Hello everyone!

I hope you are all well as we begin to transition from Winter to Spring…  We know it’s happening not only by the noticeably longer days, but also by the fact that our Winter program at the Keller is already behind us and we are hard at work on the Spring shows coming up at the Newmark Theater next month:  CELEBRATE.  We are so looking forward to these shows, even if we are also approaching them with a sense of melancholy, given that these are the last performances we will savor with Alison Roper as a member of our ensemble!  We plan to celebrate Alison’s tremendous contributions to OBT and Portland over the course of her 18 years with the company with a multi-media presentation involving live-action, animation and the voice of Alison herself as she speaks about the roots of her longevity here at OBT and the new challenges she is looking forward to.  Don’t let these performances pass you by!

I would also like to call your attention to something else – I received an email the other day from a filmmaker about to complete a documentary about Portland dancers (and sisters) Keira Brinkley and Uriah Boyd.  Keira is a quadruple amputee – and her activities as a dancer might really change your ideas about physical challenges, as well as any ideas you may have about “perfection”.  We here at OBT are lending a hand to the project by facilitating a unique performance at the Newmark Theater on April 21st at 7.30 pm that will be the finale of the film.  But we’d love it if you felt inspired to visit the Kickstarter Campaign here, in order to give even more support from the OBT community.

And on the subject of perfection – I will be presenting 2 incredibly gifted dancers from the OBT world for a short performance at the TEDx event at the Keller Auditorium on April 12th – the theme of this year’s conference is “Perfect”.  The two dancers performing at this conference celebrating the confluence of technology, entertainment and design couldn’t be more perfect for each other and Oregon Ballet Theatre is thrilled to have been invited to participate.

I’d also like to invite you to be a part of making Alison’s retirement as special to her as she is to us by sharing your Alison Roper memories. Some of these will be shared throughout the CELEBRATE shows, and all will be compiled to give to Alison as a token of our collective appreciation for all she has brought to us over the last 18 years. Share your thoughts on our Facebook page: here, on Twitter using #AlisonRoper, or in the comments on this blog.

Here’s to perfection in all its forms. I look forward to seeing you at CELEBRATE, April 17-26 at the Newmark Theatre.