Bach to Broadway
Atlanta Ballet

The Atlanta Ballet has gotten very much into modern contemporary styles under the direction of Gennadi Nedvigin, and this is a spectacular display of dancers set to three very different themes.

On the stage at Cobb Energy Center, a troupe of 6 ballerinas and 7 male dancers opened the evening with Bach’s 7 for Eight, With the Ballet Orchestra in the pit under the baton of Tara Simoncic, and with Shirley Irek on the keyboards. The troupe presented different scenarios to each of the 7 movements. These dancers are so incredibly lithe as well as strong, as there are many lifts in each number. Helgi Tomasson choreographed this one which was all about the dance and not about a static back drop.

Then the Gershwin number, Who Cares?, which he composed for Of Thee I Sing, was brought to life by five of the dancers, as it was choreographed by George Balanchine of the New York City Ballet. After an intermission, the audience was treated to an entirely new production set to Russian composer, Alexander Tcherepnin’s Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra, which he wrote in 1953. This production choreographed by Maxim Petrov was a world premiere of this opus and the house went wild for it.

To keep up with our ballet company check in to their website at AtlantaBallet.com