Smuin Offers Stanton Welch’s INDIGO for Free Streaming in ‘Hump Day Ballets’ Series

Smuin Contemporary Ballet has announced Stanton Welch’s critically acclaimed Indigo as the next installment of its Hump Day Ballets series, which aims to brighten mid-week spirits with free video streaming of a ballet from the company’s archives. Indigo examines the vagaries of romantic relationships as four couples come together, fall in love, fight, and exchange partners. Indigo will be offered beginning Wednesday, June 24, 2020, accompanied by a video introduction from former Smuin dancer Erica Chipp-Adams, who danced in the West Coast premiere of the piece in fall 2016. The recorded performance will be available for 48 hours only, with streaming instructions announced through Smuin’s email list (sign up at smuinballet.org), or via Smuin’s Facebook (facebook.com/SmuinBallet) and Instagram (instagram.com/smuinballet). For more information the public may visit smuinballet.org.

Stanton Welch’s Indigo explores the dynamic in relationships and follows four couples through love, break-ups, and re-connections. Set to Antonio Vivaldi’s “Cello Concerto in B minor and Cello Concerto in G minor,” Indigo showcases the technique, strength, and athleticism of Smuin’s dancers in spectacular fashion-who “attacked its devilishly complex choreography with focus and precision” (The Mercury News). Indigo has received high praise from critics, including Houston Chronicle, which called the work “Sleek and stunning. A warp-speed deconstruction of classical ballet movements. Crackled with sensuous energy.”

Since 2003, Australian Stanton Welch has been Artistic Director of Houston Ballet, America’s fifth largest classical ballet company. He has produced more than 25 works at the company including new versions of Swan Lake, La Bayadère, and The Rite of Spring. Welch has also created works for prestigious international companies such as San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and The Royal Danish Ballet. Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones, OBE, and Garth Welch, AM, two of Australia’s most gifted dancers of the 1960s and 1970s. Welch was a dancer with The Australian Ballet, where he rose to the rank of leading soloist, performing various principal roles. He has also worked with internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Jiří Kylían, Nacho Duato, and Maurice Béjart. In 1995, Welch was named resident choreographer of The Australian Ballet. For his contributions to the world of dance, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2015.

Smuin’s Hump Day Ballets series was created to share inspiring art and enable the Company to stay connected with its community during the Shelter-in-Place order. Every Wednesday a different ballet from Smuin’s repertoire, introduced by a current Company dancer or guest artist, is released to the public. The sharing of these productions is made possible by the generous support of Smuin’s partners-the choreographers, unions, designers, and composers providing permission outside of standard contracts to share these creations with the community.

Photo Credit: Chris Hardy

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