Four years ago, the Aspen Ballet Company made its debut at the Kennedy Center in New York.
The goals were simple -- then."We wanted to give audiences a fresh outlook on dance," said Jean-Philippe Malatay, who, along with Tom Mossbrucker, co-directs the company. "We wanted to be the new generation of an American dance company."
So far, so good.
The Aspen Ballet Company will return to Salt Lake City for two performances of eclectic dance at the Alice Sheets Marriott Center for Dance on the University of Utah campus on Monday and Tuesday, April 23 and 24.
Curtain is 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at all ArtTix outlets or by calling 801-355-ARTS (2787).
This time around, the company will perform George Balanchine's "Sonatine," Paul Taylor's "Aureole," Gerald Arpino's "Light Rain (Pas de Deux)," Sherry Zunker's "The Man That Got Away" and Shapiro and Smith's "Square Dance."
"The strength of the company is the fact that they can dance all these different and dynamic dances well," Malatay said during a phone interview from his office in Aspen, Colo. "It isn't every night you have a Taylor work next to a Arpino work."
Performing such different works, a combination of modern and ballet, isn't a challenge for the Aspen Ballet Company, said Malatay.
"The challenge is funding," he said with a laugh. "We made it a point to hire strong dancers when we first started the company. And we still have a high standard for them to meet.
"Also, performing such works stretches the dancers and makes them better artists because of the different styles," he said.
Still, there are other reasons for such repertory.
"We are basically a new company," Malatay said. "And we're based in Aspen, where many people who live in New York and California have second homes. They've seen the best in those cities and we want to be sure we hold up to such standards.
"Also, we're developing an audience in Aspen, so we want to be accessible in some ways," explained Malatay, who had taught at the Ballet West Conservatory at the U. for three years. "There are many people here who haven't seen a ballet. And there are many who have seen bad ballets. The people who have seen bad ballets automatically think all ballets are bad. So, we try to at least present a work that at least one person would like when they leave the theater."
Then there's the fact that dance companies are competing against every other performing arts production around.
"Music concerts, ice skating, live theater, MTV and the Internet are what we're up against," he said. "And we do look around to see what's happening. We know a lot of young people are going to see 'Disney on Ice.' And when they see a ballet after a big production like that, it is boring to them."
The challenge is trying to keep dance alive and exciting, said Malatay.
"We've got about 32 works in our repertoire," he said. "We also have a wish list. But the bottom line is making sure our current performance is our best."
The next big step for the dance company is a co-venture with Santa Fe, N.M.
You can reach Scott Iwasaki by e-mail at scott@desnews.com