World premiere by Rena Butler with costumes by Cincinnati designer Asha Ama Bias-Daniels
Cincinnati, OH (March 12, 2024) – Cincinnati Ballet presents Mercurial Landscapes, April 5 –7 at the Aronoff Center. The production features contemporary work from three choreographers – Rena Butler, Jodie Gates, and Jiří Kylián. Cincinnati Ballet is proud to present a world premiere featuring the work of two dynamic African-American women with Bloom, created by Rena Butler, choreographic associate for the progressive Gibney Dance Company in New York, with costume design by Cincinnati native Asha Ama Bias-Daniels; the title work, Mercurial Landscapes, created by choreographer Jodie Gates, set to Max Richter’s ethereal re-composition of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons; and Petit Mort and Sechs Tänze, set to the music of Mozart by Jiří Kylián, world renowned artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater.
Choreographer Rena Butler, called ‘the epitome of contemporary cool’ by Dance Magazine, presents her world premiere, Bloom. “Bloom is an ode to the collective experience women have had since the beginning of time – the pressure to perpetually make ourselves smaller for societal norms: a man, a lover, our families, our peers, or our careers,” Butler said. “This work seeks to encourage our audience to reflect on the ways we dim our own light to make others more comfortable and explores the pain found within the constant search of finding our voice and the courage to break free from the confines we are put in: an ode to the women that weren’t able to acquire the freedom to be expansive and honor their sacrifice by doing what they couldn’t, bloom.” Asha Ama Bias-Daniels is a fashion designer and artist born and raised in Avondale. As a Black woman, Asha said she often found herself misunderstood, stereotyped, and misidentified. She was able to navigate the fashion world and survive because she was raised with a great knowledge of self that she tries to impart to others through her designs. As a couture designer, Asha has created pieces for a diverse range of artists from Zendaya to Little Big Town. Asha also appeared on two seasons of the hit show, Project Runway. “Working with Rena was ‘love at first sight!’ Rena has been a dream collaborator,” Bias-Daniels said. “She is a young, Black woman at the height of innovation in her industry. Like myself, she breathes meaning into her work. We came up with the concept for this original piece the last time we got together for drinks. Laughing and crying about the times we’ve conquered great mountains in our careers but found ourselves shrinking our greatness to make others comfortable and having a great accomplishment soured by an unsupportive partner. This led to a bigger conversation about how we owe it to the women that came before us, that didn’t have the freedom to be big, to honor their sacrifice by being larger than life. I have never designed from a place of practicality. I must be inspired by a greater message and then work my way backwards into how to create that vision. Designing for dance is no different. We came up with the concept and I had to feel what that looked like. The design process is always fluid for me. I will be sitting in on some of Rena’s sessions with the dancers to gain inspiration before draping the more organic pieces of my designs for this collaboration.”
Renowned choreographer Jiri Kylián created a pair of works set to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Jiri Kylián choreographed Petit Mort for the Salzburg Festival to commemorate the second centenary of Mozart’s death. For his work, he chose the slow parts of two of Mozart’s most beautiful and popular piano concertos. Kylián remarked, ‘This deliberate choice should not be seen as a provocation or thoughtlessness – rather as my way to acknowledge the fact that I am living and working as part of a world where nothing is sacred, where brutality and arbitrariness are common places.’ The choreography includes twelve dancers and six foils. The foils have the function to be actual dance partners, and at times seem more unruly and obstinate than a human partner. They visualize a symbolism which is more present than a story line. Aggression, sexuality, energy, silence, cultivated senselessness, and vulnerability – they all play a significant part. Sechs Tänze is a whimsical take on the aristocratic era also set to the music of Mozart. Filled with sophisticated precision, this fanciful romp is poetic and playful, featuring moveable set pieces made to look like 17th century ballgowns and corseted costumes with period wigs and makeup.
Jodie Gates originally created the title work, Mercurial Landscapes, for Ballet West in 2013. The work, which plays with precision and fluidity, is set to the iconic music of Vivaldi.
Tickets for Mercurial Landscapes are on sale now. For more information, visit http://www.cballet.org.
WHO: Cincinnati Ballet
WHAT: Mercurial Landscapes
WHEN:
- Friday, April 5 at 7:30 pm
- Saturday, April 6 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm
- Sunday, April 7 at 1 pm
WHERE: Aronoff Center for the Arts, Jarson-Kaplan Theater
650 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
TICKETS: Call 513.621.5282 or visit cballet.org
Cincinnati Ballet 2023-2024 Season Sponsors:
PNC, Margaret and Michael Valentine, ArtsWave, H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Foundation, Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Ohio Arts Council, The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation
About Cincinnati Ballet
Since 1963, Cincinnati Ballet has been the cornerstone professional ballet company of the region, presenting a bold and adventurous array of classical, full-length ballets and contemporary works, regularly with live orchestral accompaniment. Cincinnati Ballet is a creative force within the larger dance community, commissioning world-premiere works and exploring unique collaborations. With a mission to enrich, expand, and excel in the art of dance through performance, a high-caliber academy, and impactful education and community engagement in local to global communities, Cincinnati Ballet reaches beyond the stage in programs that allow every person in the region to be part of the continued evolution of dance. To that end, Cincinnati Ballet presents exhilarating performances, provides extensive education and community engagement programs, and offers top-level professional ballet training at Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig
Academy
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 