BALLET & BILLY
Festival Ballet Albuquerque brings the New Mexico outlaw’s story to the stage
Travel to 1865 New Mexico and see Billy the Kid and crew. The last time Festival Ballet Albuquerque staged “Billy the Kid and Other Tall Tales” was in 2012 and the Albuquerque-based dance company is bringing it back to the Albuquerque Journal Theatre at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
There will be three performances beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, April 19, and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20.
“This is a repertory concert and is filled with a lot of different types of styles,” says Patricia Dickinson Wells, Festival Ballet Albuquerque director. “There’s not one main story thread and each piece has its own story.”
The night will have four pieces made up of 55 performers and five musicians. Dickinson Wells says the performers have been rehearsing since January.
She says the evening begins with the music of the Mystic Vic Blues Band playing live onstage with the FBA professional dancers in “Blue Jean Blues.” The piece is choreographed by Dickinson Wells. “This piece is back by popular demand and there is a concert about 30 minutes before by Mystic Vic Blues Band,” she says. “When the dance performance begins, the band will be on stage. All the dancers are in blue jeans and the women are in black pointe shoes.”
Dickinson Wells says the second piece is titled, “Southwest FolkTails.”
It is based on families of New Mexican “critters” sporting tails with character costumes expertly designed and constructed by master craftsman, Joe Moncada.
“Imagine hummingbirds, quails, coyotes, snakes and roosters,” she says. “It’s a children’s ballet and it’s quite fun to showcase the little ones’ talents.”
In the third act, Drew Humphreys takes the stage as Billy the Kid.
The ballet tells the story of Billy from childhood until his death at age 22, true to historical accuracy as anyone knows.
“The ballet has an ensemble of cowboys, townspeople, dance hall girls and the important people in Billy’s life, including his beloved mother, John Tunstall, J.J. Dolan, love interest Maria, and of course, Sheriff Pat Garrett,” Dickinson Wells says.
The evening ends with the classical 18th century ballet, “Giselle.”
Dickinson Wells says it’s performed in one act and is complete with village scenes, beautiful costumes and scenery.
The epic ballet premiered in 1841, but most of the versions today are based on the revivals by choreographer Marius Petipa in the early 20th century.
Set to music by composer Adolphe Adam, the epic story follows the tragically short life of Giselle through love, heartache, death and the after-death where she is summoned from her grave by the vengeful, deadly sisterhood of the Wilis, who are unmarried women who died after being betrayed by their lover.
Giselle’s great love for her betrayer, Albrecht, saves him from sure death by the Wilis, and thus saves herself from becoming one of them.
“We’ve condensed it to one act and it’s going to be set in 1865 New Mexico,” she says.