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    Category: Dance

    The National Ballet of Japan ’s 2024/25 season

      March 1, 2024
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    Giselle_(c)Takashi-Shikama

    The National Ballet of Japan ’s 2024/25 season was unveiled today by Miyako Yoshida, Artistic Director of
    Ballet & Dance of the New National Theatre Tokyo. Entitled “With a Sense of Adventure”, the season
    features one world premiere, two company premieres alongside beloved classics. Embodying the theme of
    expanding artistic boundaries with a sense of adventure, the season culminates with the company’s first
    ever visit to the Royal Opera House in the UK in July 2025, performing its celebrated production of Giselle.

    The National Ballet of Japan
    Giselle_(c)Takashi-Shikama

    William Forsythe & Harald Lander enter company repertoire
    In March 2025, the triple bill “Ballet Coffret” will feature two company premieres – Harald Lander’s
    Etudes and William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, along with Michel Fokine’s The
    Firebird, making a return after 12 years. The trio of works have been especially chosen to showcase the
    technical virtuosity and stylistic versatility of the dancers of the National Ballet of Japan.

    World Premiere by Keigo Fukuda
    National Ballet of Japan dancer Keigo Fukuda will create a one-act work for the company’s Young NBJ
    GALA 2025, which aims to nurture young dancers. A member of the “NBJ Choreographic Group”,
    Fukuda has worked with emerging dancers of the company over the past few seasons.

    UK Debut at Royal Opera House with Miyako Yoshida’s Giselle
    The National Ballet of Japan’s 2025 highlight will be the company’s UK debut at the Royal Opera House
    in London, generously supported by Kinoshita Group Co., Ltd. The company will give five performances
    of Giselle in a celebrated production by the artistic director Miyako Yoshida who was for 16 years a
    Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet. In collaboration with award-winning British choreographer Alastair
    Marriot and designer Dick Bird, Yoshida’s Giselle will also be performed in Tokyo in April 2025 before
    travelling to London

    Beloved ballet repertoire
    The season sees the returns of beloved and exciting ballets from the company’s repertoire. The season opens
    with The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Wayne Eagling, which maintains a classical style while also
    employing modern sensibilities.

    For the Christmas/New Year season, the NBJ will perform the popular classic The Nutcracker and the
    Mouse King in a production by Wayne Eagling. Introduced to the company’s repertoire in the 2017/18
    season, the ballet became an instant classic, proving enormously popular with audiences.

    The creative team of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© by Christopher Wheeldon features a starry lineup of artists including British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, composer Joby Talbot and multiple award-winning designer Bob Crowley. The National Ballet of Japan is the only company in Japan permitted to perform this wonderfully entertaining work for the whole family.

    NBJ’s popular series featuring choreographic works by dancers
    DANCE to the Future is a series of programmes featuring contemporary works choreographed by dancers
    of the NBJ. Selected works from the “NBJ Choreographic Group”, a project for nurturing choreographers
    at the NBJ, will be performed. This season the company welcomes Kenta Kojiri as an advisor. A former
    dancer of the Nederlands Dans Theater, Kojiri has engaged in a wide range of work including his own
    choreography and hosting workshops. Kojiri will develop his pioneering, futuristic choreography with
    NBJ’s dancers.

    Dance work for the family, Obachetta, returns
    Leading Japanese contemporary dance company, Co. Un YAMADA returns to the New National Theatre
    Tokyo to perform Obachetta, a hugely popular work much enjoyed by children and adults alike.

    The National Ballet of Japan
    Giselle_(c)Takashi-Shikama

    The National Ballet of Japan

    2024/2025 SEASON AT A GLANCE
    ——— 8 Productions 64 Performances in Total ——–

    The Sleeping Beauty
    25 Oct – 4 Nov, 2024 (12 performances)
    Choreography by Wayne Eagling (after Marius Petipa)
    Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Music Arranged by Gavin Sutherland
    Set Designer: Naoji Kawaguchi
    Costume Designer : Toer van Schayk
    Lighting Designer: Yuji Sawada
    Conductors: Gavin Sutherland / Misato Tomita
    Orchestra: Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

    The National Ballet of Japan
    The-Sleeping-Beauty_(c)Takashi-Shikama

    The National Ballet of Japan
    DANCE to the Future 2024
    29 Nov – 1 Dec, 2024 (4 performances)
    Choreography by: Artists of the National Ballet of Japan
    Advisor: Kenta Kojiri

    The National Ballet of Japan
    The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
    21 Dec, 2024 – 5 Jan, 2025 (18 performances)
    Choreography by Wayne Eagling
    Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Set Designer: Naoji Kawaguchi
    Costume Designer: Ayako Maeda
    Lighting Designer: Yuji Sawada
    Conductors: Misato Tomita / TBA
    Orchestra: Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
    Chorus: The Little Singers of Tokyo

    The National Ballet of Japan
    Ballet Coffret
    Etudes / The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude / The Firebird
    14 – 16 Mar, 2025 (4 performances)
    Etudes Company Premiere
    Choreography by Harald Lander
    Music by Carl Czerny
    Music Arranged and Orchestrated by: Knudåge Riisager
    The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude Company Premiere
    Choreography by William Forsythe
    Music by Franz Schubert
    Set and Lighting Designer: William Forsythe
    Costume Designer: Stephen Galloway
    The Firebird
    Choreography by Michel Fokine
    Music by Igor Stravinsky
    Set Designer: Dick Bird
    Costume Designer: Natalia Goncharova
    Lighting Designer: Yuji Sawada
    Conductor: Martin Yates
    Orchestra: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

    Co. Un YAMADA
    Obachetta
    29 – 30 Mar, 2025 (4 performances)
    Direction and Choreography by Un Yamada
    Music by Satoru Wono
    Set Designer: THE CABIN COMPANY
    Lighting Designer: Akiyo Kushida
    Costume Designer: Yuko Ikeda
    Sound Designer: Hisashi Kurono
    Performance: Co. Un YAMADA

    The National Ballet of Japan
    Giselle
    April, 2025 (9 performances)
    Choreography by Jean Coralli , Jules Perrot
    and Marius Petipa
    Production by Miyako Yoshida
    Staging and Additional Choreography by: Alastair Marriott
    Music by Adolphe Adam
    Set and Costume Designer: Dick Bird
    Lighting Designer: Rick Fisher
    Conductors: Paul Murphy / Misato Tomita
    Orchestra: Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

    The National Ballet of Japan
    The Firebird. (c)Takashi-Shikama

    The National Ballet of Japan

    Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© by Christopher Wheeldon
    12 – 24 Jun, 2025 (11 performances)
    Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon
    Music by Joby Talbot
    Set and Costume Designer: Bob Crowley
    Scenario by Nicholas Wright
    Lighting Designer: Natasha Katz
    Projection Designers: Jon Driscoll and Gemma Arrington
    Puppetry Designer: Toby Olié
    Magic Consultant: Paul Kieve
    Conductors: David Briskin / Misato Tomita
    Orchestra: Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
    Co-production with: The Australian Ballet

    The National Ballet of Japan
    Young NBJ GALA 2025
    12 – 13 Jul, 2025 (2 performances)
    Pas de deux selection
    O Solitude
    Choreography by Megumi Nakamura
    Music by Henry Purcell
    Lighting Designer: Hisashi Adachi
    Costume Designer: Izumi Yamada
    A New Work by Keigo Fukuda Commissioned work by the NBJ, world premiere
    Choreography by Keigo Keigo

    International Tour
    Giselle
    24 – 27 July, 2025 (5 Performances)
    Venue: Royal Opera House, London, UK
    Corporate Sponsorship by Kinoshita Group Co., Ltd

    The National Ballet of Japan
    The Nutcracker & The Mouse King _(c)Kiyonori-Hasegawa

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    As Cowles Center closes, local dancers reflect on its impact

      February 29, 2024
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    One of the Twin Cities’ preeminent performance spaces for dance concerts is closing.

    The Cowles Center for Dance & The Performing Arts, which operates the Goodale Theater in Minneapolis, will cease operations on March 31 after facing financial issues.

    “I think that the community is definitely heartbroken at the loss of our dance center,” said Aparna Ramaswamy, executive director of Ragamala Dance Company.

    Ragamala specializes in dance styles from South Asia. The company planned to have performances at the Cowles Center this spring but is now in search of a new venue.

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    Ragamala Dance performed “Written in Water” at the Cowles Center in 2017.

    Bruce W Palmer

    “The Cowles has always been a very free and open place to work,” Ramaswamy added.

    Created in 2011, the Cowles Center consists of the Hennepin Center for Arts and the Goodale Theater and Atrium. Formerly the Shubert Theater, the Goodale was renovated and moved to its new home, connected to the Center for the Arts.

    “This was a theater that they moved 10 blocks, a historic theater, with an incredible history,” Ramaswamy said.

    “So the idea that this is a home for dance, that like dance is a beautiful melding of past, present and future.”

    Along with presenting and producing dance concerts in collaboration with companies across the region, the center offered educational opportunities. 

    The Cowles Center was created through a partnership with real estate developer Artspace, which focuses on housing and commercial space for the arts. While two separate nonprofit entities, members of Artspace’s staff served on the board of the Cowles Center. Artspace also owns the Hennepin Center for the Arts space.

    “We have provided, on average, about half a million dollars a year in operation,” said Will Law, chief operating officer of Artspace.  

    “So, a little over $6 million approaching $7 million in kind of operational support,” Law added, acknowledging that exact numbers varied year to year. 

    Due to economic issues, prompted by COVID-19, Artspace could no longer support the Cowles Center and sought out new operators in late 2022.

    “Coupled with Artspace’s challenging affordable-housing reality, [this] meant that we didn’t have the resources to continue to support that programming the way we had previously. Sadly, very sadly.”

    While Artspace had a few promising leads in 2023, no deal had been reached with new operators for the space in 2024. This ultimately led to the decision to close the Cowles Center.

    View from the stage

    Crews work on the stage and seating at the Cowles Center for Dance & The Performing Arts in 2011.

    Jeffrey Thompson | MPR News 2011

    “This is a huge hit,” said Lisa Berman, a teaching artist at the Cowles Center. Berman is also the founder of BRKFST, a company whose performances are uncertain after being canceled at the Cowles.

    “Not only for performing artists but also for the broader community of people that receive arts education through dance.” 

    For Berman, the financial situation came as a bit of a shock.

    “This was a huge surprise to me. I had no idea that they were in this kind of financial trouble.”

    Berman credits the Cowles Center as one of the first major venues locally to support street dancing.

    “We really owe them a lot for exposing the community to our dance form.” 

    The Cowles Center was unique for the Twin Cities dance community. Not only was it a large venue that could raise the profile of different companies, but it was also built with dancers in mind.

    “There are so many theaters in the Twin Cities, and yet, not too many of them are really primed for dance,” said Rachel Doran, founder of Crash Dance Productions, which will be the penultimate group to perform at the Cowles Center.

    Doran points out that logistical things like “the size of the stage, what type of lighting plots are available, what the floor is made of” matter a great deal to the kinds of dance concerts that can be performed.

    “In my private conversations, everyone’s like, what are what are we all going to do? Where are we going to go? Literally, where are we going to go?” 

    The Cowles Center has promised to fulfill contractual obligations as co-presenters of canceled performances and pay out the artist fees and box office splits. Artspace plans to continue as operator of the Hennepin Center for the Arts, while stewardship of the Goodale Theater will fall to the City of Minneapolis.

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    In Justin Peck’s ‘Illinoise,’ Dance On and Feel It

      February 28, 2024
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    Justin Peck was around 17 when he first heard the Sufjan Stevens album “Illinois,” an epic paean to the state, nearly two dozen tracks brimming with orchestral indie rock, dense, lyrical wistfulness and sometimes obscure local history. This listening experience came long before Peck wanted to make dances, before he was even a professional dancer.

    But “Illinois” urged him to move. “It was an instantaneous, illuminating thing that I felt like it was so danceable,” said Peck, now the resident choreographer and artistic adviser at New York City Ballet. “And it is so rare to find someone who can conjure that, especially someone who’s alive right now.”

    Ever since, Peck, 36, has found artistic inspiration in Stevens — “the voice in music that has led me down paths further than I’ve ever gone before,” he said.

    The two collaborated regularly, including on “Year of the Rabbit,” the ballet that launched Peck as a choreographer, in 2012. Not long after they began working together, Peck, hoping to experiment with storytelling forms, and influenced by dance-pop productions like Twyla Tharp’s “Movin’ Out,” asked if he could make a theatrical piece set to “Illinois.” Stevens took nearly five years to agree.

    Almost five years later, the result is “Illinoise,” a project that is every bit as ambitious and genre-defying as its soundtrack: a narrative dance musical that combines a coming-of-age story, a snapshot of queer identity and a meditation on death, love, community, history, politics and zombies.

    Growing up, Peck said, the arts, especially theater, gave him a sense of belonging. He framed “Illinoise” through a protagonist who seeks out the big city, “finding his tribe and his voice and his sexuality — all of these things that a lot of us go through, especially those of us who have moved to a place like New York from smaller or more conservative areas.”

    The choreography weaves together playful punk energy and tap dancing, funky solos and yearning pas de deux, with a cast whose members include ballet dancers and former contestants on “So You Think You Can Dance.” After sold out, rapturously received performances at Bard College and at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, “Illinoise” runs March 2-26 at the Park Avenue Armory, with an eye toward expanding to bigger stages, like Broadway.

    “It feels like the most broadly appealing thing that I have actually ever worked on,” said Jackie Sibblies Drury, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, who signed on to help shape the story, which has no dialogue. “But the entire process of it has felt so intimate and personal.”

    This is despite a cast of 16 and an orchestra of 14, with three vocalist-musicians who bring their own non-Sufjan tones, including Shara Nova, also known as My Brightest Diamond, who was part of the original recording of “Illinois.”

    “Illinois” was Stevens’s breakthrough album, and since its 2005 release, it has entranced fans like Drury, who associates it with a move to Chicago in her early 20s, at a moment when she was determining whether her then boyfriend could be her husband (he is). “It feels like the album wants you to live your life to it,” she said.

    It’s also on repeat in dance studios — not just Peck’s — especially during improvisations, said Ricky Ubeda, a performer in the show. “It’s just so dynamic,” he said, “and his voice is so felt, that it’s easy to let that move through the body.”

    Ubeda, who won “So You Think You Can Dance” in 2014, plays Henry, the central character in “Illinoise.” He leaves home and meets up with a crew of young friends over a lantern campfire, like a minimalist Wes Anderson scene. They share stories — the dances — from their journals. Henry is reluctant to open up at first, though he happily scribbles in his book as the vocalists sing: “Are you writing from the heart?”

    That’s a lyric from the jubilant track “Come On! Feel the Illinoise! (Part I: The World’s Columbian Exposition / Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream),” which plays in an ensemble sequence whose choreography pops with Jerome Robbins-style joy.

    The show begins with Henry on a blanket, spooning with his partner, Douglas (Ahmad Simmons). Both performers worked on the 2018 Broadway revival of “Carousel,” which earned Peck a Tony Award for choreography. He got in touch with them when “Illinoise” was in its earliest stages. “He took us for a walk, and talked us through his vision for his piece,” Ubeda said. “He didn’t really have the answers to what it would become. It was like, how do we tell the story so it was felt and seen, without words?”

    Costumed in a baseball hat, shorts and a backpack, with a movement style that is both lithe and emotionally bending, Ubeda, 28, has a Stevens vibe — though Henry wasn’t intended to be a Sufjan stand-in, said Peck, for whom the project was not biographical, but personal. “There’s a lot of parallels to things I’ve gone through and people I’ve lost, as a young person in the world,” he said.

    For Ubeda, too: “As a queer person, I’ve been in Henry’s shoes, falling in love with someone who loves you, but doesn’t love you in that way” — a teenage rite-of-passage, he said.

    Stevens, 48, has not been actively involved in the production. He announced last fall that he had Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that left him unable to walk; he was undergoing treatment and expected to recover, he said in a statement. An intensely private artist, he also shared on social media last spring about the death of his partner, Evans Richardson, a museum administrator — publicly addressing his sexuality for the first time in the process. Though Stevens had been in discussions with the “Illinoise” team about the music, Richardson’s death derailed his participation, company members said. (Through a representative, Stevens declined an interview request.)

    The composer and musician Timo Andres — also a previous Stevens collaborator — created the arrangements, which include interludes from the album that have not been performed live, Andres said.

    For the stage version, he tried to keep the DIY spirit of the recording, which was made with many of Stevens’s friends, often in ad hoc studios around New York. It’s “quite orchestral, but also quite intimate and quite homespun,” Andres said.

    The music also has a grand lushness, he said, as though it wanted to expand beyond its aural container: “It’s like hearing the New York Philharmonic in a high school gym or something. It’s bursting at the seams.”

    Even in a production of this size, he couldn’t match some of the album sounds (“We’re not going to hire four oboe players just for this one moment”), so he relies on the musicians, who perform onstage, to convey the complexity with multiple instruments.

    Nova plays the electric guitar and sings, along with Elijah Lyons and Tasha Viets-VanLear. The vocalists wear translucent, multicolor butterfly wings, in homage to the costumes on the “Illinois” tour. (A creative polymath, Stevens stitched those wings himself, out of kites, Nova said.)

    In some ways, Nova is the institutional memory of “Illinoise.” But decoupling this performance from her experience making songs like the piercing “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” with Stevens — “I remember crying at that recording session with him,” she said — has been intense, especially as she worries about her friend after his traumatic year.

    What has helped is connection with the dancers — the singers often lock eyes with them, which she called “thrilling” — and the realization that the music can endure, apart from Stevens.

    “I mean, you can’t even look at the audiences because as far as we can see, people are crying,” Nova said. “This is why we all come to theater, is just to have a space to feel feelings that we don’t see or can’t express in the world.”

    For Peck, translating the details of this beloved but complicated album into dance and narrative left him wondering how literal to make certain moments. The creators erred on the side of legibility: During “Casimir Pulaski Day,” which references “cancer of the bone,” the dancer Gaby Diaz appears with an IV bag and her partner (Ben Cook) rends his chest.

    “This show is a little scary for me because it does explore darker themes and darker experiences,” said Peck, noting that his choreography often hums with elation instead. (“It’s kind of annoying, actually — even if I try to not put that in, instinctually, it just, like, filters into it.”)

    But in one of his last conversations with Stevens about the project, the musician reminded him to peel back the layers of the album — “this bright joyous thing” — and lean into its depths.

    Jessica Dessner, an artist, writer and former dancer — and sister of the Stevens pals Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National — introduced Stevens to Peck (at Peck’s request) more than a decade ago. She said that for Stevens, dance turned into a natural extension of his multilevel work, which includes illustration and film. “He really just saw it as another emanation of this universe that he creates with all of his projects,” she said.

    Coming into the production as a non-dancer, Drury found herself relating to its emotional beats, like a moment when Henry and Douglas, as a love-struck couple, break through a cacophony and do a simple box step slide, holding hands and breathing, deeply, together, with their eyes closed. “It makes me cry every time I see it,” she said.

    Given his stature in the dance world, Peck naturally attracted high-level collaborators and performers. Execution mattered, but empathy was paramount. The hope, he said, is that the show “helps people understand the world, or understand themselves, their relationships or the idea of loss a little bit more, exactly what theater did for me, especially as a lonely young kid.”

    The intention resonated, even in the company members’s rehearsal cheer: “Feel it!” they cried.



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    🆕Here is English National Ballet ‘s New Season 🆕

      February 27, 2024
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    • World premiere of English National Ballet’s new production of Nutcracker choreographed by Artistic Director, Aaron S. Watkin and Arielle Smith
    • The Forsythe Programme to be performed at Sadler’s Wells, featuring the world premiere of a new work created for English National Ballet by William Forsythe
    • Akram Khan’s Giselle returns to London for the first time since 2019
    • English National Ballet marks its 75th Season with a free, 10-day digital celebration
    • Extensive programme of Engagement work offered alongside performances
    Nutcracker. Photo : Jason Bell

    English National Ballet is thrilled to announce plans for its 75th Season, running from September 2024 – June 2025.

    Featuring two world premieres, a Company premiere and the return of audience favourites, English National Ballet’s 75th Season celebrates tradition whilst forging innovation – an ethos that has shaped the Company’s rich history and will inspire its future.

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eucLnIyfAY4[/embed]

    Artistic Director of English National Ballet, Aaron S. Watkin, said:“In this, English National Ballet’s 75th Season, we will be celebrating the myriad ways that ballet can excite, entertain, and inspire. Be it the renewal of a beloved classic with our new Nutcracker, cherished revivals, or a return to the ground-breaking works of Akram Khan and William Forsythe – this is a season that showcases the many wonderful things that ballet can offer.

    I am thrilled that English National Ballet continues to attract world-class creative talent. I can’t wait to have Arielle Smith and William Forsythe back in our studios to create work and I know our dancers will be inspired by their presence.

    Finally, its hugely important to me that we welcome as many people as possible to celebrate our 75th Season with us. I am therefore delighted that we will be presenting a free digital celebration that will enable us to connect with ballet fans and new audiences alike, all around the world.”

    Having been seen by over 156,000 people in 10 countries and 16 cities around the world, Akram Khan’s Giselle opens English National Ballet’s 2024/2025 Season with areturn to London (Sadler’s Wells) for the first time since 2019. In this acclaimed reimagining of the iconic ballet, Khan tells a story of love, betrayal, and redemption. The production features an imposing set designed by Academy Award-winner Tim Yip and a powerful score by Vincenzo Lamagna.

    Offering audiences the opportunity to see two versions of one of the great Romantic ballets in the same season, Mary Skeaping’s Giselle, will also be performed, touring to the Liverpool Empire and Manchester’s Palace Theatre in the autumn, before returning to the London Coliseum in January 2025. With its beautiful classical language and thoughtful staging, this Giselle features some of ballet’s most dramatic scenes and otherworldly images.

    English National Ballet
    Precious-Adams & James-Streeter in Playlist EP Photo : Laurent Liotardo

    Christmas 2024 will see the world premiere of a new production of the classic festive ballet, Nutcracker, choreographed by English National Ballet’s Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Arielle Smith. The production will take audiences on a fantastical adventure as they join Clara on her journey of discovery, from Edwardian London to the Land of Sweets & Delights. Nutcracker is bought to life by exquisite dancing, spectacular new costumes and sets by Dick Bird, lighting by Paul Pyant, and Tchaikovsky’s instantly recognisable score played live by English National Ballet Philharmonic.

    English National Ballet’s Artistic Director and jointchoreographer of Nutcracker, Aaron S. Watkin, said: “Nutcracker holds a special place in English National Ballet’s history and in the hearts of our audiences. The Company has performed a version of it every year since it was founded in 1950 and it is an honour to be working with Arielle and Dick, to bring new magic and wonder to this much-loved ballet.”

    Continuing the Company’s commitment to UK touring and sharing world-class ballet with the widest possible audience, Nutcracker will receive its world premiere at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre before performances at the London Coliseum. For the first time, English National Ballet will present a relaxed performance of Nutcracker, at the London Coliseum on 9 January 2025. The creation of this new production has been made possible by Charles Holloway, Lead Supporter of Nutcracker.

    In spring 2025, English National Ballet returns to Sadler’s Wells, London, with The Forsythe Programme, a triple bill showcasing highlights of master choreographer, William Forsythe’s, broad catalogue of work. Combining ballet classicism and athleticism with the music of Barry White, Natalie Cole and Khalid to name just a few, audience favourite, Playlist (EP) returns alongside New Suite, an arrangement of eight earlier pas de deux set to scores by Händel, Berio and Bach, presented by English National Ballet for the first time. Completing the programme is the world premiere of a new work created for the Company in which Forsythe takes inspiration from the 2nd movement of Prokofiev’s piano concerto number 3 in C major Opus 26; “Tema con Variazioni”.

    For younger audiences, English National Ballet and English National Ballet School reviveMy First Ballet: Swan Lakeat Sadler’s Wells’ West End venue, the Peacock Theatre, in April 2025. The perfect introduction to the artform, this is a specially adapted version of the world’s most iconic ballet. Featuring choreography by Antonio Castilla, English National Ballet’s Repetiteur, and with a narrator to guide the audience, the production is accessible to children aged three upwards. The run will also include a relaxed performance as part of the My First Inclusive Ballet outreach programme as well as a series of on-stage family workshops.

    English National Ballet
    English National Balle dancers in Giselle © Laurent Liotardo

    In summer 2025, English National Ballet continues its investment in Emerging Talent programmes with the launch of Choreo Labs – a supportive and inspiring environment for Company dancers to develop their skills and explore new choreographic ideas. Open to dancers across the Company, the series will culminate with an in-house sharing session. Choreo Labs is part of English National Ballet’s future commitment to create a wider Emerging Talent performance programme, which will bring together its existing Emerging Dancer event and Choreo Labs.

    To mark English National Ballet’s 75th Season, a free, 10-day digital celebration will be presented in June 2025. Showcasing English National Ballet’s past, present and future, ENB@75 will feature performance excerpts filmed especially in the Company’s in-house Holloway Production Studio as well as interviews, archive footage and exclusive behind-the-scenes insight. Recognising the important role digital content plays in engaging and inspiring new audiences, English National Ballet offers this as a free to view event. This will be an inclusive opportunity for online audiences around the world to celebrate with the Company at this significant moment in its history. 

    2024/2025 marks Music Director, Maria Seletskaja’s, first full season in post. Alongside Principal Guest Conductor, Gavin Sutherland, Seletskaja will conduct English National Ballet Philharmonic for performances of Akram Khan’s Giselle, Mary Skeaping’s Giselle and Nutcracker. Also conducting performances of Nutcracker are Daniel Parkinson and Kingsley Lin. 

    With its extensive Engagement programme for 2024/2025, English National Ballet continues to be a leader in creative health and learning and participation practice. The Shared Ground Space Scheme and co-curated Ideas Incubation Labs provide valuable platforms for artist development and support. Alongside this, English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s, an evidence-based programme delivered nationally via six hub partners, and Dance for Dementia, offer creative health interventions that contribute to better health and well-being through artistry, creativity and community. Insights into the creative industries continue to be offered through our schools programme, Ballet Explored, and there will be celebrations of co-created dance from our youth companies and community performance groups through Re-Play, an annual sharing platform at English National Ballet’s studios. Following its launch in February 2024, the Company’s Ballet Club for children, young people and families resident in Newham, east London, also returns for the 2024/2025 season.

    Ballet Futures, English National Ballet’s talent pipeline project to incentivise children from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds (African Diaspora, Caribbean, South Asian and South East Asian heritage) to participate in professional training, continues throughout 2024/2025. Now with over 30 students across five schools nationally, this year will see the inclusion of further performance opportunities for the programme’s participants.

    English National Ballet’s plans for international touring will be announced in due course.

    English National Ballet
    Artists of English National Ballet in Akram Khan’s Giselle © Laurent Liotardo

    On-sale Information:
    Mary Skeaping’s Giselle and Nutcracker open for priority booking to Friends/ Members on Friday 16 February 2024, with general booking open from 21 February 2024.

    Tickets for Arkam Khan’s Giselle will be available in spring 2024 and for The Forsythe Programme and My First Ballet: Swan Lake in autumn 2024.

    Akram Khan’s Giselle
    Sadler’s Wells, London
    Wednesday 18 – Saturday 28 September 2024

    Mary Skeaping’s Giselle
    Liverpool Empire
    Wednesday 23 October – Saturday 26 October 2024

    Mary Skeaping’s Giselle
    Manchester Palace Theatre
    Wednesday 30 October – Saturday 02 November 2024

    Nutcracker WORLD PREMIERE
    Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
    Thursday 28 November – Saturday 30 November 2024
     

    Nutcracker
    London Coliseum
    Thursday 12 December 2024 – Sunday 12 January 2025
       

    Mary Skeaping’s Giselle
    London Coliseum
    Wednesday 15 January – Saturday 18 January 2025

    The Forsythe Programme (including a WORLD PREMIERE)
    Sadler’s Wells, London
    Thursday 10 April – Saturday 19 April 2025

    My First Ballet: Swan Lake
    The Peacock Theatre, London
    Thursday 17 April – Saturday 26 April 2025

    ENB @75: A Digital Celebration
    June 2025

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    ‘It’s like being on a love boat’: the dance trio embraced by Sam Smith and Madonna | Stage

      February 25, 2024
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    That thing about never meeting your idols? Not true, say (La)Horde. There was the time Madonna slid into their DMs, for a start. She started following the French dance collective on Instagram. “We wrote, ‘Oh la la, Madonna!’ just to test if she’d see it, and she responded: ‘Hey, hi, want to collaborate?’” Marine Brutti is laughing, still a little in disbelief, as she recalls choreographing the Celebration tour.

    Then there was the film they made with Spike Jonze, the tours with Christine and the Queens and the time Sam Smith turned up backstage and they ended up making the Unholy video and live shows for 2023’s Gloria album. “Sam honestly is the best ever to work with,” raves Brutti. “The wittiest, funniest, most caring, protective person. It’s like being on a love boat,” she swoons. “I said to someone recently: work with your idols!”

    Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer and Arthur Harel are the trio behind (La)Horde. They met 14 years ago on Paris’s queer club scene and, with backgrounds in dance and art, started helping each other out with projects. Over time it coalesced into something official and since 2019 they have been artistic directors of Ballet National de Marseille. Under that guise they’re coming to London with the show Roommates, which features two of their choreographies and four wildly different contemporary works: the cinematic dance-theatre of Belgian company Peeping Tom; a duet from the early 90s by Claude Brumachon and Benjamin Lamarche, inspired by artists lost to Aids; a grime ballet by Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud; and a piece from queen of minimal postmodernism Lucinda Childs.

    Even while running a major dance company, (La)Horde keep a sense of outsiderdom and collaborative spirit. They say I can credit all quotes to (La)Horde, rather than individuals, or divide the quotes equally between them – even though Debrouwer isn’t on our video call. The age of the singular auteur is over, it seems.

    Room With a View, a chapter of La(Horde)’s Roommates at Southbank Centre, London, in March. Photograph: Aude Arago

    The trio don’t all have traditional dance training, but “everybody dances, so everybody can make dance”. A lot of their work has been made with amateurs. Their only previous live performance in the UK was To Da Bone, with a cast recruited online who dance something called jumpstyle, to hardcore techno. Their own choreography borrows from every style going, and from the dance floor, the bedroom, real life: they made a piece inspired by ravers protesting against police in Tbilisi; they unabashedly dive into sensuality, and fluid ideas of gender and sexuality. It seems to be about how bodies live in the world, not on stage, and our physical experiences and interactions. “Pleasure, desire, politics, aesthetics,” outlines Harel.

    Their work lives in the era that we all do, on our phones, constantly connected, able to read or watch anything from anywhere. That’s referenced in their piece Age of Content – of which an extract, Weather Is Sweet, is part of Roommates. They talk about the advent of Web 2.0, where suddenly everyone could participate, create and share online. “It completely changed the dynamic of what it is to be a creator and we were amazed. For us, it was like a utopia.”

    They’ve been reflecting on how much the context, or the platform, defines what can be called art. An example: “We were on a residency in Los Angeles and we went to a strip club and we were saying, this is dance, but because of the context I cannot receive it in the same way that I would on stage.” Put that same movement into one of your music videos and it could be art? “Exactly, but in a music video you can still question it because it’s commercial. But if you put it in a theatre, on a stage you shared minutes ago with Lucinda Childs, how do you receive it?” They’re not telling anyone what to think. “It’s just to train our eye to stay alert and stay critical and widen our perspectives.”

    (La)Horde have referred to themselves as “post-internet dance”, acknowledging an era where we’re surrounded by a multiplicity of ideas – you look up “apple” in the dictionary, there’s one definition. You google “apple”, there are billions of results. It’s partly about how borders of style and location dissolve when we’re connected online, and the practical ways you can make art now, communally.

    The collective don’t differentiate between high- and lowbrow or accept other divisions. The way they work in the studio in Marseille isn’t much different to how they work with Madonna, they say. Except you’re part of a huge machine putting a global megatour on the road, surely? “But a machine is cold and metal, and Madonna rides emotions with tears and joy and fun and punk,” says Brutti. “It’s more like a big ship and she’s the captain,” she adds, delighted to be among the crew.



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    Steve Paxton, Who Found Avant-Garde Dance in the Everyday, Dies at 85

      February 24, 2024
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    Mr. Paxton’s dance vocabulary wasn’t always basic. For his 1963 work “Afternoon,” he taught Ms. Rainer and other dancers some choreography filled with tricky balances, in the Cunningham vein, but he had them perform it on the uneven terrain of a forest in New Jersey. Ms. Rainer later characterized Mr. Paxton as her “favorite wily choreographer.”

    In 1970, Mr. Paxton, Ms. Rainer and several other members of Judson Dance Theater started performing together as the leaderless collective Grand Union. The group’s shows were improvisational, anarchic, free-associative.

    For Mr. Paxton, Grand Union was a laboratory in the possibilities of form and performance. One possibility that he explored further grew into what he called contact improvisation, a duet form in which participants give and take each other’s weight — tumbling, lifting, carrying, falling. The goal, Mr. Paxton explained in 1975 in the journal The Drama Review, was to find the “easiest pathways available to their mutually moving masses.”

    Contact improvisation can look like gentle wrestling, but it can also be full of surprises, riding the edge of disorientation and risk. (Mr. Paxton had been studying aikido.) It was “a form arising from us rather than imposed on us,” Mr. Paxton told Dance Magazine. “It’s a game that takes two people to win, so it doesn’t create losers.”

    Although contact improv was sometimes practiced in front of an audience, Mr. Paxton intended it as both a form of artistic experimentation and a meditative mode of heightening perception and nonverbal communication. For many people, it became a way of life, with a journal (Contact Quarterly) and conferences, classes and jam sessions in many countries. In the mid-1980s, Mr. Paxton was not pleased to learn that some people had come to see it as a recreational sport. (“In just 15 years,” he said, “it had gone from an art exploration and a performance thing to a recreation, a dating game.”)

    But he moved on to other explorations. From 1986 to 1992, he performed “Goldberg Variations,” a series of intricate improvisations to a Glenn Gould recording of that Bach composition. Beginning in 1986, he developed what he called “material for the spine,” a system focusing on the muscles and sensations of the back, aiming — as he put it in an instructional video — “to bring the light of consciousness to the dark side of the body.”

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    🆕New Details for Dance for Ukraine in London 🆕

      February 23, 2024
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    Dance for Ukraine

    The London Palladium

    Sunday 18 February 2024 at 6.30pm

    • Ivan Putrov’s second Dance for Ukraine gala in support of his home country, Ukraine
    • Featuring former Bolshoi Ballet superstar Olga Smirnova
    • Stars of The Royal Ballet, Marianela Núñez, Martthew Ball and William Bracewell, and soloists from Ukrainian National Ballet to also perform
    • Funds raised will support the arts in Ukraine, with a new production for Ukrainian National Ballet of Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, the first British ballet to enter its repertoire
    Marianna Tsembenhoi ©- Evgeniy Repiashenko

    Ukrainian born dancer and former star of The Royal Ballet Ivan Putrov today announces Dance for Ukraine at The London Palladium on Sunday 18 February 2024, following the success of 2022’s gala that raised over £160,000 net for the Disaster Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

    Bringing together a cast of international ballet stars, this year’s Dance for Ukraine comes ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s illegal invasion and ongoing war. This special benefit gala will raise much needed funds to support young artists with grants towards their training. Additionally proceeds will be go to make a new ballet production for Ukrainian National Ballet of Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée. 

    Featuring over 15 pieces performed by leading dancers from Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Ukrainian National Ballet and more, the evening will also include a performance by the ROH Songs for Ukraine Chorus conducted by Ukrainian/Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson.

    Selected repertoire and casting for Dance for Ukraine at The London Palladium

    After the Rain

    Choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon

    Performed by Marianela Nuñez & Lukas B. Brændsrød

    Asuka

    Choreographed by Asami Maki after Akiko Tachibana

    Performed by Yuuri Hidaka & Tomoharu Yonekura

    Carmen Suite

    Choreographed by Alberto Alonso

    Performed by Olga Smirnova & Denys Matvienko

    Dying Swan

    Choreographed by Mikhail Fokine

    Performed by Olga Smirnova

    Forest Song (pas de deux)

    Choreographed by Vakhtang Vronsky

    Performed by Olga Golytsia & Volodymyr Kutuzov

    Gloria (pas de trois)

    Choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan

    Performed by Minju Kang, Joseph Taylor & Lorenzo Trossello

    Gopak from Taras Bulba

    Choreographed by Rostislav Zakkharov

    Performed by Volodymyr Kutuzov

    La Fille mal gardée (pas de ruban)

    Choreographed by Frederick Ashton

    Performed by Sabīne Strokša & Philip Fedulov

    Le Corsaire (pas de trois)

    Choreographed by Marius Petipa after Joseph Mazilier

    Performed by Marianna Tsembenhoi, Luca Acri & Vladyslav Bosenko

    Metamorphosis

    Choreographed by David Dawson

    Performed by Sangeun Lee & Gareth Haw

    Preliwd – World Premiere

    Choregraphed by Andrew McNicol

    Performed by William Bracewell

    Two x Two

    Choreographed by Russell Maliphant

    Performed by Grace Jabbari & Ivan Putrov

    Further repertoire and casting to be confirmed. Subject to change.

    Of Dance for Ukraine, Ivan Putrov said: “It is a privilege for us in the UK to bring a little light, hopefully, to the people of Ukraine. I am thankful to all the artists, creatives and organisations that have donated their services to this cause, and I am proud Olga has chosen to come to our gala in support of Ukraine and make her first appearance in London since leaving Russia. It has always been a dream of mine to bring La Fille mal gardée to Ukraine and I am thrilled it will become the first British ballet to enter the repertoire of Ukrainian National Ballet for audiences to enjoy for years to come.”

    Nobuhiro Terada, Artistic Director of Ballet at the of the National Opera House of Ukraine said: “Despite this terrible war, we are continuing to perform and are striving to keep the spirits of our dancers and our audiences high. I can’t imagine a more inspiring way to do this than to add this most delightful and heart-warming gem of British ballet to our repertoire. We are hugely grateful to all of those working to make this possible. We send our thanks and gratitude to Jean Pierre Gasquet, for his generosity, to all of the artists taking part and, of course, to the audience for their support.”

    Internationally renowned dancer Ivan Putrov was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and trained at The Kyiv State Choreographic Institute before moving to The Royal Ballet School. Following his training he joined The Royal Ballet and was promoted to Principal after just three seasons. Throughout his career he has danced lead roles in all the classics on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, winning numerous awards for his performances.

    The first Dance for Ukraine, held at the London Coliseum in 2022, was directed by Ivan Putrov and the international ballet star Alina Cojocaru, who trained in Kyiv. The gala featured a huge range of world-renowned dancers and sold out within 48 hours, raising much needed funds to support those in desperate need following the onset of the war.

    Dance for Ukraine is produced by the charity Inspiration in Motion (Charity number 1167669), that promotes dance and the performing arts, with a particular focus on commissioning and supporting new dance works, as well as looking for opportunities to broaden audiences for dance and support education and training.

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    Reason behind Alvin Ailey Dance show cancellation is still being looked into by BJCC

      February 22, 2024
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    Birmingham, AL (WBMA) — A show with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre was cancelled Saturday night (February 17th) due to low temperatures in the concert hall at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC). The announcement was made over the concert halls intercom after a nearly 40 minute intermission.

    In a Facebook Post the dance company made this statement:

    Unfortunately, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s performance on February 17 at Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) ended after the first act due to cold temperatures backstage at the Concert Hall. Despite trying everything possible to raise it, which generated delays, the minimum temperature required for the health and safety of the professional dancers could not be met.

    All of us at Ailey are very sorry that the performance couldn’t be completed and want you to know that we share your disappointment. We look forward to returning to Birmingham and continuing our long tradition of performing in this great city.

    All ticket holders will receive automatic refunds from the venue processed directly from the venue in the original form of payment within 8-10 business days. Please contact BJCC Guest Services team at guestservices@bjcc.org if you have questions or concerns.

    According to Tad Snider, the executive director with the BJCC, the American Guild of Artist Union that the dancers belong to has a temperature requirement of a 72 degree environment to keep the dancers safe from injuries.

    The temperature of the BJCC that night ranged from 68 to 70 degrees. Snider says the exact reason for the low temperatures is still being looked into.

    "Maintaining the temperatures in the building is something we’re used to so we’ve got some work to do understanding exactly what happened Saturday. The unique temperature conditions. The things we may need to do to supplement building systems," said Snider, "We sincerely apologize and own what happened Saturday night. It should not have happened."

    Many people in attendance at the event had concerns about the lack of communication by the BJCC during Saturday's cancellation.

    Snider says policies are now being examined to allow for better communication to be made in situation such as this. Right now the policy says if a cancellation is made it is the responsibility of the show representatives to make an announcement.

    “There was not communication with the audience about why the show was delayed, and the opening, and certainly when the determination was made to cancel the show," said Snider, "That’s one thing we’re going to go back and look at and understand our policies about if communication is not clear by the show or show representative when we need to step in and do that.”

    Refunds for the show will be given out by the BJCC.

    • Tickets purchased through Ticket Master will be refunded automatically. According to an email sent out by Ticket Master the refund should be received within 14-21 business days.
    • Tickets purchased through the box office will be processed manually. Snider says that process has already been started.
    • If a ticket was purchased through a third party a buyer need to go back to that point of purchase for a refund.

    Please contact BJCC Guest Services team at guestservices@bjcc.org if you have questions or concerns.

    The BJCC will be hosting the Alabama Ballet Saturday February 23-25. The company will be performing Giselle.

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    Royal Ballet Principal Matthew Ball Will Guest in Birmingham Royal Ballet ‘s The Sleeping Beauty

      February 20, 2024
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    Matthew Ball. Photograph by Andre Uspenski

    Birmingham Royal Ballet has today announced that Royal Ballet Principal Dancer, Matthew Ball will guest star with the Company for the first time in The Sleeping Beauty alongside BRB principal dancer Céline Gittens at Birmingham Hippodrome on Saturday 24 February, 7.30pm and Thursday 29 February, 7.30pm.

    Born in Liverpool, Matthew Ball trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet during the 2013/14 Season, promoted to First Artist in 2015, Soloist in 2016, First Soloist in 2017 and Principal dancer in 2018.

    Ball’s roles with The Royal Ballet include Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake), Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Apollo, Armand, Prince Florimund and Bluebird (The Sleeping Beauty), Prince (The Nutcracker), Crown Prince Rudolf (Mayerling), Des Grieux (Manon). In 2016 he was named Best Emerging Artist at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. He also performed the role of The Swan/Stranger in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.

    Matthew Ball said: “I am thrilled to be offered the chance to perform as a guest principal with  Birmingham Royal Ballet this coming week in The Sleeping Beauty. Peter Wright’s wonderful productions have formed an integral part of my career in The Royal Ballet and I can’t wait to appear in his sumptuous interpretation of this classic! It will be my pleasure to dance alongside the fantastic Céline Gittens and the entire BRB company for the first time.”

    Following a sell-out success with one of the most talked about theatrical events of 2023 with Black Sabbath – The Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet has returned to the stage with one of the Company’s most beloved classics, Sir Peter Wright’s sumptuous staging of The Sleeping Beauty.

    Marking the production’s 40th anniversary year, the 2024 UK tour opened last week at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton where the production played until Saturday 10 February. The tour then continues to Birmingham Hippodrome (21 Feb-2 Mar), The Lowry, Salford (7-9 Mar), Sunderland Empire (14-16 Mar), Theatre Royal, Plymouth (20-23 Mar), Bristol Hippodrome (18-20 Apr) and London’s Sadler’s Wells (24-27 Apr).

    The 2024 tour of The Sleeping Beauty follows on from the 2023 UK tour of Sir Peter Wright’s Swan Lake – BRB’s most successful spring tour to date, having been seen by over 53,000 people.

    Last seen on UK stages over six years ago, The Sleeping Beauty continues Birmingham Royal Ballet’s legacy of presenting the acclaimed heritage classics and celebrating the beloved work of its founder, Sir Peter Wright. The Sleeping Beauty is the fourth of Sir Peter Wright’s productions to be presented by the company since autumn 2022, following Coppélia, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. The acclaimed Royal Ballet Sinfonia performs Tchaikovsky’s glorious score live, with designs by Philip Prowse and lighting design by Mark Jonathan. 

    Listings:

    Birmingham Hippodrome
    21 February–2 March 2024

    The Lowry, Salford
    7–9 March 2024

    Sunderland Empire
    14–16 March 2024

    Theatre Royal Plymouth
    20–23 March 2024

    Bristol Hippodrome
    18 – 20 April 2024

    Sadler’s Wells, London
    24 – 27 April 2024

    Choreography: Peter Wright, Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa

    Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Production: Peter Wright

    Designs: Philip Prowse

    Lighting: Mark Jonathan

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    It’s Been a Minute : NPR

      February 19, 2024
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    Fatima Robinson has been a choreographer for over 30 years - and she's seen a lot of changes in how we dance.

    Andrew Macpherson


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    Andrew Macpherson

    Fatima Robinson has been a choreographer for over 30 years - and she's seen a lot of changes in how we dance.

    Andrew Macpherson

    Choreographer Fatima Robinson has had an incredibly prolific career: she gave us the iconic King Tut-style moves from Michael Jackson's 'Remember the Time' music video, she taught us how to 'Rock the Boat' with Aaliyah, and she was head choreographer on Beyoncé's Renaissance tour. And all through that time, she's moved through all kinds of changes in how we dance – including Tik Tok. Host Brittany Luse chats with Robinson about how she pulls rhythm out of stars – and what causes the dance moves of the day to change.

    This episode was produced by Liam McBain with additional support from Barton Girdwood, Alexis Williams, and Corey Antonio Rose. We had engineering help from Gilly Moon. It was edited by Jessica Placzek. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni.

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    Alonzo King’s ‘Deep River’ to Premiere at Rose Theater

      February 18, 2024
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    The choreographer Alonzo King sees ballet differently. A dance is never just a dance. It’s a kind of faith, and the training necessary for it — day in and day out — is a way to keep that faith alive. His ballets have a way of sailing through sensations, of calming the nervous system, of realigning the body and mind.

    “Deep River,” which will have its New York premiere at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater beginning Feb. 22, is named after the spiritual, which is part of its score, and is rooted in ideas about courage and hope. It’s about a belief that King has: Within every person, a river flows.

    “You can’t live a full life without having gotten in contact with the river that is inside of you,” he said in a video interview from San Francisco, where he lives and where his company, Lines Ballet, is based. “And it’s a knowing, it’s a knowledge. It’s your internal world. You want to tap into the knowledge that is waiting inside of you.”

    That can seem like a lot to put into a dance. But “Deep River” is driven by more than choreographic invention. When he was speaking to the composer Jason Moran about the score for “Deep River,” King told him that it needed to be deeply soulful and heartbreaking. “I want it to get past intellect and touch people’s hearts,” King said. “To wake them up.”

    King sees behavior as movement, or a dance: “It begins in thought,” he said. “Thought leads to behavior and behavior is movement. How do you move in the world? How do you see and treat other people? That’s it. And so if we look at the lives of great folks that we admire, those are dances. You look at the life of Harriet Tubman. That’s an incredible dance.”

    One quality present in King’s choreography, which can be rapturous one moment and grounded the next, is elongation. His dancers, agile and lean, ripple as they seem to stretch their bodies past their skin. They’re never stuck in positions; movement flows through them. And in “Deep River,” the music has a way of swimming alongside them, too, especially the voice of Lisa Fischer, a transcendent singer who appears onstage with the dancers. (A longtime performer with the Rolling Stones, Fischer is featured in “20 Feet from Stardom,” the Oscar-winning documentary about backup singers.)

    In “Deep River,” King’s idea of a pas de deux seems to expand beyond just two bodies; Fischer feels that, too. “If I’m doing a hand movement that is reacting to the dancers’ hand movements, it’s almost as though I can see the energy between the space,” she said, referring to the air between those hands. “It’s not just reaching without a purpose. But for me, the purpose is throwing energy and exchanging the energy.”

    At times in “Deep River,” Fischer touches the dancers — a shoulder, the back of neck. “It's like you feel their sweat, you feel all these years of preparation for that moment,” she said. “I keep that in mind, because everything that they are is in that moment. They’re breathing life into it and I get to share it.”

    The dancer Babatunji said that Fischer — both her singing and presence — “unlocks a latent ability for us to give more.” Adji Cissoko, a dancer who performs a solo with Fischer, said, “It’s the craziest experience because she becomes me, and I become her, and it is as if her voice is coming through my body.”

    Moran, who works often with King — Moran said he has five albums worth of music from their collaborations — first started the process for this ballet by recording with Fischer. They began with spirituals, including “Deep River” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

    “The way Alonzo and I generally work is he puts out his open call into my brain,” Moran said, “and then I try to flood him with things I think he might like.”

    Moran said he knew that Fischer would help to carry the level of soul that King was after: “She has such an incredible instrument, whether she’s singing with text or with syllables.” Moran said. “She knows how to pull your soul out of your body and let you kind of shout in joy or cower and mourn.”

    Onstage, their collaborations create a rare back and forth in which both dance and music seem radiantly present. King’s enthralling “Single Eye,” created for American Ballet Theater in 2022, featured music by Moran; together they created a mingling of ballet and the natural world that was eerily beautiful. “One of the first things I noticed years ago when we started working together was just how much air he loves in music,” Moran said. “New Yorkers want to make things dense. In San Francisco, he really appreciates air.”

    Moran has changed his own approach because of it. “I think with Alonzo, he has been able to let me ease up off the gas and really send pieces that have more line and more shape and allow the mind to linger,” he said. “Because the dancers will do the rest of the work. The music does not need to do everything.”

    And the movement is potent on many levels. “Deep River” dates back to the days when, because of the pandemic, dancers weren’t allowed to touch. The work began during a bubble residency with dancers quarantining together. “Every gesture, every hand grip, every movement meant so much more,” said Cissoko said. “I think that’s why it still feels like such a precious piece.”

    In a pas de deux she dances with Shuaib Elhassan, the first thing they do is touch hands. “That still is the most special thing to me — how we touch hands” she said. “It’s different every time, but it’s going back to that moment of when that was so vulnerable and true and appreciated. It’s like we become one.”

    Working with King, the Lines dancers know that they are not just performing steps — though the steps are there, and rigorous at that. King, Babatunji said, encourages them to think of “every movement as a prayer, or a declaration of, ‘I want to be a better person,’ ‘I want to spread love,’ ‘I want to affect others in a positive way.’” Bringing that to the stage, he added, “there’s no way that we cannot have a ripple effect.”

    That prospect of dance having a life and an urgency beyond an arrangement of steps has fueled King’s path as a dancer and a choreographer. He grew up in Georgia and in California; his parents and stepmother were all involved in the Civil Rights movement.

    King’s early memories of dancing were more typical: He danced with his mother. “I adored it,” King said. “It was a form of intimacy. And I also loved the way she moved. She moved through the music instead of on top of it.”

    His ballet training took him to many academies, including at American Ballet Theater, the Joffrey, Harkness and the School of American Ballet, where he studied with important teachers, including Stanley Williams, Richard Rapp and the celebrated ballerina Alexandra Danilova, who, he said “was a trip.”

    Alvin Ailey asked King to join his company. “I went and I rehearsed for about two weeks and I thought, ‘I just want to get back to ballet,’” he said. “Isn’t that funny? I was hungry for it, and I really loved it.”

    He was offered other dancing jobs that he didn’t take: “I had a very stubborn, independent mind about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do,” he said. “I just saw things really differently.”

    After leaving New York, he went to Santa Barbara, where he had grown up, and began to choreograph. “And then I thought, I’m going to go to San Francisco because there’s a real dance community there, and it’ll be richer in terms of possibilities,” he said. “And so I did.”

    That was in 1981; Lines had its first performance the next year. What would he have been if not a choreographer? “I like that question,” he said. “But I think, to be really plain and honest with you, I think everyone is a choreographer. You know, we’re shaping our lives. We’re moving in our time frame with an expiration date and making choices or following habits that could be hurting us, or creating new ones that could help us.”

    If movement is the principal expression of life, he believes that the greatest art is the art of living. “There’s a beautiful thing I was reading from Yogananda” — that is, Paramahansa Yogananda, the famous yogi — “who was saying when you fall down, the ground that you fell down on is the same thing that you’re going to use to help you get back up. Isn’t that beautiful? I guess my point is there’s always a way.”

    With “Deep River,” which King described as “about, as usual, humanity, consolation,” he shows a certain faith in the world, as broken as it is. “No matter how it feels or appears, we have the ability — if we are courageous — to overcome obstacles,” he said. “That’s part of a human being.”

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