Centennial Work of Art Celebration, Rite of Spring at Saddleback College

Posted By Cotologzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA  – To celebrate the centennial of The Rite of Spring, a seminal 20th-century work of art,  Saddleback College will showcase Igor Stravinsky’s epic score. This live performance of his two piano version will be played by Norman Weston and Kirill Gliadkovsky, accompanied by a premiere of new choreography by Deidre Cavazzi February 4^th and 5^th at 7 pm in the McKinney Theatre.  The large cast of dancers brings the passion, violence, and power of the music to life, re-envisioning this historic tale of tribal ritual and sacrifice.  

The performance will be preceded by a short presentation about the hundred-year history of The Rite of Spring in the fields of both music and dance. 

Excited about this opportunity for her dancers, Cavazzi stated, “We are thrilled to bring the dance and music departments of Saddleback College together for this production, in the spirit of the original 1913 Ballets Russes piece, which also brought the visions of artists like Igor Stravinsky, Vaslav Nijinsky, and Nicholas Roerich together. The students are passionate about this project, and they’ve been really excited to learn more about the history of the piece in the process of creating this new version of choreography.  It’s also such a treat for the dancers to perform with live music.”  The Stravinsky score is incredibly complex, with the dancers switching time signatures and concentrating to keep count in ever-changing tempos.

The extraordinary score, coupled with Nijinsky’s new movement vocabulary and a tale of ritual sacrifice and primitivism, has been inspiring artists in many fields for one hundred years; this spring, Saddleback College will celebrate the legacy of this piece in its February production.  General admission $10/students and seniors $7/students with ASB cards and faculty free.   Call (949) 582-4656 (Wednesday-Saturday, noon to 4 pm) or online at www.saddleback.edu/arts for tickets.

The Saddleback College Dance Department offers several technique classes at all levels for ballet, jazz, modern and tap. In addition, courses are offered in the history of dance, exercise for dancers, rehearsal and performance, dance production and choreography. College-wide dance concerts are put on each semester and promoted as a major theater event.

The Music Department has established a comprehensive program which is considered to be one of the finest in California:  a complete lower-division curriculum for transferring music majors, numerous performance groups, private and group lessons, a full concert series with faculty and guest artists, and general music courses.  The nationally recognized faculty is dedicated to performance and to teaching in all areas such as vocal, instrumental, jazz, guitar and piano.  Other music classes include harmony, musicianship, composition, history and appreciation of western art music, rock, jazz and world.

Saddleback College is located at 28000 Marguerite Pkwy in Mission Viejo, just east of Interstate 5 at the Avery Parkway exit. Parking is available in lot 12. Take Avery Parkway to Marguerite Pkwy turn left to the third traffic light, turn right into the campus and take the second left to the Theatre Circle turning right in lot 12.

Located in Mission Viejo, Saddleback College provides quality higher education and training to the greater south Orange County community.  Having served more than 500,000 students since 1968, Saddleback College offers over 300 degree and certificate programs to help students reach their personal, career, and educational goals.  For more information, please visit www.saddleback.edu and for Fine Arts information, please visit www.saddleback.edu/arts.