The sounds of Mozart’s “Sonata for Two Pianos” filled Markel Auditorium Sept. 20, introducing the dancers of Ballet Hartford. Choreographed by Artistic Director Claire Kretzschmar, the dance immediately captivated the audience with Ballet Hartford’s first performance at Hillsdale College. 

Ballet Hartford is a nationally and internationally acclaimed ballet company located in the heart of Connecticut.

The department of theatre and dance invites a professional dance company to perform once a year as part of the Professional Artist Series, according to Assistant Professor of Dance and Director of Dance and Tower Dancers Holly Hobbs.

Kretzschmar visited Hillsdale College last spring to teach Tower Dancers a master class about the ballet she choreographed, the “Raffaella Ballet.” According to Hobbs, the department decided to invite Kretzschmar back, this time with Ballet Hartford, to perform “Mozart Sonata for Two Pianos,” “The Sleeping Beauty Wedding Pas de Deux,” “Concerto for Harp,” and “A Ceremony of Carols.” Kretzschmar choreographed both “Mozart Sonata for Two Pianos,” and “A Ceremony of Carols.” 

“Given Claire’s exceptional dance experience as soloist with the New York City Ballet, we felt that it would be an honor to bring the company to Hillsdale College,” Hobbs said. 

Tower Dancer and sophomore Lily Jane Turner said she was very excited to see Kretzschmar perform, and that she loved having her as a guest dance instructor in the spring.

“Her love for ballet is intoxicating. She made everyone feel beautiful,” Turner said. 

Kretzschmar danced “Concerto for Harp” solo, while the rest of the ballet was performed by 

principle dancers, corps de ballet, and apprentices. 

According to professional dancer of Ballet Hartford, Jayda Hazelett, member of corps de ballet, the performance showcased Ballet Hartford’s most classic pieces.

“This specific performance is a mixed repertoire, mixed pieces that our director Claire Kretzschmar has choreographed,” Hazelett said. “So this is a sampling of Ballet Hartford and our original works.”

Before the performance, Hazelett said she hoped the audience would take the performance as a gift and leave feeling happier because of it.

“Hopefully the audience receives it as a gift, because we love to do it and give it to people,” Hazelett said. “I think dance has this way of communicating to an audience, taking them out of whatever kind of day they had, lifting them into this beautiful place. In our case, this performance is pretty joyful. So hopefully people will leave feeling rejuvenated.”

The first piece, “Mozart Sonata Two Pianos,” was cute and polite, according to Turner.

“Because it was Mozart’s piano movement, it was very sprightly piano, all their movements were focused on their feet,” Turner said. “There was a lot of emphasis on the footwork of point, dancing really cute and prancing around.” 

The second piece was “The Sleeping Beauty Wedding Pas de Deux” performed by principle dancers Maggie Bucko and Daniel Cook. The “Pas de Deux” is a classic ballet which tells the story of Princess Aurora and Prince Désiré’s wedding, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The performance was exceptionally captivating as the two moved in perfect unison, beautifully showcasing what Ballet Hartford is capable of, according to Turner.

The “Concerto for Harp” performance, danced by Kretzschmar, was both lighthearted and sorrowful, according to Turner. 

“It was very up and down emotionally,” Turner said. “It started out very light and happy with the pink background, and she was smiling, but then it turned purple, and the music got almost sad, and her smile stopped, and she kept looking down. She looked more contemplative, but then it got happy again, and ended with a resolved note.” 

Turner pointed out that Kretzschmar was not dancing on pointe, and said it helped create the light atmosphere.

“I think it added to the piece because she seemed to be walking on clouds, and she looked very unrestrained,” Turner said. “It was also not noisy, which I think made the whole performance less stiff, which was warm and inviting.”

The last piece of the ballet, “A Ceremony of Carols,” created to a choral composition, is classic to Ballet Hartford, said Hazelett.

Junior Maria Grazia Stroik said “A Ceremony of Carols” was a beautiful representation of religion expressed in dance.

“In ‘A Ceremony of Carols’ there’s faith, there’s religion behind it, the nativity, and the story of Christ,” Stroik said. “It’s also used with contemporary music, and music that has vocal and choral music in it, which was really interesting. And I think it’s an important tool that people don’t necessarily see, the correlation between dance and religion.” 

Tower Dancer and junior Victor Fernandes said he was very pleased to see Ballet Hartford perform.

“It was a wonderful, high caliber ballet. It was great to see on Hillsdale’s campus,” Fernandes said.

Ballet Hartford’s performance well represented the standard of classical ballet, according to Stroik.

“I thought the performance was a beautiful representation of what classical ballet should be,” Stroik said. “And I’m so glad that Ballet Hartford was able to have the opportunity to come to Hillsdale College.”