'Romeo and Juliet' to be final production for BalletMet's artistic director

Next weekend, BalletMet’s season-finale performances of “Romeo and Juliet” is to feature one departing artistic director, one retiring ballerina and two star-crossed lovers.

The ballet − based on Shakespeare’s play about two young people whose intense affection for each other is complicated by their warring families − is the last production overseen by outgoing Artistic Director Edwaard Liang.

Liang, who has led BalletMet since 2013, is leaving the company this summer to lead the Washington Ballet in the nation’s capital. The performances are also to be among the last given by Caitlin Valentine, who appears as Juliet.

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The 38-year-old dancer, a member of BalletMet since 2014, has announced her retirement from the stage. The Dispatch recently caught up with Liang and several cast members about a production sure to be rife with emotion − both because of what happens onstage and all the change taking place offstage.

When and where will “Romeo and Juliet” be performed?

BalletMet is to perform “Romeo and Juliet” at the Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Performances are scheduled to take place at 8 p.m. April 26, 2 and 8 p.m. April 27 and 2 p.m. April 28.

A dress rehearsal that is open to the public is scheduled to be performed at 11 a.m. April 26.

How much do tickets cost?

For most performances, tickets range from $38.50 to $180.30. For the dress rehearsal April 26, the price is $36.40. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting balletmet.org.

Who plays the lead roles?

In most performances, Miguel Anaya is to appear as Romeo and Valentine as Juliet. For the 8 p.m. performance April 27, David Ward and Sophie Miklosovic are to dance the roles.

What sets “Romeo and Juliet” apart?

Unlike many full-length story ballets, “Romeo and Juliet” is anchored in a realistic scenario − namely, the intense romance between the two lead characters.

“(The dancers) don’t have to be a nymph (as in) ‘Les Sylphides,’” said Liang, who choreographed the production, which runs about two hours and 15 minutes.

“They don’t have to be in this sort of ‘Cinderella’-story caricature. They are real human characters... They are asked to dig deep inside their bodies and their souls to tell a story of love (and) tragedy.”

Valentine praised the character development in the ballet. “At the start of the ballet, (Juliet) is a young, naïve girl, and she really matures into this woman who is facing real, traumatic things happening to her,” Valentine said.

How big is the production?

With a huge cast of supporting characters, “Romeo and Juliet” rivals any BalletMet production in terms of sheer scale. Key supporting roles include Tybalt (danced by Austin Powers or Cooper Verona) and Mercutio (danced by Leiland Charles or Alvin Tovstogray).

Other characters include citizens of Verona, ballroom guests, monks, villagers, urchins, servants and more. In addition to BalletMet’s professional dancers, BalletMet Academy students, trainees and guestdancers also appear.

“It’s a ballet that really galvanizes the company together,” Liang said. “There is no small role... It takes the whole company to tell the story, and no one feels like wallpaper.”

Anaya said that it is a particularly fun production to dance. “The swordfights are really fun; the pas de deux are fun,” Anaya said. “I think it’s a great, great production.”

What about the score?

“Romeo and Juliet” boasts a majestic, sometimes explosive score by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. In recent years, BalletMet − which prior to the pandemic, collaborated with theColumbus Symphony each year for “The Nutcracker” − has increasingly relied on prerecorded music, but for “Romeo and Juliet,” the troupe is to be accompanied by the Columbus Symphony.

The Prokofiev score is to be performed by the symphony under the baton of conductor Rossen Milanov, the symphony’s music director (whose contract with the organization was just extended through 2028).

“I’m really excited to have Rossen conduct the CSO,” Liang said. “He’s a brilliant ballet conductor.”

Liang said that live music makes ballet an even more “ephemeral” art. “Everything is of the moment,” Liang said. “It forces all of us to connect with each other to produce this production.”

The dancers appreciate the difference between live and prerecorded music. “You can feel the music connecting with you,” Anaya said. “You can feel all the instruments.”

Why is Caitlin Valentine leaving BalletMet?

Valentine − a standout dancer at BalletMet who, during her decade with the company, has appeared in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Liang, among many others − is to retire at the close of this season.

The dancer decided last fall that it might be time to move on − and her decision was spurred on by the knowledge that the season would close with “Romeo and Juliet.”

“I’ve always wanted to retire to Juliet,” Valentine said. “I saw that as a sign. We’re finishing the season with ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ it’s Edwaard’s (version of) ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ which I absolutely love... It just felt like it’s the right moment for me, and I would be able to say goodbye with this amazing ballet with live music.”

Liang, who hired Valentine, called the dancer “the epitome of a ballerina.”

“I could not be more grateful to her that she decided to place her career in this company and my hands,” Liang said. “She will be sorely missed onstage, but her impact will be long-lasting.”

Anaya, her partner onstage this weekend, saluted his colleague. “She helped me with ‘Romeo and Juliet’ so much,” Anaya said. “This is our job, but when I dance with her, it is not a job. It’s like real life.”

Valentine said she intends to remain in Columbus and possibly pursue teaching dance. “I can’t wait to actually sit in the audience and watch the shows,” she said.

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How does the company feel about Liang’s departure?

Liang, who plans to move to the Washington, D.C., area with his husband the first week of May, leaves behind a company he helped transform.

Not only did Liang choreograph countless ballets during his tenure, he programmed major works by iconic choreographers, like Balanchine and Robbins, as well as bracing new dances by contemporary choreographers, like Gustavo Ramirez Sansano.

He also chose most of the dancers presently in the company.

“I will miss Edwaard Liang every day in the studio,” said Anaya, 30. “I danced in Cuba for two years, danced at Washington Ballet for one year and danced with Edwaard Liang for 10 years. It’s (almost) all my career with Edwaard... and I’ve grown so much.”

Liang, who has been leading rehearsals for “Romeo and Juliet” for about six weeks, hasn’t had time to reflect on his departure just yet.

“I’m not really letting myself think about it,” he said. “It probably will hit me afterwards.”

Liang said he does plan to come back to Columbus to help BalletMet stage choreographer Ulysses Dove’s “Red Angels” next season − by which time the next artistic director should be named.

“(Liang) has set up BalletMet so well, that when whoever comes in as the new artistic director, they will have an amazing group of dancers to work with, great rep to already play with,” Valentine said.

“Edwaard provided all of that for everyone here.”

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Romeo and Juliet' to be final production for Liang and Valentine