Atlanta Ballet Artistic Director Gennadi Nedvigin has announced Atlanta Ballet’s 2024|2025 performance season including sophisticated twists on traditions and stunning modern works. Offering its full line-up of programs at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta Ballet’s eclectic repertoire spans the history of the dance form, highlighted by beloved classics and inventive originals.
“This is a season with something for everyone – from enchanted storybook tales set to classical sounds to mixed bills featuring jazz and world music, all showcasing the grace and athleticism of our acclaimed company,” says Atlanta Ballet’s Artistic Director Gennadi Nedvigin.
Atlanta Ballet will open the 2024|2025 season with a Mixed Bill September 13 – 15, featuring musical styles ranging from neo-classical to lively jazz, with sultry, exciting and passionate themes across two returning works and a world premiere:
- Celebrated choreographer Stanton Welch’s Tu Tu is set to Maurice Ravel’s passionate Piano Concerto in G Major. This highly stylized classical work with a playful twist features 22 dancers and marks the return of a popular piece not seen on the Atlanta Ballet stage in six years.
- Returning after five years is Elemental Brubeck, in which swaying hips and breathtaking leaps channel the iconic style of Dave Brubeck’s rhythmically complex jazz music with creative choreography by Lar Lubovitch.
- Anchoring this mixed bill will be a world premiere by Kiyon Ross. Ross’s choreography has been presented on the Atlanta Ballet stage in 2019 and 2022 in performances of Sum Stravinsky, and this new work will take audiences deeper into the acclaimed choreographer’s signature neo-classical style with a new work he is creating specifically for Atlanta Ballet.
Secondly, the Atlanta Ballet will present its signature production of The Nutcracker December 7 – 26, under the artistic direction of Gennadi Nedvigin. As one of the most anticipated performances in its repertoire, the Company will deliver the holiday tradition accompanied by a full, live orchestra. Award-winning choreographer Yuri Possokhov reimagined the classical ballet in 2018 exclusively for Atlanta Ballet with intricately designed costumes, larger-than-life sets, advanced lighting and state-of-the-art video projections. As the grandest production of The Nutcracker ballet in the region, the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra will perform the traditional Tchaikovsky score, bringing the beautiful and intricate dance work to life. Atlanta Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker has been hailed as one of the most technically advanced versions of the holiday classic and promises to transport audiences to a charming yuletide German city for its whimsical story involving an unexpected gift, a mysterious journey and two acts of enchantment.
February 7 – 15 brings a world premiere staging The Rite of Spring choreographed by Claudia Schreier set to Igor Stravinsky’s iconic work performed with power and mystery by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. Schreier, Atlanta Ballet’s acclaimed choreographer-in-residence, is known for her previous Atlanta Ballet works including Fauna, Pleiades Dances, Carnivale, and First Impulse, which was named one of Pointe Magazine’s Standout Performances. Sharing this program will be former San Francisco Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s 7 for Eight. Fittingly performed by Atlanta Ballet seven years ago, 7 for Eight brings fluid, dramatic choreography intertwining eight dancers with the sumptuous melodies of seven Johann Sebastian Bach movements.
The season’s family ballet The Swan Princess, performed February 15 – 16 by Atlanta Ballet 2, features all the mystery and magic of the beloved classic in a one-hour format with narration suitable for under-12 audiences as an ideal introduction to ballet. This dazzling production features choreography by internationally acclaimed Bruce Wells.
Also, for the first time in over twenty years, Atlanta Ballet with a large cast of students from the Centre for Dance Education will present Coppélia from March 21 – 23. This family-friendly enchanted fairytale classic features the work’s original choreography by George Balanchine set to the music of Léo Delibes, performed live by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. The story of an eccentric toy maker, his female creation and her suitor is a timeless mystery complete with comedy, danger, mistaken identity and a “love conquers all” theme.
Bookending the season will be a Mixed Bill program comprised of works by an all-European slate of choreographers, presented May 9 – 11. This series of dances also culminates in a world premiere:
- The captivating Catch, from British choreographer Liam Scarlett with music by Philip Glass, world premiered on the Atlanta Ballet stage in 2019 as part of its Director’s Choice program. The work is pure movement and music showcasing the athleticism of Atlanta Ballet’s dancers.
- Tuplet, from Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman with music and sound by Mikael Karlsson, is back by popular demand from 2020’s Heart/Beat program. Using the dancers’ bodies as percussion instruments, they create their own driving tempos that mixed with popular jazz standards create an immersive multi-sensory experience.
- Along with these two return engagements, the finale will be a world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, the Belgian-Columbian choreographer fresh off the record-breaking success of Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon, her twelfth narrative ballet. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is an award-winning and sought-after choreographer who has created ballets for more than 70 dance companies around the world and is the recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award.
For more information on Atlanta Ballet’s performance season, please call 404-892-3303 or visitwww.atlantaballet.com.
