Dance Victoria 2022-2023 Season | BalletX program insert

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BalletX Mixed Repertoire NOVEMBER 18 + 19, 2022 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Running time: 86 minutes (including intermission) Warning: The performance EXALT after intermission contains haze.

BalletX dancers Skylar Lubin and Shawn Cusseaux by Vandy Photography

The Royal Theatre is located on the traditional lands of the Lekwungen peoples, also known as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. We extend our appreciation for the opportunity to live, create, and perform on this territory.

About the Works Increasing (18 minutes) Increasing premiered on BalletX on August 4, 2014 at the Vail Dance Festival, Vail, CO. Choreographer: Matthew Neenan Music: String Quintet in C Major, Op. 163 and D. 956, Movement I. Allegro ma non troppo by Franz Schubert Lighting Designer: Drew Billiau Costume Designer: Carol Divet, courtesy of Pennsylvania Ballet Costume Construction: Julie Watson Dancers: Douglas Eli Alford, Shawn Cusseaux, Francesca Forcella, Savannah Green, Jared Kelly, Skyler Lubin, Demetrious Reed, Ben Schwarz, Ashley Simpson, Andrea Yorita Choreographer’s Note: “After choreographing works that were more strictly defined by narrative strategies or conceptual through-lines, I wanted to make a piece that was more purely musical. My only desire with Increasing was to make a dance that sprang entirely from the music and to make movement that would closely parallel the playful richness and intensity of Schubert’s musical structure.”

— Matthew Neenan

- Pause -

to the complexity of the human heart and our never-ending quest for love and human connection.” — Jamar Roberts

- Intermission -

EXALT (22 minutes) EXALT premiered on BalletX on May 18, 2022 at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA. Choreographer: Jennifer Archibald Music: Meditation music-Sati-Salim-Sulaiman & Vijay Prakash Ft. Taufique Qureshi-Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3; Muyè (Black Coffee And Nduduzo Makhathini Journey Mix); Jonathan Kaspar - Maarifa (Original Mix); UThandoBlack Coffee; DeMajor Feat. Lizwi - Traveller (Kususa & QueTornik Official Remix); Prince Kaybee - The Republic (Visualizer) ft. Afro Brotherz Sound Engineer: Foremost Poets Lighting Designer: Brandon Stirling Baker Costume Designer: Olivia Mason Dancers: Douglas Eli Alford, Shawn Cusseaux, Francesca Forcella, Savannah Green, Jared Kelly, Skyler Lubin, Demetrious Reed, Ben Schwarz, Ashley Simpson, Andrea Yorita Choreographer’s Note: “Music can heal the wounds that medicine cannot touch.” — Debasish Mridah

Fancy Me (3 minutes) Fancy Me premiered on BalletX on August 11, 2018 at the Vail Dance Festival in Vail, CO. Choreographer: Caili Quan Music: “Groove Me” by King Floyd Dancers: Shawn Cusseaux, Andrea Yorita Honey premiered on BalletX on July 13, 2022 at The Wilma Theater, Philadelphia, PA. Choreographer: Jamar Roberts Music: “How Deep is The Ocean (How Deep is The Sky)”; “I Cried For You”; “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me”; “This Nearly Was Mine” by Don Shirley Lighting Designer: Michael Korsch Costume Designer: Mark Eric Dancers: Shawn Cusseaux, Francesca Forcella, Jared Kelly, Ben Schwarz, Ashley Simpson, Andrea Yorita Choreographer’s Note: “This work takes us on a journey from the fierce passion of young love, through the manipulative power plays of relationship dynamics, and ends with an aspirational love. One that has stood the test of time, balanced and mature. Though at different stages on their quest for companionship, all three vignettes concisely speak

Dancers Ashley Simpson & Jonah Delgado in EXALT by Vikki Sloviter Photography

Honey (18 minutes)

About BalletX

BalletX dancer Francesca Forcella by Vandy Photography

BalletX creates original choreography that expands the vocabulary of classical dance for all audiences.

BalletX, Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet, whose dancers were named “among America’s best” by The New York Times, commissions choreographers from around the world to create dance that is “fresh, inclusive, and connects to what people want” (Philadelphia Citizen) while “positioning Philadelphia on the cutting edge of contemporary ballet” (The Dance Journal).

Founded in 2005 by Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan, BalletX is led by Cox, whose tenure as Artistic & Executive Director has produced over 100 world premiere ballets by nearly 60 choreographers, a record “few companies can match,” according to The New York Times. Under Cox’s leadership, BalletX has been hailed as an “epicenter of creation” (Dance Magazine) and “place of choreographic innovation” (The New Yorker), putting Philadelphia on the map as an international destination for contemporary ballet.

With the support of donors, subscribers, and single ticket buyers, BalletX has grown to reach 150,000+ audiences nationwide through its performance seasons at The Wilma Theater and The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free Pop Ups across Philadelphia, and extensive touring to such prestigious venues as Vail Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater,

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, New York City Center, Laguna Dance Festival, Bermuda Festival, Belgrade Festival, and many more. BalletX has reached 2,500+ Philadelphia public school students through its in-school dance education program, Dance eXchange, and countless patrons through its engagement initiative, The X-Process, featuring open rehearsals and talkbacks with renowned choreographers and guest artists.

BalletX put down even deeper roots in the spring of 2018 with the opening of its first-ever home — a beautiful, 5,000 square foot studio and administrative headquarters named the Center for World Premiere Choreography. In 2020, the company launched its online streaming platform, BalletX Beyond, featuring world premiere dance films by choreographers from around the world.

BalletX’s distinctive contribution to the American dance community has been recognized and supported in recent years by generous grants from the William Penn Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, Shubert Foundation, the Jerome Robbins New Essential Works (NEW) Program, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, and PECO, among many others.

Biographies CHRISTINE COX (ARTISTIC & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

TARA KEATING (ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR)

Christine Cox co-founded BalletX with Matthew Neenan in 2005. Under her leadership as Artistic & Executive Director, the company has performed at prestigious national stages including The Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Vail International Dance Festival, and The Joyce Theater.

Throughout her tenure, Cox has committed BalletX to expanding dance’s vocabulary for all audiences, promoting initiatives that make contemporary ballet accessible and welcoming to new audience members. As an arts leader, she has served on review panels for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Philadelphia Arts & Business Council and Forum of Executive Women. Cox was a full-time company member with the Pennsylvania Ballet from 1993 until her retirement from the stage in 2006. Prior to joining the Pennsylvania Ballet, she danced with BalletMet (Columbus, OH), as a guest artist with Ballet Hispanico (New York, NY), and with the American Repertory Ballet (Princeton, NJ).

Tara Keating attended The Juilliard School where she received a BFA in Dance under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy. While there, she was awarded the Jerome L. Greene Fellowship and the ‘Most Outstanding Dance Major’ award from the National Dance Association. She has danced professionally with American Repertory Ballet, “Tharp!,” and as a soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet. Throughout her career she has originated roles in world premieres by renowned choreographers. In 2005, she became a founding member of BalletX, and danced in nearly every performance until her retirement in 2012. Keating was the Producing Director in 2006 and 2007 for Shut Up and Dance, an annual benefit for MANNA. She was also the recipient of a 2002 City Paper Choice Award. Tara served as BalletX’s Artistic Coordinator and Ballet Mistress from 2011 to 2013, and was named Associate Artistic Director in February 2014.

THE COMPANY Read the dancers’ full biographies here: balletx.org/backstage/dancers/

Douglas Eli Alford

Shawn Cusseaux

Francesca Forcella

Savannah Green

Jared Kelly

Skyler Lubin

Demetrious Reed

Ben Schwarz

Ashley Simpson

Andrea Yorita

Annika Kuo

Christine Cox Photo: Chris Kendig Photography. Tara Keating Photo: Courtesy of the company. Dancer headshots by Gabriel Bienczycki. Douglas Eli Alford by Cathryn Farnsworth

ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP

Administration

1923 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19146 215-225-5389 | BalletX.org Instagram: @balletx | Facebook: @balletx.official | Twitter: @balletx Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox Associate Artistic Director Tara Keating

THE COMPANY Douglas Eli Alford, Shawn Cusseaux, Francesca Forcella, Savannah Green, Jared Kelly, Annika Kuo, Skyler Lubin, Ben Schwarz, Ashley Simpson, Andrea Yorita Dance Fellows Kara Covaleski, Isabella Nova, Demetrious Reed Production & Stage Manager Jason Pizzi

Production Coordinator Kereni Sanchez

Lighting Supervisor Alyssandra Docherty

Associate Director of Operations Megan O’Donnell

Development Manager James Ihde

Development & Box Office Associate Emily Bernard

Marketing Manager Rachel Core

Digital Marketing Associate Li Tian Trick

Administrative Coordinator Jean Hodges

ARTISTS’ REPRESENTATIVE Margaret Selby President, Selby/Artists Mgmt 212-382-3260 | mselby@selbyartistsmgmt.com

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