Ballet Idaho opens the season Friday and Saturday with four ballets including Akimbo. This ballet comes from Charles Anderson, the artistic director for Company C in California. He was in Boise to select dancers for Ballet Idaho’s Akimbo and teach the steps.
“It looks like an Olympic event,” explains Ballet Idaho’s artistic director Peter Anastos. “I mean it’s beyond athletic.”
After a recent rehearsal, the dancers were sweating and a bit out of breath because there are no breaks in Akimbo. Phyllis Rothwell Affrunti, one of the company’s principal dancers, says the company works hard in rehearsals so that when the curtain goes up Friday, the audience will see something that looks effortless.
Affrunti makes it look easy in this video where she gives you a sneak peek of one of the main steps you’ll see throughout Akimbo.