Tag Archives: Cincinnati Ballet

Join Us for Cincinnati Ballet’s Annual Block Party on October 1

CB_new logoThe FREE event features classes, performances, food, games, and photos with Fiona!

CINCINNATI, OH.  (September 22, 2022) – Join the fun at the Cincinnati Ballet Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance on Saturday, October 1 from 3-7 pm for our annual Block Party! The FREE event is a great way for the community to get acquainted with all that Cincinnati Ballet has to offer – from live dance performances to trial classes to photos with Cincinnati Ballet characters the Nutcracker Prince and Fiona the Hippo from our annual production of The Nutcracker. Guests will also enjoy dance-themed facepainting, participate in a community art mural coloring project and games to play together on our outdoor performance plaza. City of Cincinnati – Walnut Hills firefighters will also be on hand with equipment on display for children and adults to get an close-up look at vehicles used around the city.

Cincinnati Ballet is also honored to partner with local dance groups to educate the community about all the incredible dance genres being taught and performed in the Queen City. Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company – CB2 dancers will perform select works in the Sheakley Premier Studio, as will dancers from Bi-Okoto Cultural Center, Cincinnati Highland Dancers, and Revolution Dance Theatre. Bi-Okoto Cultural Center was established in 1994 as a professional African dance company whose mission is to preserve, promote and share the rich cultural heritage of Africa and Africans using drums, music, dance, food, languages, and other arts. Cincinnati Highland Dancers are Cincinnati’s official Scottish Highland Dance Group. Revolution Dance Theatre is Cincinnati’s only African American dance company committed to work that raises the level of access, visibility, and representation of American Americans in dance.

The Bock Party will also feature trial classes for all ages of children and adults taught by instructors from Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy.

SCHEDULE OF FREE TRIAL CLASSES:

3-3:30pm

  • Creative Dance (ages 2-4)
  • Beginning Ballet (ages 5-7)
  • Beginning Ballet (ages 8-15)

4-4:30pm

  • Creative Dance (ages 2-4)
  • Musical Theater (ages 8-15)
  • Intro Barre (ages 16+)

5-5:30pm

  • Creative Dance (ages 2-4)
  • Beginning Ballet (ages 5-7)
  • Ballet Basics (ages 16+)

6-6:30pm

  • Beginning Ballet (ages 5-7)
  • Jazz (ages 8-15)
  • Modern (ages 16+)

Pre-register now at https://bit.ly/3BBx49x or cballet.org.

Cincinnati Ballet 2022-2023 Season Sponsors:
Rhonda & Larry A. Sheakley, Margaret and Michael Valentine, ArtsWave, Mercy Health, 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. Under the artistic direction of Jodie Gates, 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.

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The Kaplan New Works Series Opens Thursday at the Aronoff

CB_New Works2Cincinnati Ballet’s 22-23 Season kicks off with ‘New Works,’ Sept. 8-18

Cincinnati, OH (September 5, 2022) – Cincinnati Ballet’s 2022-2023 Season begins with The Kaplan New Works Series at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, Jarson-Kaplan Theater, September 8 – 18. New Works features world and regional premieres of provocative contemporary dance. The program has become a fan favorite with Cincinnati audiences who are often first to experience groundbreaking world premieres by up-and-coming choreographers. This season’s New Works includes world premiere, In Good Company, from Cincinnati choreographer and DANCEFIX founder Heather Britt and a Cincinnati premiere by award-winning British choreographer Cathy Marston entitled Moving, Still. The program also features world premieres from Cincinnati Ballet dancers Daniel Baldwin with his piece Lifeforce, 5 ½ Cliches from Taylor Carrasco, and Melissa Gelfin De-Poli’s Mi Manchi.

This season, Cincinnati Ballet also welcomes a new artistic leader. Jodie Gates assumed her position as Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director, Sue and Bill Friedlander Endowed Chair, and Artistic Director of Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy on August 1, 2022. Ms. Gates was most recently the Founding Director of the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and the Artistic Director and Founder of the Laguna Dance Festival in Laguna Beach, California since 2005. She began her professional career at age 16 with the mentorship of the visionary artistic director Robert Joffrey. Gates went on to become a celebrated principal dancer at Joffrey Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Pennsylvania Ballet as well a principal guest artist with prominent companies internationally. She danced title roles in the classical full-length ballets and principal roles in neoclassical and modern dance works and has collaborated with a host of renowned choreographers, including Alonzo King, Agnes de Mille, William Forsythe, Paul Taylor, Martha Clarke, and Mark Morris, among others. Gates is herself an accomplished choreographer having created more than sixty original dance works. She is also an artistic collaborator with choreographer William Forsythe, staging ballets internationally for Forsythe Productions. She is the recipient of the distinguished 2021/2022 Residency Fellowship from the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University. The fellowship acknowledges her most recent work as initiator for the Artistic Directors Coalition for Ballet in America, a group of artistic directors, choreographers, and educators who are addressing systemic racism within the culture of ballet.

Tickets for The Kaplan New Works Series are on sale now. For more information visit cballet.org. Please check the website for the latest health alerts. Masks are currently optional for patrons at Music Hall and the Aronoff Center for the Arts. NOTE: Artists may be masked during performances depending on current health alerts.

WHO: Cincinnati Ballet

WHAT: The Kaplan New Works Series

WHEN:

  • Thursday, September 8 at 7:30 pm
  • Friday, September 9 at 8 pm
  • Saturday, September 10 at 2 pm and 8 pm
  • Sunday, September 11 at 1 pm
  • Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 pm
  • Thursday, September 15 at 7:30 pm
  • Friday, September 16 at 8 pm
  • Saturday, September 17 at 2 pm and 8 pm
  • Sunday, September 18 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 2022-2023 Season Sponsors:
Rhonda & Larry A. Sheakley, Margaret and Michael Valentine, ArtsWave, Mercy Health, 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. Under the artistic direction of Jodie Gates, 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.

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Cincinnati Ballet welcomes new Artistic Director Jodie Gates

CB_Kaplan New Works 2022The 22-23 Season opens with ‘The Kaplan New Works Series’ at Aronoff Center, Sept. 8-18

Cincinnati, OH (August 22, 2022) – For the first time in 25 years, Cincinnati Ballet has a new artistic leader. Jodie Gates has officially assumed her role as the Company’s Artistic Director and welcomes audiences to the first production of Cincinnati Ballet’s 2022-2023 Season with The Kaplan New Works Series at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, Jarson-Kaplan Theater. “The creation of new choreography is critical to the evolution of the artform,” Gates said. “One of my goals for the Company is to demystify ballet and encourage new voices and perspectives in contemporary dance. While I did not program this season’s New Works, I am excited to experience these world and regional premieres. I am grateful for the Company’s longstanding commitment to encouraging choreographic experimentation and that commitment will continue in my artistic vision for the future.”

This Season’s New Works features contemporary dance including a world premiere from Cincinnati choreographer and DANCEFIX founder Heather Britt and a Cincinnati premiere by award-winning British choreographer Cathy Marston. The program also features premieres from Cincinnati Ballet dancers Daniel Baldwin, Taylor Carrasco, and Melissa Gelfin De-Poli. Over the years, New Works has reached cult-type status with Cincinnati audiences who are often first to experience groundbreaking world premieres by up-and-coming choreographers in the intimate Jarson-Kaplan Theater. Big names in the dance world including Travis Wall, Mia Michaels, and Cincinnati Ballet’s own resident choreographer Jennifer Archibald have created pieces for New Works that have gone on to be performed at ballet companies and venues around the world. Over the past five years, New Works also became a unique artistic incubator of sorts for Cincinnati Ballet dancers interested in becoming choreographers. Each year, industry leaders select pieces created by Cincinnati Ballet dancers for the Company’s annual Choreography Workshop in the Spring; Those creations are then commissioned and performed during New Works.

Jodie Gates assumed her position as Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director, Sue and Bill Friedlander Endowed Chair, and Artistic Director of Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy on August 1, 2022. Ms. Gates was most recently the Founding Director of the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and the Artistic Director and Founder of the Laguna Dance Festival in Laguna Beach, California since 2005. She began her professional career at age 16 with the mentorship of the visionary artistic director Robert Joffrey. Gates went on to become a celebrated principal dancer at Joffrey Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Pennsylvania Ballet as well a principal guest artist with prominent companies internationally. She danced title roles in the classical full-length ballets and principal roles in neoclassical and modern dance works and has collaborated with a host of renowned choreographers, including Alonzo King, Agnes de Mille, William Forsythe, Paul Taylor, Martha Clarke, and Mark Morris, among others. Gates is herself an accomplished choreographer having created more than sixty original dance works. She is also an artistic collaborator with choreographer William Forsythe, staging ballets internationally for Forsythe Productions. She is the recipient of the distinguished 2021/2022 Residency Fellowship from the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University. The fellowship acknowledges her most recent work as initiator for the Artistic Directors Coalition for Ballet in America, a group of artistic directors, choreographers, and educators who are addressing systemic racism within the culture of ballet.

Tickets for The Kaplan New Works Series are on sale now. For more information visit cballet.org. Please check the website for the latest health alerts. Masks are currently optional for patrons at Music Hall and the Aronoff Center for the Arts. NOTE: Artists may be masked during performances depending on current health alerts.

WHO: Cincinnati Ballet

WHAT: The Kaplan New Works Series

WHEN: Thursday, September 8 at 7:30 pm

  • Friday, September 9 at 8 pm
  • Saturday, September 10 at 2 pm and 8 pm
  • Sunday, September 11 at 1 pm
  • Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 pm
  • Thursday, September 15 at 7:30 pm
  • Friday, September 16 at 8 pm
  • Saturday, September 17 at 2 pm and 8 pm
  • Sunday, September 18 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 2022-2023 Season Sponsors:

Rhonda & Larry A. Sheakley, Margaret and Michael Valentine, ArtsWave, Mercy Health, 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. Under the artistic direction of Jodie Gates, 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.

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Auditions Announced for Youth Performers for THE NUTCRACKER at Cincinnati Ballet

CB_new logoCalling young dancers and gymnasts!

Auditions Saturday, August 20 for kids’ roles in this year’s THE NUTCRACKER

CINCINNATI, OH. (August 9, 2022) – Tri-State youth dancers and gymnasts are invited to attend an audition Saturday, August 20, 2022 for Young Performer’s Cast in this year’s The Nutcracker. (Auditions start at 12pm; See the tables below for specific audition times based on height.) These fun roles are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Cincinnati children to perform alongside professional dancers in the amazing holiday production. This year’s whimsical production will feature a cast of dozens of children in the classic holiday story performed at historic Music Hall.

The open audition is open for female, male and non-binary identifying dancers aged 12 and older. Nutcracker fun fact: children are cast not just by age and skill level, but also by height – that determines what costumes they can wear. Those eventually chosen for the cast have a lot of fun and work ahead of them! These young performers will attend weekly rehearsals and perform in multiple mainstage performances from December 15 through 24, 2022 at Cincinnati Music Hall.

Those auditioning do not need any prepared material. Dancers may be excused early or asked to stay longer. Please check the rehearsal schedule at the audition. Casting is subject to current costume size.

Audition Location:
Cincinnati Ballet Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance
1801 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati

Audition Details:

  • Must be 8 years old at time of audition
  • $25 Audition Fee
  • Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination required
  • Masking is required in rehearsals at this time.
  • For female-identifying roles: Black leotard, pink/skin tone tights, ballet slippers, hair secured
  • For male-identifying roles: White shirt, tights/dance pants, ballet slippers
  • Young Performers must be fully vaccinated by 9/14/22
  • Dancers do not need any prepared material for the audition. Dancers may be excused early or asked to stay longer. Your patience is appreciated.
  • Please check the anticipated rehearsal schedule at the audition. If you cannot make the performances or the mandatory rehearsals, please do not audition.
    Note: not every role will be called to every rehearsal.
  • Casting is subject to current costume sizes. Those who auditioned will be notified of casting via email by August 26, 2022.
  • Cast members may be required to periodically be tested for COVID-19.
  • Please contact Wynn White for further details: wwhite@cballet.org.

YOUNG DANCER AUDITIONS
HEIGHT | AUDITION TIME
3’10”-4’6” | 12:00-1:45 PM
4’7”-5’2” | 2:45-4:30 PM
5’3”-5’10” | 5:15-6:30 PM

GYMNASTIC AUDITIONS
HEIGHT | AUDITION TIME
4’2”-4’8” 1:45-2:30 PM

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 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.

Cincinnati Ballet 2021-2022 Season Sponsors:

Victoria Morgan’s 25th Anniversary Season presented by PNC

Rhonda & Larry A. Sheakley, Margaret and Michael Valentine, ArtsWave, Mercy Health, Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Ohio Arts Council, The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation

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THE KAPLAN NEW WORKS SERIES Runs Sept. 8-18

CB_Kaplan New Works 2022THE KAPLAN NEW WORKS SERIES
Cincinnati Ballet
Sept. 8-18
Aronoff Center Jarson-Kaplan Theater [Downtown]

Experience fresh voices in contemporary dance. Thought-provoking premieres from Cincinnati choreographer and DANCEFIX founder Heather Britt and award-winning British choreographer Cathy Marstonas well as new work from Cincinnati Ballet dancers Daniel Baldwin, Taylor Carrasco, and Melissa Gelfin De-Poli. 

  • Thu, Sept. 8 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, Sept. 9 at 8pm
  • Sat, Sept. 10 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, Sept. 11 at 1pm
  • Wed-Thu, Sept. 14-15 at 7:30pm
  • Fri, Sept. 16 at 8pm
  • Sat, Sept. 17 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, Sept. 18 at 1pm

Official page | Facebook event |

 

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