Houston Ballet II made its Institution debut last year and this week the company returns, this time with first company Houston Ballet, for several days of Chautauqua performances.
At 8:15 p.m. tonight in the Amphitheater, Houston Ballet II will perform with students from the Chautauqua School of Dance, and on Saturday, Houston Ballet will perform with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. For both, the Chautauqua Dance Circle will host a Pre-Performance Lecture, with the first at 7 p.m. tonight in Smith Wilkes Hall.
The program for this evening comprises three pieces choreographed by Artistic Director Stanton Welch, Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
The first performance of the evening is “Joplin,” which is set to the ragtime tune composed by Scott Joplin, followed by “A Dance in the Garden of Mirth,” set to early-music ensemble Dufay Collective.
Houston Ballet II dancer Quinton Brooks said he was able to join the company after falling in love with its summer intensive program; he has been with the company ever since. For him, it’s exciting to see his fellow dancers immerse themselves in their roles and truly embody the ballet.
“My favorite part of it is watching my colleagues really dive into their roles and apply themselves to the character,” he said. “The movement feels so good and so physical.”
Brooks said it has been a physically challenging performance to learn, but he cherishes the experience and he has found room to explore and play with the piece.
“That one has been very physically challenging, but once you get it in your body it’s so fun to play with and explore,” he said.
The third and final piece of the evening is “In Good Company,” a ballet originally choreographed over Zoom during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, set to banjo folk music from The Dead South. In this work, School of Dance students will join Houston Ballet II on stage.
“It’s grown on me quite a lot because a big part of it is about community,” Brooks said. “It really brings me a lot of joy because everyone — all my colleagues, my peers — have a solo. It brings me a lot of joy to get to watch them dive into those solos. I get to watch them be themselves on stage.”
While the dances are very physically challenging, Brooks said, they are also “artistically motivating.”
“It can be really hard; the days are long and the steps are difficult, but I really enjoy that because there’s so much (to) dissect and work out,” he said. “Every dancer I know loves a good challenge, and (Welch’s) ballets definitely bring the best out of people.”
Brooks said the diversity of the program is a “real treat” because the ballets are so different from one another.
“They’re similar in a way, but at the same time, not. You get a real good taste of Stanton’s choreography and all that Mr. Welch has to offer,” Brooks said.
He hopes Chautauquans will attend the performance ready to take it all in, seeking out the details of the performance — there are “so many that you can find in every dancer on stage through the whole program,” he said.
Brooks said the skill of the dancers can make the performances look easy; everyone in the Houston Ballet II is “so positive” and, as a whole, “a really amazing group. … They’ve been so amazing to work with.”
He also wants Chautauquans to enjoy the community aspect of the artform, and to take advantage of the opportunity to connect with others through a shared passion for dance.
“The community aspect of it is something that is really nice to see and to feel,” he said. “Most people walk away with something that they can bond over and share with their neighbor (or) the person next to them.”
