BOISE, Idaho — This weekend, Ballet Idaho is debuting their show, "Anthology". The company has been preparing for weeks, so Idaho News 6 sat down with the people bringing it to life.
- The show is made up of three pieces, which all have different feels. One that's more classic ballet, one that is more contemporary, and one that is very different.
- You can find tickets at their website.
Dancers in the video are Soloist Jonathan Harris, Soloist Justin Hughes, Principal Dancer Graham Gobeille, and Principal Dancer Adrienne Kerr.
They are dancing choreographed piece from Man in Black by James Kudelka.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Every day you can find Jonathan Harris in the studios of Ballet Idaho. This has been his dream since he was young.
"I saw these guys like umping around, turning, lifting people, and I was like woah, that looks cool and fascinating and I bet I could do that," Harris said.
Harris started his Tendus in Texas, but Chassé'd over to New York to perfect his craft. After dancing around the country, his family settled down in Wyoming.
He finally found his footing here in Boise.
"Boise's kind of right in the middle of very busy New York and Desolate Wyoming, so this place is perfect," Harris said.
It's Harris' first season with Ballet Idaho, and this weekend, he'll get to represent his new company at the Boise State Special Events center.
This weekend's show is called "Anthology". There's three parts to this weekend's show. A more classical ballet piece, a contemporary piece, and a piece that's out of the ordinary.
It centers around Johnny Cash.
"There's four dancers in it, we all wear cowboy boots," Harris said.
Yes, boots.
Jonathan is one of the four.
"He is an incredibly joyful mover," said Anne Mueller, the artistic director at Ballet Idaho. "Very smart, very experienced, and a generous spirit."
Harris says part of the reason he came to Boise, is how the company values it's dancers.
Ballet Idaho says it's their goal to create a safe space for their dancers.
"Your medium and your instrument is your body, so it's a really vulnerable, challenging thing," said Garrett Anderson, the executive director of Ballet Idaho. "Knowing that if you fall down, someone's going to catch you, some one's going to pick you up."
In his short time with the company, Harris says he's found a home, and you can see it in their performance.
"There's something about that that ends up coming out in the performance," Harris said. "When you're truly performing with friends as opposed to performing with colleagues, which is still special, but I really feel like these are really close friends."