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Ballet West: Almost Tango Staff Pick

When: April 10-11, 7:30 p.m., April 15-17, 7:30 p.m., Sat., April 18, 2 & 7:30 p.m. and Sun., April 19, 2 p.m. 2015
Price: $29 to $84

Almost Tango, the title of Ballet West's spring performance, is apropos. While it's the name of one of the featured pieces, it also hints to a link between all three works on the playbill: ballet influenced by other dance forms. It's fairly common for choreographers to find inspiration in other spheres of movement, but within traditional ballet, a little less so. Yet all three ballets on the program do just that. George Balanchine's classic Square Dance uses mostly traditional ballet movement and technique, while feeding off the repetition, form and social atmosphere of square dancing—going so far as to include a traditional caller, a role that will be played by Ballet West's artistic director Adam Sklute. Second on the program is the title piece, re-choreographed for Ballet West by resident choreographer Nicolo Fonte. With its rich cultural roots and passionate style, tango is a favorite dance form from which to pilfer. Like Balanchine, Fonte focuses on the social aspects of the dance by setting his piece in a crowded tango hall (10 male dancers paired with four female ballerinas), as opposed to the fervent push-pull of a more intimate pas de deux. Anchoring the evening is a revival of William Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated. Considered a masterpiece of contemporary ballet, it premiered in 1987 in Paris, and also pulls from other dance forms in a social setting—a dance club featuring a stark score by Thom Willems emulating the harsh sounds of early techno music. (Jacob Stringer)