Alberta Ballet and Azuridge Estate Hotel are delighted to present acclaimed choreographer Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère, performed by Houston Ballet. Performances are at Calgary’s Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium April 30-May 2 and at Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium May 8-9, and feature live accompaniment from the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

A fire God, opium dreams, and a crashing temple – Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère is classical ballet with a touch of Bollywood performed by the world-acclaimed Houston Ballet. A colourful version of the Russian classic, La Bayadère is the lively story of Nikiya the temple dancer, her lover Solor, and the vengeance that keeps them apart – at least in this life. With lavish scenery depicting the jungles of India and costumes by Peter Farmer, La Bayadère features mesmerizing classical performances highlighted by the famous Shades scene, staged for the entire corps de ballet.

Choreography: Stanton Welch, after Marius Petipa
Music: Ludwig Minkus
Arrangement: John Lanchbery
Conductor: Ermanno Florio
Scenic and Costume Design: Peter Farmer
Lighting Design: Francis Croese

On February 17, 1969 a troupe of 15 young dancers made its stage debut at Sam Houston State Teacher’s College in Huntsville, Texas. Since that time, Houston Ballet has evolved into a company of 55 dancers with a budget of $24.5 million (making it the United States’ fifth largest ballet company by number of dancers), a state-of-the-art performance space built especially for the company – Wortham Theater Center, and the largest professional dance facility in America, Houston Ballet’s $46.6 million Center for Dance which opened in April 2011.

Australian choreographer Stanton Welch has served as artistic director of Houston Ballet since 2003, raising the level of the company’s classical technique and commissioning many new works from dance makers. Houston Ballet has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. Houston Ballet’s Academy has over a thousand students and has had four academy students win awards at the prestigious international ballet competition the Prix de Lausanne, with one student winning the overall competition in 2010. For more information on Houston Ballet visit www.houstonballet.org.

Alberta Ballet, Canada’s second-largest ballet company, is currently celebrating its 48^th season. Under the artistic leadership of Jean Grand-Maître, the company is at the forefront of the national and international arts scene. This season concludes with La Bayadère, performed by guest company Houston Ballet.

Next season Alberta Ballet will present the world premiere of brand new choreography from Vancouver based Wen Wei Wang and the company’s own Yukichi Hattori alongside Jean Grand-Maître’s critically acclaimed Romeo and Juliet, Balletlujah! and Love Lies Bleeding. The season will also feature work by Alberta’s Aszure Barton, and Edmund Stripe’s holiday classic The Nutcracker. Guest companies will include dance legend Paul Taylor’s extraordinary ensemble and Shaping Sound, starring the finalist and champions of the immensely popular television show So You Think You Can Dance.

Tickets for shows in both Calgary and Edmonton start at $29 and are available by phone in Calgary at 403-245-4549, in Edmonton at 780-428-6839 or online at http://ticket.albertaballet.com.