News & Events

Ballet events set for Diana Wortham Theatre and UNC Asheville in February

February 6, 2013

A night of live dance, films and presentations at the Diana Wortham Theatre on Feb. 12, and two special exhibitions at UNC Ashville during February, will highlight the lives and work of two legendary figures in ballet, Dame Sonia Arova and Oleg Briansky. These events, together titled "The Enchanted Wanderers: The Unknown Pages of the History of the Ballet," are free and open to the public.

"The Enchanted Wanderers: The Unknown Pages of the History of the Ballet," is a collaboration between the Bakhrushin Central State Theatre Museum in Moscow, the Museum of Russian Art in Jersey City, N.J., Grabbe Inc., and UNC Asheville, and is sponsored by the university's Arts and Ideas Program and the Department of Drama.

"The Enchanted Wanderers" begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville, with a tribute honoring Dame Sonia Arova, prima ballerina and former artistic director of the National Ballet of Norway; and Oleg Briansky, dancer, teacher, choreographer and founder of the Briansky Ballet Center in New York.

This event will feature excerpts of "Swan Lake" and "Copella" performed by Alyssa Belcher, Meredith McCook, principal dancers in the Asheville Ballet, and featuring the company's associate artistic director, Lyle Laney. The company's artistic director, Ann Dunn, will then offer a personal presentation to Arova and Briansky. Dunn will be joined by Natalia Kolodzei of the Russian Academy of Arts; Therese Laeger, artistic director of the Arova Contemporary Ballet Company in Birmingham, Ala.; and Igor Roussanoff, costume designer and visiting member of UNC Asheville's faculty. Documentaries about Briansky and Arova will also be on view.

"The Enchanted Wanderers" will continue with two exhibitions at Blowers Gallery in UNC Asheville's Ramsey Library, curated by Rousanoff:

• Feb. 12-18 – An exhibition highlighting the lives of Arova and Briansky, also featuring photographs of Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, George Balanchine and others.
• Feb. 19-26 – An exhibition displaying Rousanoff's theatrical sketches, production photographs and costumes for theater and ballet, including his collaborations with Arova and others.

These exhibitions will be on view daily with evening hours most days, whenever the library is open. Visit the Ramsey Library website for viewing hours, or call 828.251.6336.

For more information about these events, call the Department of Drama at 828.251.6610.