Michele Wiles will Perform with her Cast in Gala Piece, "Bach + 8"

On March 16 and 17, the School of Dance will come together as modern and ballet dancers for a night of celebration. The Gala performance, which will take place at Kingsbury Hall, will feature new creations and traditional works, including a world premier by Michele Wiles. Wiles joined American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company in 1997 and then American Ballet Theatre in 1998.  She was promoted to soloist in 2000 and to principal in 2005. In 2011, she left ABT to start BalletNext, a New York-based company which she now directs.

Wiles is not only fulfilling the role of choreographer in this new work but will also perform in the piece. By being part of the cast, she hopes to foster camaraderie and “share what we do at BalletNext with the University students.”

The new work features live music, a piano at the center of the piece around which the dancers perform. The interactions between dancers as well as the dancers with the pianist create a sense of intimacy and play onstage. Wiles hopes to challenge these high-level dancers, “taking ballet technique and making it more improvisational, light hearted, and free.” “I’m asking them to have fun with it now,” she says.

Wiles also challenges traditional balletic gender roles by incorporating many moments of female partnering – a surprise for many balletomanes. She showcases the strength of her cast members, but also uses them to represent the strength of women as a whole. Her use of contemporary partnering while remaining true to the traditional ballet line is both satisfying and exciting to witness. Her time in the Kirov Academy in Washington, DC and with American Ballet Theater grounds her movement style in ballet vocabulary, but she still strives to augment lines and contort shapes, experimenting with the classical image.

When asked what impression she hopes to leave with the audience, Wiles responded, “I want them to see that [the dancers] have things to say as well. It’s not just me dictating what to do.” Her new work places emphasis on the process, not just the result. She invites each dancer to “draw their own personality” throughout the creative process, writing their own story. So often in classical works, a dancer is responsible for representing someone else’s tale, but Wiles encourages her cast to create their own. She invites the audience to join in this endeavor, hoping they will experience each dancer’s personality in a different way, even with a giggle here and there.

By School of Dance Ballet Program undergraduate student Victoria Holmes

The School of Dance GALA will be held at Kingsbury Hall on March 16 and 17 at 7:30pm.
Tickets may be purchased at tickets.utah.edu.
FREE with ArtsPass for University of Utah students, $12 for adults, $8 for students/faculty/seniors.