BalletX performs this weekend in Temecula

As it begins its 2011 California Winter Tour, BalletX will make its first visit to the Old Town Temecula Community Theater to perform two shows this weekend: Friday, Jan. 21 and Saturday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. Experts have said BalletX produces original choreography that expands the vocabulary of classical dance with the ambitious goal to redefine ballet and bring it into the new century.

“The dancers in this company all have a strong ballet foundation and the technique required to dance classical ballet,” said Bruce Beers, manager of the Old Town Temecula Community Theater. “I saw BalletX perform at the Laguna Dance Festival two years ago, and they were well on their way to developing a contemporary style unique to their vision.”

A Philadelphia dance company firmly rooted in rigorous, classical ballet training and technique, BalletX brings a contemporary sensibility to the art form, infusing its work with a new vision of athleticism, emotion, and intimacy.

Promoters say that BalletX reflects the “daring vision of two gifted dancers and award-winning dancers/choreographers, Matthew Neenan and Christine Cox.” As longtime dancers with the Pennsylvania Ballet, Neenan and Cox were said to have been looking for “new ways to express their vision of dance and to challenge ballet’s classical traditions.”

“The artistic directors – Matthew Neenan and Christine Cox – use the strength of ballet but change the vocabulary to challenge the classical ballet traditions and create new emotions,” explained Beers.

Although this will be BalletX’s first performance at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater, an affiliated choreographer is no stranger to the theater.

“One of the dances on their program was set by a choreographer who has been here before, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, one of the most sought-after choreographers working today,” said Beers. [Ochoa] was here with Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal in October 2009. The first half of their show was her work.”

To learn more about BalletX, visit http://www.balletx.org. For ticket information regarding performances at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater ($15 and up), call (866) 653-8696 or visit http://www.TemeculaTheater.org.

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