! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 21, 2018 Contact: Shanna Zordell (Executive Assistant), 563-663-2120 -
[email protected] Download this media kit in printable PDF format. Among this year’s Momentum works: Matthew Lovegood’s French Songs (left); Erika Overturff’s Connemara; and Overturff’s Rhapsody in Blue. More full-resolution photos... NEW BRAND, NEW DANCERS, NEW WORKS IN AMERICAN MIDWEST BALLET'S MOMENTUM OMAHA — The freshly rebranded American Midwest Ballet — formerly known as Ballet Nebraska — will open its ninth season in October with a fresh crop of works, artistic director Erika Overturff said. “Our mixed repertory program, Momentum, has been a must-see since our earliest seasons, because it showcases the exciting range of dance as an expressive art,” Overturff said. “For its first American Midwest Ballet edition, we're mixing some past favorites with works that will be new experiences for our audiences.” Headlining the selection is Overturff's Rhapsody in Blue, to the iconic music of George Gershwin. “When I choreographed it, I listened to the music many times until I knew all of the rhythms and notes by heart,” Overturff said. “The music is so expressive; within one piece it conveys so many different moods. It is flirty, jazzy, big and bold, whiny and sad, sweeping and romantic, daring and quick – lots of personality! “I see the dancers as a personification of the musical notes themselves, as if they floated out of the instruments and onto the stage for us to see.” ! Among the program’s other highlights are three guest works: Frank Chaves’ sultry, flirtatious At Last, is a duet set to lyrics sung by the incomparable Etta James.