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Residency program places artists in community

Release Date: Oct 02, 2009 Author: Cathy Weiss

WICKENBURG, AZ - The Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts is embarking upon an exciting new project that will bring performers to the small western town of Wickenburg to live and work for a period of two weeks. Called the Flying E Guest Ranch Residency Program, the project will allow artists and their production teams the opportunity to develop and rehearse a new piece of work to premiere on the Webb Centers Stage at the end of the troupes residency period.

Curated by the Webb Center, the program is being underwritten with grant funding from private donors as well as the Wellik Foundation and the Arizona Community Foundation.

The Artist Residency program will kick off Oct 17 when New Yorks American Ballet Theatres ABTII is scheduled to arrive at the Flying E Dude and Cattle Ranch. The group includes the most talented 16- to 20-year-old dancers in the world under the guidance of Artistic Director Wes Chapman and Guest Choreographer Roger VanFleteren.

Three artistic companies have been invited to participate in the program during the Fall of 2009 and Winter of 2010. In addition to ABTII, Portlands Northwest Dance Project and New Yorks The American Place Theatre have been selected. The focus of each company for the two week period will be to create a new piece of work that can be added to their repertoire for multiple performances and touring.

For the first residency, Guest Choreographer VanFleteren, a former soloist for the American Ballet Theatre and currently one of the principal instructors at the Alabama Ballet School, will create a classically based Pas de deux (a duet in which ballet /steps are performed together), with the current working title “Pavlovsk.” This new piece will debut November 1 as the 2009-2010 season opening performance at the Webb Center.

ABTII will rehearse Monday-Friday at warehouse space provided by local Wickenburg business Benner Nawman, Inc. The Webb Centers technical team has spent many hours converting the warehouse space into a makeshift dance studio; including the installation of a 30 ft x 40 ft sprung dance floor and state-of-the-art portable mirrors developed originally for use by NASA.

The Company will hold FREE open rehearsals each Wednesday and Friday, Oct 21, 23, 28 & 30 between 2PM-5PM. The general public is welcome and encouraged to attend any time during those rehearsal periods, contact the Webb Center Box Office to reserve seating and request directions to Benner Nawman.

“Placing artists in a community with this type of outreach will hopefully connect the residency artists to the Southwest and provide patrons with a greater understanding of their art form,” claimed Cathy Weiss, Executive Director of the Webb Center.

“Equally important,” Weiss said, “is the economic development impact the residencies will have on the greater Wickenburg community. The Flying E Ranch was struggling with occupancy, only busy during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and in the spring,” Weiss said. “Placing artists at the ranch during slow periods keeps the staff working and the ranch in business all season. As is true for all arts organizations in the current economy, the Webb Center is experiencing a decline in donations and grants; this program will expand our reach and body of work. The collaboration is a perfect match.”

“Additionally,” Weiss said, “This project has garnered much national attention from the artistic community. Very few places exist in the United States where artists can focus strictly on their work in an environment that is serene and peaceful, free from the concerns of everyday life. The work they create here will enlighten and entertain audiences for years to come and will accredit both the Wellik Foundation and Webb Center whenever they are performed.”

During the artists’ off time, Andrea Taylor, Manager of the Flying E Dude Ranch, and her staff plan to offer the Company their famous down home hospitality, hearty meals and the total western experience; including a Halloween hay wagon ride to a haunted house and desert cookout under the stars.

“We are excited for this opportunity,” claimed Taylor, “The chance to keep the ranch busy, host people from all over the world and to begin their new love affair with the Wild West is exactly what this Ranch has been about since 1946.”

For information about the Flying E Guest Ranch Residency Program, passes to open rehearsals or tickets for this season’s performances, call the Webb Center Box Office at 928-684-6624 or visit www.delewebbcenter.org.

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