American Contemporary Ballet Director Lincoln Jones has waited his whole career to produce George Balanchine’s ballet “Concerto Barocco,” choreographed to Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor.”
“Concerto Barocco” will begin on Thursday, June 15, closing out ABC’s 11th season on Sunday, June 25. The performance will include Jones’ newest ballet, followed by an artist reception with live music and refreshments.
“(‘Concerto Barocco’) is one of the ballets that made me want to become a choreographer. … Balanchine knew how to make music into dance better than perhaps anyone else in history,” Jones said. “Balanchine and Bach are both artists on the level of Michelangelo, and so here you have them working together, and the result is absolutely intoxicating.”
The ballet company’s nontraditional venue — the 28th floor of City National 2CAL, a skyscraper soaring over Bunker Hill — sports cityscape views and an intimate stage where dancers and the orchestra are mere feet away from the audience.
“There’s a visceral impact of the ballet being so close up,” Jones said. “It makes it, in some ways, more familiar to contemporary audiences because we’re used to watching movies, which are gigantic on a big screen, and this sort of gives that same effect but in three dimensions.”
Unlike most well-known ballets like “Swan Lake,” “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty, “Concerto Barocco” does not follow a plot line; instead, the choreography stands on its own and imbues meaning through movement.
Often referred to as “the father of American ballet,” George Balanchine is among the most influential choreographers of the 20th century.
“Balanchine realized that the beautiful thing about dance was the dance itself,” Jones said. “He made dances to music that were just simply that, dances that reflected the music deeply. It took away that fourth wall of story and just allowed you to enjoy the dancer’s beauty.”
Along with “Concerto Barocco,” the company will perform Jones’ new ballet to an organ concerto by another Baroque composer, George Frideric Handel. The organ creates “rhapsodic, angelic musical images” when played in symphony with the orchestra.
“It’s just something that we don’t hear much today, so creating a ballet to that was exciting,” Jones said. “There is a special kind of beauty to the sensibility of Baroque music. It counts for some of the most popular and enduring pieces of music that are listenable and relatable despite how long ago they were composed.”
In typical ABC fashion, the night will conclude with wine, music and specially curated desserts from Bottega Louie, a gourmet bakery and cafe. There will also be perfumes supplied by Scent Bar, inspired by each dancer.
“Concerto Barocco”
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, June 15 to June 24, and 2 p.m. Sundays, June 18 and 25
WHERE: City National 2CAL, 350 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
COST: $40 to $110
INFO: acbdances.com