Fiona Lee, shown here with Arcadian Broad, will perform her original “Tumbleweed Two-Step” during Boots & Ballet.
Yellowstone Ballet Co. (YBC) brings an international cast of professional dancers to the stage for the Boots & Ballet Gala – Where Classic Meets the West, June 24 in Bozeman and June 25 in the Paradise Valley, south of Livingston.
Saturday’s performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at Willson Auditorium in downtown Bozeman and Sunday’s concert kicks off at 4:30 p.m. at Owl’s Rest Event Barn at the Yellowstone Valley Lodge on Hwy. 89 S. in the Paradise Valley. Dancers from the U.S., Cuba, and the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen showcase their talents.
Fiona Lee received her early training at the Yellowstone Ballet Academy in Livingston and went on to train at the School of American Ballet in New York City at age 14. She currently dances with the world-renowned Royal Danish Ballet.
She will set her Balanchine-style, western ballet piece, “Tumbleweed Two-Step,” for the event. Lee received a grant to choreograph and set the Montana-inspired piece in Copenhagen and performed it there last summer.
She is excited to bring her work home to Montana this June. Other western pieces include “Yippie Yi Yo” and “Don’t Fence Me In,” with music by the Paradise Players.
Luis Victor Gonzales, formerly of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, will partner with Alabama Ballet principal dancer Tricia Bianco in excerpts from Aram Khachaturian’s Spartacus and Don Quixote. Other classical ballet pieces include rarely seen excerpts from Alexander Glazunov’s Raymonda, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Spring Waters and Adolphe Adam’s Le Corsaire. Read about the artist’s chilling defection story here.
Dress for YBC’s Boots & Ballet Gala is western casual. Cravats, jabots, bandannas, bolos, ascots, kerchiefs, buckled belts, plaid shirts, cowboy boots, jeans and prairie skirts are welcome!
Tickets are available online at YellowstoneBallet.info. Admission is free for ages 5 to 12 with an adult ticket purchase for the Willson Auditorium show only (not recommended for children under 5). This option is not available for the Owl’s Rest Event Barn due to very limited seating.
For more information email [email protected] or text 406-224-5031.