OCC Symphony, Dance Partner w/ Symphony Irvine for ‘Carmen'

Orange Coast College’s Symphony and dance programs will join forces with Symphony Irvine for a performance of the “Carmen Suite” ballet on Saturday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Robert B. Moore Theatre.

The show will bring together two of OCC’s finest programs in a collaboration that seems intuitive.

“The idea of having OCC's Symphony and Dance Department students meet on stage in a creative endeavor first came to me when I learned that the College has a dance department with a highly professional choreographer and talented students,” says OCC Symphony conductor Maxim Kuzin. “I presented the idea to [OCC] professor of dance Jose Costas and found his wholehearted support of this project. I shared with him a few options for the music and his choice fell — no surprise for the former principal dancer of Ballet Hispanico of New York — on the Carmen story.”

OCC’s Symphony also will be joined onstage by another Orange County-based orchestra — Symphony Irvine (Dean Anderson, music director) for the performance, and the “Carmen Suite” ballet will be paired with Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings.”

“Carmen” was commissioned by Maya Plisetskaya, who is widely considered the greatest prima-ballerina of the 20th century, and composed by her husband, renowned Soviet composer Rodion

Shchedrin. “Carmen Suite is an extremely enthralling piece because of the stunning representation of a huge 47-instrument percussion section that calls for five musicians to ‘conquer’ this enormous arsenal of pitched and unpitched percussion instruments that include, among others, tubular bells, tam-tam, a set of five timpani, vibraphone, marimba, different sets of drums and many more,” says Kuzin.

“For our students this is a great opportunity and learning experience,” explains Costas. “When you dance with music played by a live orchestra a dancer faces another element of challenge: the conductor’s emotions and feelings the night of the show. This means that at any time a music tempo could change to faster or slower, and varied from what they were used to dance to during rehearsal. Because of this human element, dancers need to be much more sensitive to listening to the music while dancing.”

Kuzin will offer a more vibrant history of the piece to the audience on the night of the performance.

Tickets run $15 for regular admission, and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.occtickets.com or at the door.