Innovations Showcases New Choreography by Ballet Arizona Company Members

All dancers are creative, but Ballet Arizona’s most recent performance gives a few of its members the chance to be creators as well. Innovations is a showcase of new choreography by Tzu-Chia Huang, Nayon Iovino, Myles Lavallee and Astrit Zejnati.

“All four of these artists have a passion that we have seen come through in their extraordinary performances on stage in such ballets as Cinderella, La Bayadère and the many other works we present each season,” says Ballet Arizona director Ib Andersen in a press release.

See also: Ballet Arizona’s “All Balanchine” Showcases Ballet’s Expansiveness

For Iovino, Innovations presented him with his first chance to choreograph a full piece. He says that when he first began developing Interlayers, he started with the music. The piece explores the freedom (or sometimes, lack of freedom) of the human mind. The six dancers in his piece go through an array of emotional states, which eventually brings the dance full circle, he says.

The three other dance pieces that make up Innovations deal with emotions as well, but to very different ends.

Innovations is the first performance of its kind at Ballet Arizona, giving the four burgeoning choreographers the unique opportunity to see their creations brought to life in a professional setting.

Iovino says his experience choreographing for this performance will have an affect on his attitude in the studio as well. “The experience makes me realize how important it is to be really involved with a piece a dancer,” he says.

Innovations runs through Sunday, June 1, with performances Friday May 30 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday May 31 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday June 1 at 1 p.m. at the Dorrance Theater, 2835 East Washington Street. For tickets, contact the Ballet Arizona box office at 602-381-1096.

Follow Jackalope Ranch on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.