Something Good Could Come Of This

There’s a hint of romance in the air.

It will waft into Spokane this May with Western Ballet Theater’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” This regional ballet company, based in both Eugene and Boise, hopes to woo the Inland Northwest dance audience.

The company appears in Eugene as Eugene Ballet Company and in Boise as Ballet Idaho, but it tours as Western Ballet Theater.

WBT has arranged for a blind date on May 15 at the Opera House with its production of the full-length Prokofiev classic. If an enthusiastic audience responds, who knows what a second date might bring?

This company is flirting with the idea of making Spokane the third resident city in its alliance. A number of local dance fans already find the prospect intriguing.

First, there’s the lure of bringing professional ballet to Spokane, an expensive art form we’ve been unable to sustain in the past. Concerts now presented in Boise and Eugene would appear in Spokane as well. Adults who love dance, as well as students who need to watch professionals for both inspiration and instruction, would finally find a full schedule of ballet performances on the city’s arts calendar.

Then there are the connections that could spring up with local dance schools, which might benefit from professional master classes, workshops and new performing opportunities for advanced students.

In the past, professional ballet in Spokane often has pirouetted into town and leaped right back out. There was Spokane Ballet’s tempestuous ending in 1989. It expired like a dying swan, drowning in a pile of unpaid bills and ill will stemming primarily from its talented but temperamental artistic director, Christopher Aponte. Then there was the short-lived Ballet Company of Spokane, which, after a promising start wound up limping off the stage.

If local ballet enthusiasts seem a bit jaded, it’s because they’ve been burned. It’s hard to forget the grand promises and dashed hopes surrounding previous professional companies.

But, as Tennyson said, ‘tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

So, like singles languishing dateless for endless Saturday nights, dance lovers may just have to dust themselves off and try again.

There are no guarantees. But this handsome suitor might just be the one. As Eugene Ballet, the company has survived and grown for 20 years. With offices and boards of directors in Boise and Eugene, it arrives already organized and relying on an existing funding base.

This ballet company comes to Spokane simply to explore the possibility of launching a relationship. So far, there hasn’t been much talk of details such as fund-raising, opening an office or forming a board of directors.

This approach - an alliance with an existing ballet company - very well could be the best hope for a lasting marriage between this treasured art form and the Spokane dance audience. If it’s not to be with this company, then perhaps another.

All Western Ballet Theater is asking for, at this point, is a first date at the Opera House on May 15. What can it hurt? As with any new romance, wise lovers of the ballet will approach the evening with discerning eyes and open minds.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Jamie Tobias Neely For the editorial board