April 25-28, 2019
Aronoff Center for the Arts
Cincinnati Ballet closes its 2018-2019 subscription season with Bold Moves April 25-28 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. The dazzling triple bill features Dancing to Oz, a world premiere ballet from Artistic Director, Victoria Morgan, as well as the Cincinnati premiere of Sechs Tänze from world-renowned choreographer, Jiří Kylián, and the return of choreographer Ma Cong’s Near Light.
Cincinnati Ballet’s Artistic Director Victoria Morgan and Music Director Carmon DeLeone collaborated on Dancing to Oz. Based on the classic Wizard of Oz tale, the ballet is somewhat autobiographical for Morgan. The piece opens in a ballet studio and follows a ballerina named Dottie as she travels to Oz on a journey of self-discovery, meeting the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and a cast of colorful characters along the way. “It’s not often you get to create a new ballet,” Morgan said. Morgan last created a new ballet in 2013 with King Arthur’s Camelot. “Just the physical investment alone is huge – new sets, costumes and the music. It’s been such a pleasure!” DeLeone spent the summer months composing the original score, as this season he celebrates his 50th anniversary as Cincinnati Ballet’s Music Director. The one-act ballet also features original set design and brand-new, spectacular costumes.
It’s a whimsical, courtly world created by contemporary choreographer Jirí Kylián, complete with powdered wigs and 18th century costumes. Set to some of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s German dances, Sechs Tänze is surprising romp that both delights and intrigues the audience. The inclusion of Jirí Kylián in Bold Moves is a choreographic coup for Cincinnati Ballet. “He’s been a hero choreographer for a long time,” Morgan said. “In our artform when you ask dancers and creators of contemporary ballet who is the genius, who is the voice, who is the biggest influence on contemporary ballet? It’s Jirí Kylián.” Kylián first created Sechs Tänze in 1986 for the Nederlands Dans Theater. The prolific Czech choreographer has created dozens and dozens of works, each with an ingenious, unique signature that make him one of the most respected and sought-after choreographers in the world.
Bold Moves also features the triumphant return of choreographer Ma Cong’s Near Light. Tulsa Ballet’s Resident Choreographer returns to re-stage the popular piece, which expresses the power of perspective by using different movement and a rose to demonstrate a variety of emotions which can inspire great change and progress
Tickets for Bold Moves available at cballet.org