Elton John ballet en pointe for Calgary debut

Even if superstar Elton John makes an appearance at the Calgary premiere of a ballet based on his music, it will likely be a quiet entrance, says Alberta Ballet's artistic director.

"I think the real star tonight will be the show," said Jean Grand-Matre on Thursday, hours before the premiere of Love Lies Bleeding at Calgary's Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. "I'm hoping that the dancers themselves will blow them away, and that's what it's all about.

"And it may be that Elton John decides to come a little later, not to steal the thunder from the dancers. He's been known to do that."

John approached the Alberta Ballet about the project after seeing the company's well-received dance to the music of Joni Mitchell in 2007. He picked the music and gave Grand-Matre carte blanche for the rest of the $1.2-million production.

"The pressure is high because Elton's standards are very high as well, and we're waiting for his approval to continue to perform the ballet. If he's happy with it, we'll be able to tour it around the world," Grand-Matre told CBC News.

"If they don't get that permission, then they'll have a difficult time with the banks," said Bob Clark, a performing arts critic with the Calgary Herald.

The performance includeseverything from contemporary ballet, to jazz dance, to aerial acrobatics and also has dancers strapping on roller skates and performing on a spinning stage.

It was a challengeto choreograph to "honky-tonk rhythms" and, for the dancers, to perform pirouettes on six-inch stilettos, said Grand-Matre.

And a ballet associated with Elton John wouldn't be complete without flashy costumes 160 of them, including sequined baseball uniforms.

"His music is so theatrical and surrealistic, and there's a lot of characters, marginalized characters in there," said Grand-Matre. "It's really like a Fellini meets burlesque to vaudeville, three-ring Elton John circus kind of production.

"It's more of a fantasy, a surrealist fantasy on the life of a rock star, and in this case, Elton John's life, and the many treacherous traps that are waiting for them with such power at such a young age and so much money."

John's publicist has indicated the singer will not be appearing on the red carpet in Calgary, but organizers say they haven't ruled it out.

The Calgary show runs Thursday to Sunday, followed by performances in Edmonton.