The River Region Ballet will present La Boutique Fantasque as part of their Spring Concert at Destrehan High School Auditorium, #1 Wildcat Lane in Destrehan. Performances are on Saturday March 14 at 7:30 pm and Sunday March 15 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $15 and may be ordered by calling 504-202-7706 or purchased at the door.

The company, under the direction of artistic director Susan Ferrara, will present La Boutique Fantasque, as a salute to the 100th anniversary of the Ballet Russes. This ballet is set in a Paris Doll Shop, circa 1865, and it has been a favorite of audiences with its lifelike dolls from various nations. The River Region Ballet has assembled a wonderful cast including guest artists Eleanor and Ian Carney as the Can-Can Dancers in La Boutique Fantasque. The production will also feature Chase Zibilich in the role of the Shopkeeper and Robert Jumonville dancing the role of the Russian Officer. The Spring concert will also feature the Carneys in new pas de deux, For Your Love, and River Region Company dancers performing an original piece, Reverence, choreographed by Susan Ferrara.

Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes had a monumental impact on ballet. Their productions were the culmination of collaborative efforts of major artists in the early 20th century. Diaghilev discovered and nurtured significant new talents in all the arts. He persuaded eminent painters, composers, designers and choreographers to work with the Ballet Russes. Stravinsky and Prokofiev produced scores, while Bakst, Picasso, Matisse, Coco Chanel, and Derain contributed designs and choreographers such as Fokine, Nijinksy, Massine, Nijinska, and Balanchine created the ballets.  One of these geniuses, Leonide Massine, developed a new vein, the comedy of manners, in his choreography with such works as La Boutique Fantasque. Since its inception, La Boutique Fantasque has been a favorite of audiences with its lifelike dolls from various nations. The reason is not hard to find, for the ballet is replete with good humor, joy, and happiness and it pleases both the serious devotee of dancing and the seeker of amusement.

La Boutique Fantasque was first produced in London in 1919. It was based on an old German ballet. However only the original theme was retained. The new ballet differed in every other aspect. With music by Giacomo Rossini, orchestrated and arranged by Ottorino Respighi, choreography by Leonide Massine, and costumes by André  Durain, the ballet was a complete success.

La Boutique Fantasque is set in a Paris Doll Shop, circa 1865. A shopkeeper and his assistant are preparing for the day’s activities when they discover a young thief trying to steal gold braid off a doll’s costume. Exhausted from the altercation with the thief, they greet their first customers of the day, a pair of English Ladies. An American couple and their children enter, joining their English friends to witness the display of lifelike dolls offered in the boutique. Tarantella dolls from Italy and elaborate dolls dressed as Court Cards dance. Impressed by these mechanical marvels the customers want to see more before they make a purchase. Meanwhile a Russian aristocrat and his family arrive. Not willing to socialize with Russians, the English ladies depart in a huff. Next the shopkeeper brings out a trio of French poodles. The parents are not pleased with the dogs’ demeanor and cover the children’s eyes. The children unable to control their excitement run and dance around the shop. Behind a curtain they discover two new dolls, a Russian Cossack officer and maiden. The assistant winds up these dolls to dance, followed by an entire corps of Ballerina dolls. The customers are still not ready to make a purchase. The shopkeeper hesitantly agrees to bring out his masterpiece, a pair of Can-Can dolls. Wild with excitement the American and Russian families both want to purchase these dolls. The shopkeeper, sad to part with these dolls, exacts a high price, which is met by both parties. They all retire to the back to finalize the sale. The Can-Can lovers can’t believe they’re being separated and are saddened. The shopkeeper boxes the dolls for delivery the next morning and closes the shop for the night. The dolls’ hour arrives. All the dolls commiserate over the lovers’ separation. They try to devise a way to save them. Finally freed from the boxes by their friends, the lovers dance happily and make their escape. The next morning all arrive to collect their packages only to find the boxes empty. In the ensuing havoc the dolls come to their maker’s rescue, banishing the would be owners and happy to still be in “magic doll shop”.

The River Region Ballet contracted Valerie Smith Concha to choreograph the ballet on their company dancers. Ms. Concha learned the ballet directly from the original choreographer, Leonide Massine, while dancing as a soloist with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Slavinska-Franklin Ballet. RRB feels extremely fortunate to have this direct connection to this historic ballet.

For additional information you can contact the River Region Ballet at 985-764-7678 or riverregionballet@cox.net or www.rrpa.org. For tickets call 504-202-7706. This program is sponsored in part by: United Way of St. Charles; the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Houma Regional Arts Council; and the River Region Arts and Humanities Council.