Newport Contemporary Ballet is a non-profit, professional, contemporary ballet company with a long history of enriching the cultural fabric of communities throughout Rhode Island, the region and the world. The company creates and presents, relevant, visceral, and engaging dance works by a diverse group of the worlds’ leading choreographers and collaborating artists.
Peter Bramante – Executive Director – Newport Contemporary Ballet (00:01) Newport Contemporary Ballet is a professional, nonprofit, contemporary ballet company. We were previously known as the Island Moving Company, but we’ve recently rebranded as Newport Contemporary Ballet to better position the company in terms of who we are, where we’re from and what we do. We are preparing for our Spring repertory show, which is entitled Elements.
Danielle Genest – Artistic Director – Newport Contemporary Ballet (00:30) When I thought about this program, Elements, it’s a very loose, abstract theme for the program. I contacted Caleb Mitchell, Juan Rodriguez and Yoshito Sakuraba, and it helps them as well. they’ve explored in a different way. Each work is very different. One is very neo- classical, one contemporary ballet, one really strong contemporary dance. So there’s a real range in what you’ll see in the program, and I think it really highlights the range of our dancers and the artistic range that exists here.
PB (1:17) Also included in this spring series of productions will be our new family series production entitled Are the Crayons Quitting, which is based on Drew de Walt’s best selling book, The Day the Crayons Quit.
DG (1:30) This is a book that I read to my kids and we loved. It’s funny and it really is about standing up for yourself and appreciating others, not labeling people and making space for everyone.
PB (1:44) In addition, our artistic director, Danielle Genest, is restaging a work that was originally made for the camera for live stream during the height of the pandemic, when we couldn’t convene audiences. And so that would get in front of a live audience.
DG (1:59) My piece is called Skeleton Crew. It was a response to the pandemic, the feeling of all that we had lost, yet all we still had, and how to move forward. I think the pandemic taught us a lot about the importance of the arts and the importance of connection in our world. It just has so much value and can be such a wonderful way of coming together.
PB (2:25) So it’s a really exciting show. It runs over two weekends in March, March 16th through the 18th, and then again the 24th and 25th. It will be at the Keats Theater, which is on the campus of St Andrew’s School in Barrington.
DG (2:39) That’s a really powerful program. I hope people can really come and experience it with us.
