The first is a free concert on July 5. According to Rosine Bena, founding artistic director of Sierra Nevada Ballet, 'we're doing the full Peter and the Wolf, which is very short ballet. And then we have Cami Thompson. We have Sam Weber, international tap star. And we have some of the pianists from Steinway. We also have a little sneak preview of Mean Girls from Sierra School of Performing Arts. And we have a sneak preview of Coppélia.'
Later, on July 25 and 27 and August 1, Sierra Nevada Ballet performs the classic ballet Coppélia. 'Coppélia is the story,' says Bena, 'of a rather unconventional love triangle involving Franz, Swanhilda, and Coppélia. I love Coppélia. Coppélia's story is so interesting to me, because it's kind of like, you know, the perfect woman, as a lot of men think of the perfect woman. She's really lovely, but she doesn't say much, and she doesn't have many opinions, and she doesn't disagree with you.'
Coppélia, however, is a doll, made by her father Dr. Coppélius. Franz, the hero, falls in love with her, thinking she's real. His fiancée Swanhilda, whom Bena describes as 'a spunky little thing,' is the exact opposite. Eventually, Franz and Swanhilda find that 'they need each other for different reasons.'
As for the lead dancers in Coppélia. Dr. Coppélius is danced by Domingo Rubio, who has been with the Joffrey Ballet and with Ballet Hispanico. Bena says that 'he's been with us for, like, a long time. He is just fabulous. And he is so hilarious.'
Franz is played by Max Berg, who has 'won many competitions, and he is such an exciting dancer. He's now with the Sarasota Ballet.' Sara Weir, who has performed often with Sierra Nevada Ballet, plays Swanhilda.
There will be over forty dancers participating in Coppélia. Bena says that 'it's pretty amazing to see them all on stage. It's very exciting.'
Education has long been a focus for Sierra Nevada Ballet. Early in its history, it created a program for apprentices and trainees. It proved to be so popular, according to Bena, that 'we started the Sierra Nevada Ballet Academy in 2012, and that's gone so beautifully. In fact … most of our company dancers come from the school now.'
Sierra Nevada Ballet's free performance takes place July 5 at Reno's Bartley Ranch. The three performances of Coppélia are July 25 in Reno, July 27 at Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe, and August 1 in Carson City. sierranevadaballet.org for more.
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Support for Arts on the Airwaves comes from the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency that provides public funding and support to artists and organizations, that benefit Nevadans in cities and rural communities statewide. More at NVArtsCouncil.org.
