Dancing with the Veronika String Quartet

Special guest artists visit the Sangre de Criso Ballet Theatre (SBT) this spring as it presents Dancing with the Veronika String Quartet on Fri, Mar 31 at 7:30 pm in the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center Theater.

Dancers will perform a ballet from the company’s existing repertoire along with an original new work. Pueblo’s own Veronika String Quartet - Veronika Afanassieva, Ekaterina Dobrotvorskaia, Karina Garibova and Danielle Guideri - will perform independently as well as collaboratively with the SBT.

In a first-time collaboration with the Veronika String Quartet, SBT dancers will present Five Novelettes op. 15 by Alexander Glazunov with original choreography by SBT Artistic Director Karen P. Schaffenburg. In composing Opus 15, Glazunov made the transition between Russian and western Europe music. Through the choreography, Mrs. Schaffenburg set out to interpret the music’s transitional “flavor.”

As part of the evening, SBT dancer Josh Allenback will present a captivating solo performance to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach with choreography by Fernando Schaffenburg. Schaffenburg takes his inspiration for this solo from Josh Allenback’s continued progress as a 13-year-old dancer.

Pulling from SBT’s repertoire, an ensemble cast including Misty Allenback, Megan Duling, Sydney Gettel, Alexandra Loza, and Danae Nafziger will perform Fantasia and Fuge which also features music by Johann Sebastian Bach with choreography by Fernando Schaffenburg. It was first danced in Dallas while Schaffenburg was an artist-in-residence at the Edith James School. Schaffenburg choreographed the piece as a tribute to George Balanchine who saw the work while he was in Dallas in the mid-60s. Sections in Fantasia and Fuge paraphrase Concerto Barocco, a work choreographed by Balanchine.

The Veronika String Quartet was formed in 1989 while studying at the Gnesins’ Russian Academy of Music in Moscow, Russia. Veronika Afanassieva and Karine Garibova play violins; Ekaterina Dobrotvorskaia plays the viola, and Danielle Guideri plays the cello. Ekaterina has joined the Quartet in 2000. Danielle is the most recent member; she started playing with Veronika in 2004. The Veronika String Quartet has been awarded top prizes in international competitions in Russia, Australia, and in the United States in 1990, 1991, 1995, and 1996. Plus, the quartet has collaborated in performances with the Fine Arts Quartet; Martin Lovett, formerly of the Amadeus Quartet; pianist James Tocco and Ruth Laredo; and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman.

The group has performed in France, Germany, Holland, Spain, England, Switzerland, Israel, as well as touring extensively in Russia and the United States. The repertoire of The Veronika String Quartet ranges from Haydn and Beethoven to twentieth-century works. The Quartet has recorded with the Warner Brothers, Narada, and Northword Press Labels.

Since 1992, the Veronika String Quartet has received numerous scholarship awards from music schools in the US, such as the University of Milwaukee - WI Institute Chamber of Music, Miami University in Oxford, OH. The Quartet has been coached by Valentin Berlinsky, cellist of the Borodin Quartet, Fine Arts Quartet; and Henry W. Meyer, violinist of the LaSalle Quartet.

As the resident company of the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center in Pueblo since 1993, SBT has traveled all over Colorado presenting performances, conducting lecture demonstrations and taking part in choreographic competitions and collaborations. The company performs two major productions each year - one in the spring and the holiday favorite, The Nutcracker, in December - and has three levels including Full Company, Apprentice and Junior. Currently, there are 45 company members in these categories.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for children/ seniors and are available at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center Box Office, 210 N Santa Fe Ave, or by calling (719) 295-7222.

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