Student Performance Series Study Guides & Supplemental Materials
2019 | 2020
Fall 2019 | OBT ROAR(S)
Roar(s): Celebrating our 30th Season! If ballets could be fireworks—these two works would be the most impacting explosions!
Download the Study Guide
Winter 2020 | The Sleeping Beauty: Acts I & III
A grand and lush retelling of this iconic tale.
The Sleeping Beauty—Stowell/Tchaikovsky The most beloved of ballets. –The New York Times
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2017|2018
FALL 2018 | Rhapsody in Blue
The stage will be alive with a kaleidoscope of movement and sound as the vibrant dancers of Oregon Ballet Theatre reveal a world premier ballet by Nicolo Fonte to the lush and dazzling music of Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. We are so fortunate to be able to present this work with LIVE MUSIC. Pink Martini’s Thomas Lauderdale and concert pianist Hunter Noak will perform Gershwin’s most memorable work on two pianos.
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WINTER 2018 | ALICE (in wonderland)
Follow an exuberant young girl as she plunges down a rabbit hole into an extraordinary, imaginative world. Oregon Ballet Theatre is thrilled to perform a one hour excerpt of the west coast premiere of a new full-length ballet suitable for families: Alice (in wonderland). Created in 2012 by Septime Webre with an original score by American composer and violinist Mathew Pierce, Alice became an instant success. The Washington Post called it a “giddy parade, a pop-art dream, a feat of fevered imagination.” The mad adventure is filled to the brim with the delightful characters found in Lewis Carol’s classics Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, uniquely brought to life with surreal sets, zany costumes, puppetry, and powerfully expressive dance. Don’t be late! Take the plunge and join us on this unforgettable journey.
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SPRING 2018 | Man/Woman
In this one hour program, we juxtapose ballets designed for men only, women only, and for men and women together. The Newmark Theatre affords the audience a close viewing of OBT’s powerful and masterful dancers as they perform works that provide the opportunity to explore stereotypes of strength and beauty.
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2016|2017
FALL 2016 | GIANTS
Excerpts from all three ballets of our public performances reflecting the evolution of ballet through the 20th and 21st centuries. Two truly iconic masterworks, Serenade (Balanchine), In the Middle Somewhat Elevated (Forsythe), and Giants, a creation by one of the ballet world’s most sought after choreographers, Nicolo Fonte.
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WINTER 2017 | Swan Lake
Is there any other ballet that has as much a hold on our collective imaginations as does Swan Lake? The sublime transcendence of choreography that has been passed down generation after generation is unmatched, and the music of Tchaikovsky is never more attuned to the struggles of the heart than in this poignant work.
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SPRING 2017 | Terra
Three excerpts of ballets from our public performances, including a world premiere work by Helen Pickett. (You may remember her work Petal, which we performed in 2014.) The underlying contemplation is on the relationship between earth and human experience.
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2015|2016
FALL 2015 | Amore Italiano
Napoli Act III: A folksy, festive ballet set in sunny Italy of the past, complete with period costumes, a colorful set, traditional dances, and a frenzied Tarantella.
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WINTER 2016 | Romeo & Juliet
Romeo & Juliet, Act I: A bold expressive ballet to Prokofiev’s lush music revealing the timeless conflicts and deep emotions of Shakespeare’s well-known tale.
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SPRING 2016 | Beautiful Decay
Beautiful Decay: This ballet explores the passage of time and the juxtaposition of the vitality of youth against the fragility of age with a multigenerational cast and the excitement of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.
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2014|2015
FALL 2014 | OBT 25: Everything Live!
A spectacular opportunity to treat your students to a beginning-of-the-year “WOW!” See a world premiere dance performance with live music by beloved international ensemble PINK MARTINI celebrating OBT’s 25th anniversary.
SPRING 2015 | Impact: Rassemblement
Rassemblement (French, meaning “gathering”) is a dance work set to slave songs of Haiti and is described “as an impressive, thrilling, and audience-affecting human rights appeal.”
2013|2014
Fall 2013 | Past and Present: Por Vos Muero
The Fall program looks at Past and Present. The audience will see the company premiere of Por Vos Muero, a work by Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato. In this piece, dancers take contemporary ballet movements back in time, transported by ancient Spanish music and poetry of the XV and XVI centuries. Spanish speaking students will have a treat to hear poetry spoken in Spanish within the piece — translation, dance words, and more key ideas will be explored in the downloadable Study Guide for this performance.
Winter 2014 | Silence to Big Sound: Almost Mozart + Bolero
The Winter program will explore how dance (and the audience’s experience) is impacted by dynamic variations of music—Silence to Big Sound! Students will see an excerpt of Almost Mozart—a work that was recently performed in Washington DC at the John F. Kennedy Center or the Performing Arts.
Spring 2014 | Effects of Light and Color: Petal
How does lighting impact our experience of dance? What emotions or ideas come to mind when we add different colors? This show will explore these questions and more as we see Petal, choreographed by Helen Pickett, and other excerpts from our spring show.
2012|2013
Fall 2012 | THE BODY BEAUTIFUL: Greek Myth Through Dance and Art
The inspiration for this performance derives from ancient Greek art and mythology offering the audience a chance to see ballet as expressive moving sculpture. OBT is also collaborating with Portland Art Museum’s Body Beautiful exhibit, providing cross-linked educational resources. Visit OBT and PAM for a rich arts experience.
Download the Study Guide
Download the Body Beautiful Kinesthetic
Winter 2013 | SWAN LAKE: Folktale of Action Title and Consequence
Every student should experience great art. Swan Lake is a quintessenial ballet, based on a heartwrenching fable of true love heroically won and tragically squandered. Oregon Ballet Theatre will perform Act III from Christopher Stowell’s Swan Lake where Odile’s evil double tricks the Prince into breaking his vow of love for the Swan Queen.
Spring 2013 | AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL: Pride in Being New
Introduce your students to brand new, cutting-edge dance by contemporary choreographers created just now.
2011|2012
Winter 2012 | Giselle: I’ve got the Wilis!
Since the first version of Giselle performed in 1841, this ballet has deeply moved people of every decade in cultures all over the world. It is the world’s most beloved Romantic-era story ballet.
Spring 2012 | Hear! See! Imagine! Dance!
Choreography derived from noticing the way things and animals sound and move.
2010|2011
Fall 2010 | The Sleeping Beauty
Download the Study Guide | pas de deux coloring page | Sleeping Beauty Mime
Winter 2011 | The Stravinsky Project
Download the Study Guide | Stravinsky Word Jumble
Spring 2011 | Song & Dance
Download the Study Guide | Download accompanying transparencies
2009|2010
Fall 2009 | Emerald Retrospective
Spring 2010 | Duets
2008|2009
Fall 2008 | Swan Lake
Download the Study Guide | Download Overhead Transparencies
Winter 2009 | Lambarena
Download the Study Guide | Download the Lesson Plan: “Weaving the Elements of Lambarena”
