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.
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.
BalletX dancers Skylar Lubin and Shawn Cusseaux by Vandy PhotographySEASON SPONSOR LEAD SPONSORS
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
Fancy Me (3 minutes)
- Pause -
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 (18 minutes)
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
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
Dancers Ashley Simpson & Jonah Delgado in EXALT by Vikki Sloviter PhotographyBalletX 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.
About
BalletX BalletX dancer Francesca Forcella by Vandy Photography
Biographies
ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP
CHRISTINE COX (ARTISTIC & EXECUTIVE 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 (ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR)
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/
Christine Cox Photo: Chris Kendig Photography. Tara Keating Photo: Courtesy of the company. Dancer headshots by Gabriel Bienczycki. Douglas Eli Alford by Cathryn Farnsworth
Shawn Cusseaux
Francesca Forcella
Savannah Green
Annika Kuo
Jared Kelly Douglas Eli Alford
Demetrious Reed
Ben Schwarz
Ashley Simpson
Andrea Yorita
Skyler
Lubin
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
Production Coordinator
Jason Pizzi Kereni Sanchez
Associate Director of Operations Development Manager
Lighting Supervisor
Alyssandra Docherty
Development & Box Office Associate Megan O’Donnell James Ihde Emily Bernard
Marketing Manager
Administrative Coordinator Rachel Core Li Tian Trick Jean Hodges
Digital Marketing Associate
ARTISTS’ REPRESENTATIVE
Margaret Selby President, Selby/Artists Mgmt 212-382-3260 | mselby@selbyartistsmgmt.com
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