To celebrate the wrap-up of the 23/24 opera and ballet season, the Creative Fellowship initiative joined the thrilling community of professional dancers, young talents, and dance enthusiasts united by Attitude Ballet Studios Vienna for a two-act Paquita Gala performance at the Akzent Theater.
Thanks to the efforts of artistic director Laura Christinoiu, this grand Gala performance brought together students of the Attitude Ballet Studio, young talents, and dancers from the Vienna State Opera and other European companies. Together, they not only set sail on a dazzling journey through the world of dance but also celebrated the power of collaboration and synergy in both classical and modern dance.
Led by the creative director, the dancers presented an exclusive surprise program in which the performers themselves had a significant voice in the choice of choreographies and music to be performed. As a result, the program included not only highlights from the classical Paquita ballet but also various contributions from the artists themselves and external choreographers.
The ensemble of dance enthusiasts gathered under the Attitude Ballet Studio’s roof “Danced their Attitude” to Michael Meets Mozart – a composition based on melodies by Michael Jackson and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, originally performed by The Piano Guys, and written by band members Jon Schmidt, Steven Sharp Nelson, and Al Van Der Beek.
In a search for an answer to the question of how you can be so close and intimate physically with somebody and yet be so distorted and disconnected emotionally, Israeli Hila Peled and Portuguese Bernardo Ribeiro choreographed and performed a contemporary piece called “Cold.”
Maire New, a Bolshoi Ballet Academy graduate and a principal dancer with an impressive track record across Europe and the US, presented a modern composition called “Rasskazh(i)” choreographed by Matthew Schroeder.
Collaboration and Composition was the theme of Creative Fellowship’s modern classics showcase at this Paquita Gala. By introducing modern music created and performed as a collaboration, we wanted to add to Laura Christinoiu’s thesis that “synergy between young talents and established artists leads to extraordinary results.”
The phenomenon of how the world revolves around sopranos was deeply explored in the comic aria “The Soprano’s Revenge,” performed by Anne Wieben during the first act of the Paquita Gala. “The Soprano’s Revenge” was written by Jodi Goble as a collaborative result of the Aria Institute for composers and librettists of all levels in 2022.
Anne Wieben noted that the Paquita Gala was a new and very enlightening experience for her. For the first time, as an artist with extensive stage experience, she had the opportunity to see how classical ballet works from the inside and learn how much effort and cooperation lie behind the illusory ease of the show that audiences enjoy from their seats.
Swiss-based composer and performer Alla Linares, who writes music for piano, violin, and cello, in collaboration with Creative Fellowship alumna, violinist Mihaela Lazareva, presented her compositions “Out of Circle” and “Momento” written in the style of contemporary classical. For Mihaela, this performance was her first experience working on a music composition under the mentorship of its creator.
We thank Attitude Studios and its creative director Laura Christinoiu for giving us this platform to showcase the importance of transferring artistic knowledge through collaborative experiences that bring professional and developing talents together. We congratulate all creators, performers, and participants for putting on an outstanding show and wish them many more experiences like the Paquita Gala further down their careers.
