Onstage This Week: "Mad Max" Rock Ballet Makes Its Debut, Ricardo Amarante World Premiere at Atlanta Ballet, and More!
Wonder what’s going on in ballet this week? We’ve pulled together some highlights.
“Fury,” The “Mad Max” Rock Ballet, Makes Its Debut in San Francisco This Week
Who said that action movies and ballet don’t go together? September 14–15, San Francisco audiences can see Fury, a contemporary rock ballet based on the 2015 post-apocalyptic film Mad Max: Fury Road. Choreographed by former Australian Ballet principal and Nederlands Dans Theater member Danielle Rowe, the project will feature seven dancers hailing from Alonzo King LINES Ballet and San Francisco Ballet: Adji Cissoko, Babatunji, Dores André, Frances Chung, Luke Ingham, Ulrik Birkkjaer and Jennifer Stahl-Weitz. For producer Kate Duhamel, the goal of the project is to “appeal to a broader audience than those who typically go to the theater to see classical ballet.” To that end, Fury will use an original score by indie pop band YASSOU and be performed in-the-round at music clubs, rather than in a proscenium theater. Sets will be projected on various surfaces, and the audience will be standing, able to mingle throughout.
Atlanta Ballet’s Season Opener Includes a World Premiere by Ricardo Amarante
Atlanta Ballet’s 2018/2019 season opens September 14-16 with a program titled Return to Fall. This mixed repertoire lineup covers a lot of ground: Jiří Kylián’s Return to a Strange Land, a selection of divertissement from works including Don Quixote and George Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, and a world premiere by Brazilian choreographer Ricardo Amarante, fittingly titled The Premiere. The program also includes a special performance of Mauro Bigonzetti’s Vertigo, danced by Czech National Ballet, as part of Atlanta Ballet’s new transatlantic partnership.
Houston Ballet Presents a Weekend of Free Outdoor Performances
Summer might be over, but Houston Ballet is taking advantage of the lingering warm weather with a weekend of outdoor performances at Houston’s Miller Outdoor Theatre, September 13-15. The program includes excerpts from some of Houston Ballet’s best-loved works: Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Raymonda, Sons de L’aime, Spring Waters and The Ladies, as well as artistic director Stanton Welch’s newest work, Just!, which the company premiered at Jacob’s Pillow last month.
Traverse City Dance Project’s One-Night-Only Collaboration With the Traverse Symphony Orchestra
For the sixth year, Traverse City Dance Project co-directors Jennifer McQuiston Lott and Brent Whitney gather dancers from around the country to northern Michigan to present new choreography. Past dancers have hailed from Ballet Memphis, The Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet X, Sacramento Ballet, and more. This year’s performance, slated for September 15, mixes things up; the group is collaborating with a full symphony orchestra. The program includes a new work by McQuiston Lott to Debussy’s “La Mer,” and a premiere choreographed by Whitney to Richard Danielpour’s “Urban Dances.”
