`twister's' Morris Takes Country By Storm

Airport Reports Record Profit For 1993 
The Annual Air Show, 
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Income Contributed To A 
Hefty Jump Over 1992's Profit

By ROBERT MINER; Times Leader Correspondent
 Saturday, January 22, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 7C QUICK WORDS: EVENING OF CLASSICAL
BALLET 





Before you convince yourself that it's not worth going out in the cold to
see tonight's "An Evening of Classical Ballet" performance at the Dorothy
Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts, at Wilkes University -- think
again. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tonight's program at 8 p.m. features numerous world-class Russian dancers
-- among them, principal dancers with some of the leading classical ballet
companies in the U.S. -- plus the dancers from the local professional company,
Ballet Theatre Pennsylvania. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "It's incredible having all this talent working together in a city this
size -- it's unheard of," said Keith Keefer, president of Friends of the
Russian Ballet, the organization that is presenting the program in conjunction
with BTP. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Keefer pointed out that area ballet buffs are in for a treat tonight when
they see this production. He also had great things to say about Ballet Theatre
Pennsylvania. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This company rivals any classical ballet company in the U.S. at this
point," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The featured work on the program will be "Walpurgis Night," a work that is
set to the ballet scene from Gounod's opera "Faust." Timour Bourtasenkov, a
former dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, will dance the lead, Pan. Bourtasenkov
is currently a soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet, in Philadelphia, but he
will soon be joining the American Ballet Theatre in New York City. BTP's Irena
Boitsova will dance the role of Vakhanka. Valeri Gontcharov, a graduate of the
Kiev School of Classical Ballet, will dance the role of Vakh. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The piece is choreographed in the Russian tradition of classical ballet,"
said Bourtasenkov. "It's really a nice work -- very nice music." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The ballet celebrates the rituals of May Day eve. "It's about spring and
love," said choreographer Vladimir Shumeikin. "The music is so beautiful. It's
dancy -- you just want to dance it!" &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Shumeikin said that when his company (then the Donetsk Ballet) premiered
the work at City Center in New York City in 1989 the audience gave a 30-minute
standing ovation. "They just kept on clapping and clapping," he said. "It was
really great." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tonight local dance lovers will find out what all the fuss was about. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But "Walpurgis Night" isn't the only outstanding piece on the program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bourtasenkov will partner Adriana Suraez, a soloist with the Boston Ballet,
in the pas de deux from "Don Quixote." Boitsova and Pavel Kambalov, a winner
of the Ukrainian International Ballet Competition Medal of Honor, will dance
the pas de deux from "Carnival in Venice." Inga Loujerenko and Samuel Abramian
will dance the pas de deux from "Diana and Acteon." Loujerenko is currently a
soloist with the Austin Ballet, in Texas. Abramian is the artistic director of
the Florida Northwest Ballet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Also on the program will be the adagio from "A Thousand and One Nights"
featuring Boitosova and Valeri Gontcharov, another Kiev grad and winner of the
Diploma of Honor at the Ukrainian Ballet Competition. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tickets for tonight's performance will be available at the box office.
Tickets are $10 for students and senior citizens; $15 for adults; and $25 for
reserved patron seating. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 BTP's artistic director Mary Hepner pointed out that to see a performance
featuring this kind of world-class dancing in a major U.S. city would cost
about $50. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At these prices, it's well worth a trip out in the cold.

Valerie Gontcharov And Julie Levin Are Among The Performers Fortonight's 
`evening Of Classical Ballet' 
Tonight's Ballet Gala Will Be A Hot Attraction

Valerie Gontcharov And Julie Levin Are Among The Performers Fortonight's `evening Of Classical Ballet' Tonight's Ballet Gala Will Be A Hot Attraction