Admit it. When you think of classical ballet, you picture women - lithe, graceful ballerinas floating across the stage, balanced en pointe, slender arms extended, the very image of feminine charm. Well, for the Louisville Ballet's kick-off performance of their Diamond Jubilee Season, you can stop dreaming about the ladies. This one is for the guys.
The Three Musketeers is choreographer Andre Prokovsky's decidedly rollicking ballet of swashbuckling, swordplay and daring do in the French court of Louis XIII. You know the characters - Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan. You know their credo - one for all and all for one. But did you know they were such incredible dancers?
Here's a short clip from a recent production of Prokovsky's ballet, and you can tell at once that this is ballet of a distinctly masculine order.
Prokovsky, who is known for adapting masterpieces of world literature to the dance stage (Dr. Zhivago, The Great Gatsby), decided to highlight the guys after he completed his adaptation of Anna Karenina. He saw Dumas' classic adventure story as "a comedy that would give the men a chance to show their stuff."
With every major role danced by men, The Three Musketeers is sure to thrill everyone in the audience, regardless of their gender.
The Louisville Ballet
The Three Musketeers
Friday, September 16, 8 p.m.
Saturday, September 17, 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Whitney Hall
Buy tickets here.
Production sponsored by Recover Care.
