The audience at the Lyle Lovett & His Acoustic Group performance Tuesday night at Bass Hall got a surprise: During two songs, Lovett and his band were joined by Lucas Priolo and Carolyn Judson, longtime dancers for Texas Ballet Theater.
Priolo and Judson performed during The Waltzing Fool and She's No Lady in dances choreographed by Ben Stevenson, TBT's artistic director. Priolo and Judson performed on an elevated platform behind Lovett's six-piece band.
“For a long time now, TBT has been a major fan club for Lyle Lovett,” Stevenson said in a post-show press release (DFW.com did not have a reviewer at the show). “We always attend his performances when he comes to town. We are so excited to be working with an artist we all respect so much.”
Apparently, it's a mutual-admiration society. “I've been a fan and an admirer of Ben Stevenson's for years,” Lovett said in the release. “I'm honored he would lend his immeasurable talents to my music.”
Lovett has had a lot of time to develop his admiration for Stevenson; before he came to TBT in 2003, Stevenson had been artistic director for Houston Ballet for 27 years (and that's not all -- read his impressive bio).
Lyle Lovett & His Acoustic Group's show, presented by Performing Arts Fort Worth as part of the 2012-2013 BNSF Popular Entertainment Series, was the final stop on their 2012 tour to support Lovett's latest album, Release Me.
TBT is about to start its annual run of The Nutcracker, Nov. 23-Dec. 2 at Dallas' Winspear Opera House, and Dec. 7-23 at Bass Hall.
