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Choreographer from Arlington Heights debuts ballet

Gordon Peirce Schmidt didn't set out to be a dancer.

The choreographer and director, who grew up in Arlington Heights, was actually a gymnast - and didn't become seriously involved in dance until after college.

His athletic background helped to inspire the choreography in his latest production, "Day of the Gypsy," a contemporary ballet making its full-length debut this weekend at Harris Theater at Chicago's Millennium Park.

The show, directed and choreographed by the Emmy-nominated Schmidt, features a dozen top dancers and music composed by Grammy Award-winning musician John Jorgenson, performed by the John Jorgenson Quintet.

For Schmidt, who has created more than 60 works for ballet companies around the world, the show is a culmination of various passions - dance, music and the gypsy jazz genre - that is based on his longtime vision of creating a full-length gypsy jazz ballet.

The story, an original fairy tale, features the independent and passionate Yumelia, a gypsy girl who finds a magical silken scarf. However, a street gypsy named Django steals the scarf, using it to create a series of misadventures for her.

"It's not your typical ballet with tutus and tights," Schmidt says. "I try to create characters that people in the audience can identify with. That's a much more enjoyable way to spend an evening, when you can see yourself on the stage. It's a very light, accessible story, but there's a lot of incredible music and choreography."

Though Schmidt attended Louisiana State University on a gymnastics scholarship, he was always interested in dance.

"There really wasn't an outlet for a young guy in Arlington Heights at the time I was growing up to learn ballet," he says. "So I got into gymnastics instead. After college, I started studying seriously. Within a couple of years of studying in Chicago, I got my first work as a dancer."

After many years of dancing, he began choreographing. Inspired by the gypsy jazz genre and its iconic pioneer, Django Reinhardt, his ballet "By Django," a lively evocation of the Jazz Age, became his signature work for Ballet Chicago while he was resident choreographer in the early 1990s.

With his new show debuting in Chicago, Schmidt, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has returned to Arlington Heights - and is currently staying in the house he grew up in, where his sister now lives.

For Schmidt, the most difficult part of the production was the years it took to secure funding, with part of the money coming from a matching grant. Managing the schedules of the dozen freelance dancers - who include Joffrey Ballet dancers Yumelia Garcia as Yumelia and Randy Herrera as Django - was also challenging. But seeing all the elements finally come together is well worth the wait, he says.

Schmidt wants his audiences to come away from the show having had an emotional experience.

"When I approach something like this to create something, I like to make an emotional pact with the audience," he says. "It doesn't mean everyone has to have tears. If they see something they want to cheer for or laugh, I want them to cheer or laugh. I'm offering an emotional experience on all levels."

Choreographer and director Gordon Peirce Schmidt drew on his gymnastics background to create "Day of the Gypsy," a contemporary ballet making its world premiere at Chicago's Harris Theater. courtesy of Andy Terzes

"Day of the Gypsy"

Location: Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago, (312) 334-7777 or <a href="HarrisTheaterChicago.org">HarrisTheaterChicago.org</a>

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22

Tickets: $20-$75

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