncey Parsons
Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
BringingOutsideIn
Xuan Cheng
Hannah Davis
Jessica Lind
Katherine Monogue
Emily Parker
Peter Franc
Adam Hartley
Christopher Kaiser
Michael Linsmeier
Brian Simcoe
Love
Makino Hayashi
Chauncey Parsons
Jardí Tancat
Katherine Monogue
Emily Parker
Kelsie Nobriga
Colby Parsons
Michael Linsmeier
Brian Simcoe
Giants Before Us
Xuan Cheng
Peter Franc
Chauncey Parsons
Michael Linsmeier
Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
Adam Hartley
Colby Parsons
Christopher Kaiser
Thomas Baker
Theodore Watler
Presto
Ansa Capizzi
Eva Burton
Chauncey Parsons
Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
BringingOutsideIn
Xuan Cheng
Hannah Davis
Jessica Lind
Katherine Monogue
Emily Parker
Peter Franc
Adam Hartley
Christopher Kaiser
Michael Linsmeier
Brian Simcoe
Love
Ansa Capizzi
Chauncey Parsons
Jardí Tancat
Kimberly Fromm
Jessica Lind
Makino Hayashi
Adam Hartley
Peter Franc
Thomas Baker
Giants Before Us
Xuan Cheng
Peter Franc
Chauncey Parsons
Michael Linsmeier
Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
Adam Hartley
Colby Parsons
Christopher Kaiser
Thomas Baker
Theodore Watler
Performance Summary
Presto
Last seen at OBT in 2015, Resident Choreographer Nicolo Fonte’s Presto is described as “a short trip in a very fast machine.” At a mere nine minutes, Presto is a riveting burst of energy. As soon as it’s over you want to press replay and see it all over again. It features an edgy, passionate quartet the dancers must not only be fearless and confident in themselves, but also committed to the group as they hang onto, lean into, and support each other.
BringingOutsideIn
Gioconda Barbuto’s BringingOutsideIn, created for 2017’s Choreography XX (a celebration of dance created by women) in Washington Park, was a standout hit that is back to thrill audiences. In this collaborative gem between choreographer and dancer, the individuality and personality of each artist is brought into the center of the work. Barbuto described it as a work that “represents who the dancers are individually, as individuals, but also as a group.” “Barbuto’s musicality as very refined, and the briefest moments of stillness proved highly effective.” – BachTrack
Love
Love from Vital Sensations is an OBT premiere. Darrell Grand Moultrie choreographed the colorful, Latin jazz-inspired Vital Sensation for the Colorado Ballet in 2005, and created this solo piece for Chauncey Parsons early in his career. Parsons describes the process of creating the work “as an affirmation in how I grew as a dancer.” “It is abstract but very musical and emotionally connected – it was my first approach to a big idea in dance, resulting in a really nice work.”
Jardí Tancat
Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s most famous work Jardí Tancat electrifies with haunting and beautiful movements. Jardi Tancat means “Enclosed Garden,” signified in this work by the simple set of fence posts placed around the edge of the stage. The ballet’s ensemble moments share the sense of community as if connected to the earth. The ballet is a poignant story of the daily life of hardship, work, love and loss of people who worked the barren land. According to Willamette Week, “Jardí Tancat depicts rural quiet desperation: the six dancers bend like rag dolls and drag their hands across the stage as if plowing a field.”
Giants Before Us
We close this ambitious Director’s Choice program with Nicolo Fonte’s Giants Before Us, a ballet for 9 men and 1 woman, which mixes both extreme physicality of movement and the romanticism of an earlier era. This piece not only celebrates the male dancers, clad in red, moving with bravura energy and muscular tenderness, but is also a celebration of “all is one, one is all” – that everything in the world is interconnected. Virtuoso pianist Hunter Noack returns in an encore of his acclaimed performance, featuring music by Franz Liszt and Franz Schubert.
Previews & Reviews
Ballet dancer Chauncey Parsons retires from Oregon Ballet Theatre [ watch ] KPTV | April 5, 2019
Oregon Ballet Theatre principal dancer Chauncey Parsons retires after April performances
The Oregonian | April 4, 2019
OBT Principal Dancer retires after 11 seasons
Dance Informa Magazine | March 20, 2019

Runtime and Intermissions
Total run time is just under 2 Hours with one 20 minute and one 15 minute intermission
Director’s Choice is underwritten in part by the Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust.