Dance with Cirque and Nevada Ballet

In 2007, A Choreographer’s Showcase premiered on the Strip as a collaboration between the world-famous Cirque du Soleil and the venerable Nevada Ballet Theatre (NBT), one of Las Vegas’s oldest performing arts institutions.

NBT is returning for its 48th season this year at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts with an encore of Tchaikovsky’s, Swan Lake, choreographed by Ben Stevenson, Oct. 24-27, 7:30 and 2 p.m. in Reynolds Hall. Tickets are $35-$150 at The Smith Center Box Office, call 702-749-2000 or visit thesmithcenter.com.

As anyone who has ever seen one of the massively popular Cirque shows, the company has brought acrobatics to the level of high art. Combined with Nevada Ballet Theatre’s precise classicism, the two have created through the annual A Choreographer’s Showcase a one-of-a-kind performance experience that includes dance, acrobatics, body percussion, comedy and puppetry and goes beyond the stage.”

The two companies have debuted more than 100 original works during their 12-year exploration of music and movement. Proceeds from the annual show benefit NBT’s professional company productions at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, where it is the Resident Ballet Company; its affiliated academy that trains more than 400 students; and its education and outreach programs, which successfully impact more than 20,000 students exposing some of them to their first experience of dance as an art.

Beyond the Stage: A Choreographers’ Showcase melds the creative work of 16 local choreographers from NBT and Cirque du Soleil. More than 60 artists from the two companies, including classical and modern dancers, acrobats, aerialists and mimes, bring to life the choreographers’ visions via a combination of live performance and video.

With mentoring by Taras Shevchenko and Gianni Howell of Cirque du Soleil, a new generation of dancers from NBT’s Future Dance Scholar program will demonstrate the continuity of the ballet tradition with a vision of tomorrow’s performance through the theme of Beyond the Stage, which culminates with a twist on the standard finale.

“The diversity in performers, movement, narrative and creativity in this show is nothing short of exciting,” said NBT Artistic Director Roy Kaiser. He said that Beyond the Stage: A Choreographers’ Showcase demonstrates the “unwavering passion” of Las Vegas’s performance artists.

The show will be presented at the Mystère Theatre at Treasure Island over two weekends: Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. and Oct. 12-13 at 1 p.m. Tickets start at $29 and may be purchased by calling the Mystère Box Office at 702-894-7722 or visiting www.nevadaballet.org. Experience the passion!