Dominic Walsh Dance Theater brings The Trilogy: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart into the open air for two free shows at Miller Outdoor Theatre this weekend. Dominic Walsh and his small but intense dance company team up with Sarasota Ballet for the performance. Walsh talks about why his work is meant for big spaces and his upcoming season.

Courtesy photo

29-95: I can't help thinking your Trilogy as an indoor kind of dance. How do you think it's going to fly at Miller?

Dominic Walsh: It's going to be fantastic. The music is very inviting for people just walking around. The piece actually takes place outside. We have moving icebergs and billowing silk that moves with the wind. It's all about the natural world.

29-95: I see Sarasota Ballet is retuning. You are both boutique ballet troupes with eclectic interests. They are quickly becoming your sister company, no?

DW: It's been incredible to see how this core group of dancers have taken to my work over the past two years. It's been a great exchange, artistically and otherwise.

29-95: Will you be setting any more work on them?

DW: Yes, I will be staging I Napoletani this February.

29-95: So you are going to make Floridians Italian. News has it you have traded your Italian addiction for France. I hear you have been slumming around the halls of the Paris Opera and that you have snagged the incredible Paris Opera Ballet Star, Marie-Agnes Gillot, for your new Firebird for your October Diaghilev celebration. Spill your Parisian beans.

DW: I met Marie-Agnes at Dance Salad in Houston. I knew I needed an extraordinary woman who is strong and diverse. She is perfect for the role.

29-95: You just called the most famous dancer in France?

DW: Pretty much. She was happy to do it, and The Paris Opera was extremely generous in letting us rehearse in their studios.

29-95: Diaghilev is hot these days. The New York Times just did a piece on the great impresario. Are you jumping on the bandwagon?

DW: It's no secret that I have always been nostalgic for the Diaghilev era. That era has been profound for me. From the beginning, I have collaborated with visual artists in my work.

29-95: True, and the Mozart Trilogy will show your Diaghilev streak with sets by Libbie Masterson, a Houston-based visual artist. So do you think the Miller crowd will sit still for Mozart?

DW: There's no need to. The piece has a nice balance of comedy and romance. There's a big chunk of bawdy Baroque humor as well. To have all that space on that big stage will be fantastic.

Miller Outdoor Theatre presents Dominic Walsh Dance Theater in The Trilogy: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Call 713-652-3938 or visit www.dwdt.org. Free.