Samantha Riester and Daniel Wagner; FINDING OUR WAY; Choreography: Suzette Boyer Webb; Photography: Hiromi Platt
Additional changes to remainder of 20-21 Season announced
CINCINNATI, OH (January 27, 2021) – Ballet in the Park returns this May! Last fall’s free, outdoor production was so popular, a second Ballet in the Park has been added to the Company’s spring schedule. “We were overwhelmed with the positive response to our performances at P & G Pavilion at Sawyer Point Park. Dance lovers snapped up reservations within minutes,” said Victoria Morgan, Cincinnati Ballet’s Artistic Director. “We are so excited to share this unique, interactive experience with the community this spring.” The production will feature Main Company dancers, as well as our elite Otto M. Budig Academy Professional Training Division. Multiple socially-distanced performances will take place at Eden Park’s Seasongood Pavilion, May 21-23. Reservations will open in early March.
Last fall, Cincinnati Ballet made the critical and creative decision to shift programming to both in-person and virtual options for the 2020-2021 Season. In addition to Ballet in the Park, the Company staged Cincinnati Made, an intimate, limited-capacity performance at the Cincinnati Music Hall Ballroom. Audiences also enjoyed the first-ever broadcast production of our reimagined The Nutcracker at Home. Given the success of this virtual production and current pandemic trends, The Kaplan New Works Series will shift to an
innovative, digital experience. The program will explore the theme of ‘Unheard Voices.’ Audiences can look forward to thought-provoking new works that reflect this unprecedented moment in time. Cincinnati Ballet’s Resident Choreographer Jennifer Archibald and choreographers Dana Genshaft and Helen Pickett will share their personal perspectives through movement. The digital program also features new choreographic creations from Principal Dancer Melissa Gelfin De-Poli and Corps de Ballet Dancer Taylor Carrasco. New Works will be recorded at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater with multiple cameras for an immersive, intimate production. New Works will stream free at cballet.org during the weekends of February 25-28 and March 5-7, 2021.
While we continue to modify choreography and use technology to successfully stage both in-person and virtual performances, we must also ensure the artistic integrity of large-scale productions planned prior to the pandemic. We have made the difficult decision to postpone both our annual Family Series: Snow White and Cinderella to future seasons. “Both full-length ballets require large casts of dancers and Otto M. Budig Academy students on stage to adequately tell the stories. Unfortunately, this is not possible given current health and safety guidelines,” said Scott Altman, Cincinnati Ballet President + CEO. “We are so grateful for the community’s support as we navigate through these challenging circumstances. Our patrons are our mission and the reason our dancers perform each season.”
This season’s Bold Moves Plus will also shift from April 2021 to June 2021. This in-person, mixed-rep program will be reimagined and staged at Procter & Gamble Hall at the Aronoff Center, with the health and safety of our dancers and patrons top of mind. Tickets will be available in in mid to late March.
In June, Cincinnati Ballet will celebrate the opening of the new Cincinnati Ballet Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance in Walnut Hills. The 57,000-sqaure-foot facility includes nine studios and more than double Cincinnati Ballet’s current space. The $31 million capital campaign to fund the project is nearing completion. Stay tuned for more exciting news about the Ballet Center opening this summer.
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. Under the artistic direction of Victoria Morgan, Cincinnati Ballet has become a creative force within the larger dance community, commissioning world premiere works and exploring unique collaborations with artists as diverse as Grammy winning guitarist Peter Frampton and popular, Ohio-based band Over the Rhine. With a mission to enrich, expand, and excel in the art of dance through performance, a high-caliber academy, and impactful education and outreach 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.
Cincinnati Ballet 2020-2021 Season Sponsors: Rhonda & Larry A. Sheakley, Margaret and Michael Valentine, ArtsWave, Mercy Health, Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Ohio Arts Council, Frisch’s, The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation
Applications are currently being accepted for our Performance Scholarship Competition.
From Ireland Oscar Wilde’s best loved short stories
Beechmont Players is going to hold another ZOOM play reading on Sunday afternoon, January 10th from 2-4pm. It will be an as-yet-unpublished dramedy (see below) sent to us by acclaimed playwright Michele Lowe, who wrote THE SMELL OF THE KILL which Steve Phelan directed for BPI four years ago. 
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 