Helen Pickett's First Full-Length Ballet

November 28, 2001

Atlanta Ballet resident choreographer Helen Pickett will premiere her first full length ballet on Friday. The work, titled after and based on Tennessee Williams’ play Camino Real, will be the choreographer’s fourth work for the company. Pickett spoke to Pointe about Camino Real for the February/March issue, and explained how she had found new inspiration in written text and the creation of a narrative ballet.

Atlanta Ballet has created several interesting behind-the-scenes videos in anticipation of the premiere—especially one detailing the process of building the ballet’s unique set. The company has also made a “Camino Real by the Numbers” which notes that the process has taken Pickett five years from early research to premiere and that her copy of the play has traveled with her to six states and seven countries—a wonderful testament to the work it takes to make a ballet come to life.