ANNIVERSAY ISSUE 0717

...Laura previous page
Like Grace Fury and many other great innovators throughout
time, Carruthers first mastered her many crafts
before challenging the paradigms and pioneering her own
artistic path. By the young age of four, she was already
enrolled in ballet, tap, and tumbling classes and then at age
seven, she switched her focus to the Highland Dance of her
Scottish heritage. Carruthers’ natural talent quickly took her
up through the tough ranks of the very technique oriented
dance form and within ten years she had earned her elite
status as a world-renowned performer and six-time national
champion. By then Carruthers’ talent had also captured
the attention of the ballet world and she accepted a company
position with the esteemed Ballet Arizona. It was there
that artistic director, Michael Uthoff, asked her to collaborate
on choreography combining her Scottish Highland
background with ballet for a solo performance. Not only
was it a first of a kind fusion performance that wowed
critics and audiences, it was Carruthers’ first taste of
what creative freedom and artistic collaboration could
ultimately achieve.
Within a few years, she had hand-picked a like-minded
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team of dancers, musicians, singers and production professionals
from the worlds of ballet, Highland dancing, theater,
and film, and together they embarked on a collaborative
journey through multiple mediums of art. After a collection
of successful smaller projects, Carruthers and her collaborators
busted out on the scene with their official world premiere
tour of “Fire and Grace.” The production sold-out
major venues across the U.S. and catapulted Carruthers to
fame with high critical acclaim.
Needless to say, she is excited to see how audiences will
respond to the upcoming January release of her most ambitious
project yet.
“My whole journey has been one of genuine experimentation.
I seek to urge others, even fellow artists, to resist and
to look beyond the usual channels of art and entertainment,
of questionable metrics and credibility, and to support those
both inside and outside of our familiar, established bubbles,”
says Carruthers.
– Jana Ritter
For more about Laura Carruthers and the upcoming debut
of Grace Fury, visit her website: www.lauracarruthers.com