Working, working, working...
We're hard at work preparing Rush+Robbins, which we open in less than two weeks. Three of the four ballets are completely set and have been rehearsed for the past few weeks, and the fourth, The Cage, is in the works. Bart Cook, a repetiteur from the Robbins Trust, is here teaching The Cage and also taking a look at Afternoon of a Faun (which he staged for us last season) and The Concert (which was staged by Christine Redpath, but Bart is also an expert on the ballet, having danced it many many times).

Other than working on our rep for the regular OBT season, several of us are also participating in various projects which we are hoping will generate new performance and outreach opportunities for us. These projects range from summer gigs to teaching to choreographing for student demonstrations or performances in unusual (for us) venues. There is a lot of exciting energy and impetus behind what's going on outside the realm of what OBT's audiences typically see us doing. Stay tuned for details as things develop further!

Doernbecher Children's Hospital - Take 2

Just wanted to share some photos from OBT's trip to Doernbecher. It was a very rewarding day for all of us, seeing each and every one of these kids' faces light up as the dancers entered the room.

Here's the crew in the lobby

The first room we visited had the most adorable and excited little girl in it. She shrieked with joy as the girls in tutus appeared in the doorway:

Lucas did double-duty: lifting ballerinas and passing out teddy bears to the kids.

Stay on the lookout for a video about our experience, coming soon to a blog near you!

What's on the Prop Table?

This is a little like those "what's in your dance bag?" columns:

On the prop table backstage, we have:

Gatorade, Pedialyte, water (Pedialyte is the latest trend in rehydration)

Altoids

peppermints

ibuprofen and aspirin

giant bottle of Vitamin C tablets

Band-Aids

Hairpins, bobby pins, hairspray (for emergency touch-ups)

Various people's personal water bottles

Assorted bits of warmup clothes

Tambourines (for Tarentella)

Hand sanitizer (jumbo economy size)

Kleenex

A prosthetic arm and leg (no cause for alarm--- these were props for Il Distratto)

Usually there'll be signs taped above or near the prop table explaining the bow sequence for each ballet, too.

She's not REALLY fragile

I caught Kathi warming up backstage with this sign posted on her back:



Don't worry, she's fine. But sometimes, especially during a hard run, we feel like we might break if not handled with care. Luckily, the men of OBT are all wonderfully sensitive partners!
(The sign was intended for something else backstage--- one of the harpists' music stands, maybe?).

OBT visit's the Doernbecher Hospital

Hello Everyone...

On Sunday April 26th we wrapped our Left Unsaid program at the Newmark Theater. Though we were all exhausted a group of 10 dancers set off to the Doernbecher Hospital on Monday to visit the children and make them smile. With tutu's in hand we set off in a caravan to the Hospital with John Ulsh, Roslyn Barnfield and Kathy Scoggins excited to see the kids. I was a little nervous because of personal reasons that being at the hospital may be overwhelming and emotional, but after seeing the kids I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

We split into two groups of 5, one group visited the children in the Cancer wing, while the other group went to the surgical acute care wing. I was in the surgical acute care wing with Anne, Steven, Leta and Brennan. We visited kids from age 8-16, and even though the 16 year old boy may not have had the same experience as the 8 year old girl it still brought a smile to his face. Kathy Scoggins and Emily Russell put together wonderful coloring books that the kids loved, and we also brought along brand new pointe shoes that the kids could play with. The other group consisted of Janel, Olga, Lucas, Julia and Grace. I know that the first room they visited was a little girl who jumped to her feet and squealed as soon as they walked in. If all we did was distract them from what they're going through for 5 minutes then we did our job, hopefully they'll remember this forever as I know all of us will.

-Raychel

Step Right Up!

Did you know that now you don't have to wait for performances to purchase OBT dancers' autographed ballet shoes? We've set up a page on our website where you can select the dancer whose shoes you'd like to have, the number of pairs, and even request shoes from specific ballets or roles. We'll send the shoes directly to you, and you'll be helping us put a dent in the amazingly large cost of keeping us on pointe. (And keep in mind that you can order mens' shoes, too, of course!).

http://www.obt.org/pointe_shoes.shtml

Four Down

We're four shows into the ten-performance run and are taking a day off tomorrow!

Thanks to all our audiences this weekend--- the enthusiastic, yet thoughtful responses we got from you at each performance was gratifying and reassuring. I think I can say that we all feel re-invigorated and ever more committed to keeping Portland a city with a deeply passionate ballet company that pushes its audiences to think, consider, and explore their lives and the world they live in.

Thank you! See you next weekend!