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BalletX is leaping back into live performances with an electrifying 2022 Season of unique partnerships and inspiring world premieres by nine of today’s top choreographers debuting at three performance series: BalletX at Glen Foerd (April 19-21), Spring Series at TD Pavilion at the Mann (May 18-19) and Summer Series at The Wilma Theater (July 13-17). The Donor Presale opens Feb. 8 and tickets go on sale to the general public Feb. 11.
“The world has changed in so many ways, but one thing never changes – the beauty and joy that we share in the power of live dance,” said Christine Cox, Artistic & Executive Director and co-founder of BalletX. “The company is back and stronger than ever, with new dancers, visionary choreographers and a passion for reconnecting with our incredible community. This season, we’re on a mission to create world premiere experiences that our audiences will remember for the rest of their lives.”
BalletX at Glen Foerd (April 19-21)
BalletX invites audiences to experience one-of-a-kind performances at Glen Foerd Mansion, a gorgeous hidden gem and historic site on the Delaware River located just minutes north of Center City Philadelphia.
The program features a world premiere by Tsai Hsi Hung, Taiwanese choreographer and BalletX’s 2022 Choreographic Fellow, who returns after the success of her BalletX Beyond short film Two X Two to create a new work exploring the different faces of unconventional beauty.
The program also marks the debut of the Choreographic Incubator, a new initiative designed by Cox to offer emerging choreographers a platform for freedom and experimentation as they expand their unique artistic voices. Audiences will experience world premieres by three Incubator artists: Tommie-Waheed Evans, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow and former PHILADANCO dancer whose work explores blackness, spirituality, queerness and liberation; Caili Quan, a former BalletX dancer and longtime audience favorite whose new work will be created in partnership with North Philadelphia’s Esperanza; and Nicole Caruana, known for her “fun, joyous and quirky choreography” (Mooney on Theatre), who creates a premiere set to the transcendent voice of legendary opera singer and activist Marian Anderson.
Seating at this performance series is limited. Audiences are invited to come early for festive live music and complimentary tours of the historic Glen Foerd Mansion prior to each performance.
Spring Series 2022 at TD Pavilion at the Mann (May 18-19)
BalletX returns to the iconic TD Pavilion at the Mann after last June’s knockout debut there for a two-show limited run featuring world premieres by Jennifer Archibald and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, alongside the return of a company classic: BalletX co-founder Matthew Neenan’s The Last Glass, set to the music of indie rock band Beirut.
Jennifer Archibald is the acclaimed Founder and Artistic Director of Arch Dance Company in New York, Lecturer in Acting at Yale School of Drama and Resident Choreographer of Cincinnati Ballet, whose work has been hailed as “mesmerizing” (Arts Air) and “spellbinding” (Revue). Archibald, who grew up dancing hip hop while studying at the National Ballet School of Canada, makes her BalletX debut with a premiere juxtaposing classical ballet technique with house music and dance.
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, who received her first commission in the United States from BalletX in 2008, is an award-winning Colombo-Belgian choreographer. She has created works for over 70 international dance companies, including English National Ballet and New York City Ballet, and her 2019 BalletX premiere, The Little Prince, was named “one of the year’s must-see shows” by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
These affordably-priced shows invite audiences to come early to enjoy live music and family-friendly dance classes and activities, while taking in unforgettable views of the city from the Mann’s incredible campus in Fairmount Park.
Summer Series 2022 at The Wilma Theater (July 13-17)
Prepare to be blown away by BalletX’s much-anticipated return to its intimate home theater, the Wilma, with a week-long performance series featuring world premieres by three of today’s brightest rising choreographic stars: Tiler Peck, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano and Jamar Roberts.
Tiler Peck, regarded as a “dance luminary” by The Washington Post and “the ballerina who can stop time” by The New York Times, is an award-winning Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet, actress, choreographer, author and designer. She joins BalletX for her first work on the company, set to a composition by flutist and composer Valerie Coleman, who was named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the year.
Gustavo Ramirez Sansano is the director of Spanish company TITOYAYA and the creator of works by Nederlands Dans Theater and Ballet BC, among many others. He returns after his hit BalletX Beyond film, Hernando’s Hideaway, with a work set to the music of jazz legend Bert Kaempfert and inspired by the famed saying “Love has no cure, but it is the only medicine for all ills.”
Jamar Roberts, Resident Choreographer and recently retired dancer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, makes his Philadelphia debut with a world premiere set to the iconic music of legendary pianist and composer Don Shirley, the inspiration for the 2018 film Green Book. Roberts is a Bessie Award-winner whose choreography has been praised as “striking” and “virtuosic” by The New York Times.
BalletX offers both individual tickets and subscription packages, with a Donor Presale running Feb. 8-10, and tickets going live to the general public on Feb. 11. Tickets are available at BalletX.org or through the BalletX Box Office, 215-225-5389 x250.
BalletX and venues will adhere to current COVID protocols to ensure the safety of its guests, performers, and crew. Details are subject to change.
