The Big Event: Ballet Fantastique’s Danse en Rouge!

My first big event planning experience has gone into full swing this week in preparation for this Saturday’s much anticipated ballet, Danse en Rouge: Variations in Red, performed by Eugene’s Ballet Fantastique chamber and the popular group Trio Voronezh. If ballet sounds boring to you, Ballet Fantastique will prove you wrong. This fiery ballet is  inspired by the color red, and will include pieces from the ballet “Don Quixote” with tango music from Trio Voronezh and Spanish music by classical guitarist John Jarvie.

From today’s article in the Register-Guard, Executive Director and Dancer Hannah Bontrager said:

“We performed with the trio last fall and were met by an overwhelming response from our audience — and from their audience…We have always had a vision of collaboration, to intrigue audiences and keep dance exciting and relevant.”

The real event planning work has been for the performance’s reception gala, Nuit en Rouge. The gala will take place at the Karin Clarke Gallery in downtown Eugene, and will feature wine, hors d’oeuvres and Northwest art. The gala guests will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the company dancers and musicians from the night’s performance. It should be a very exciting event!

There are several other young ladies on the PR team, and we’ve worked very hard to make this event a success. We have spend hours selling ads, soliciting donations, decorating gifts, and contacting media. I’ve learned that A LOT of work goes into making a nonprofit ballet company work. And every single one of the dancers, board members, interns, volunteers and donors have put so much time and energy into making it all happen (with the grace of a ballerina, of course). I look forward to this Saturday, February 7, as all of my hard work will go into action.

To purchase tickets for Danse en Rouge and Nuit en Rouge, call the Hult Center at 541.682.5000 or visit their Web site for more options.

To learn more about Ballet Fantastique and the wonderful things they do for the arts and children in our community, check out their Web site and their Youtube channel.