Ballet West is a professional ballet company founded in 1963 by Utah's "First Lady of the Arts" Glenn Walker Wallace and Willam F. Christensen, founder of the University of Utah's ballet department and Ballet West's first artistic director. The company has subsequently been led by artistic directors Bruce Marks, John Hart, Jonas Kåge and Adam Sklute. In addition to its annual season of performances at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, Ballet West has toured the world several times with its classical ballet performances.
The Ballet West promotional materials audio-visual collection (1976-1987) consists almost entirely of audio recordings of radio advertisements for Ballet West tickets and productions. There are also audio recordins of Ballet West personalities on the "State of the Arts" radio program one television advertisment recorded on 16mm film.
The materials are arranged rougly chronologically by format.
Audio-visual materials can be fragile and require specialized equipment to play back. For this reason, access to audio-visual materials is provided through digital copies, and it might take longer to provide access to items that are not yet digitized. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law, condition of the material, or by donor.
See also the Ballet Archives audio-visual collection (A0247), the Ballet West records (Accn 1129) and the Ballet Archives photograph collection (P0247).
Processed by Christopher Drew in 1989.
Nutcracker doll and bear presentation. Ten minutes.
2 copies
Radio spots entitled "Don Quixote Coming" and "Don Quixote Here."
1 Promotion for Ballet West's appearance with the Denver Symphony, in Denver, Colorado in January, 1981.
2 Promotion for the Denver Symphony's performance of Handel's "Messiah" in December, 1980
1 Two promotions for performances of "The Nutcracker" in Salt Lake City.
2 Various promotions not related to Ballet West.
Broadcast on KWHO, Salt Lake City.
The guest is Sondra Sugai, Associate Artistic Director of Ballet West, who discusses the company's 20th anniversary. Other topics include motivating performers; the stages of a dancer's growth; audience recognition of the company's improvement; artistic milestones in the company's history; Bruce Marks; works of the new choreographer (Helen Douglass); Sugai's reasons for her devotion to dance; performing Songs of the Ballet, Mistress of Sorrow and Ballanchine's Stars and Stripes; Helen Douglass and Rite of Spring; performing Etudes; Bruce Marks and Pipe Dreams; the performing of Beauty and the Beast; and the formulation of a successful season. 28 minutes.
Broadcast on KWHO, Salt Lake City.
On side A the guest is Helen Douglass, Resident Choreographer of Ballet West. Douglass discusses her past as a dancer; chore-ography; the Boston Choreographer's Competition; her initial experiences as a choreographer; developing origi-nality; working on Rite of Spring; the pros and cons of her position as Resident Choreographer. 33 minutes.
On side B the guests are Stacy Swaner and Bruce Caldwell, Principal Dancers at Ballet West. Caldwell and Swaner discuss their early training as dancers; dedication to dance; daily regimen; the effect of injuries; greatest fears as dancers; strengths and weaknesses; favorite roles; and future after dance. 35 minutes.
Broadcast on KWHO, Salt Lake City.
On side A the guest is Willam Christensen, founder of Ballet West. Background information on Christensen and Ballet West is included. Topics of discussion are Christensen's experiences at the University of Utah; the sources of his "vision;" early fundraising; the importance of touring; early performances; Cinderella; his hopes for Ballet West; guest artists; Bruce Marks as new Artistic Director; the ballet academy; and the dance careers of former Utahns. 40 minutes.
On side B the guest is Bruce Marks, Artistic Director of Ballet West. The opening remarks of this segment are not recorded. Topics of discussion include Marks' experiences and classmates at the High School of the Performing Arts in New York City; his reasons for becoming a dancer; performing as a soloist in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera; his experiences as a dancer at, and touring with, the American Ballet Theater; his self-description as a dancer; memorable performances; his reasons for giving up performing; the critical acclaim of Ballet West; choreographing; his opinion of holding an administrative position; and the ballet school. 28 minutes.
1 One promotion for "KRP Night at the Ballet" in Salt Lake City (a performance of "Anna Karenina").
2 News coverage unrelated to Ballet West. Three minutes.
One television promotion for Ballet West made by Harris and Love Film. One minute.