Charlotte Ballet to celebrate its 50th season with nods to its roots as it innovates
If you have followed Charlotte Ballet since Hope Muir took over as artistic director in 2017, you know she almost never does anything in the usual manner — including celebrating a birthday.
Her company turns 50 this year, a long way conceptually if not physically from its Winston-Salem roots. Robert Lindgren, first dean of the School of Dance at what was then called N.C. School of the Arts, started the troupe as N.C. Dance Theatre just seven years after the college opened in 1963. (It’s now UNC School of the Arts, of course.)
His successor, Salvatore Aiello, brought the company to Charlotte to find a bigger audience and better financial backing. His successor, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, rebranded It as Charlotte Ballet. And Muir has designed a 50th anniversary season with an eye not only for their pasts but for the future, with innovation crackling all around.
Depending on the number of shows you buy and the price zone you choose, season subscriptions range from $92 to $425. Subscriber benefits include discounts of up to 20 percent, priority seating and flexibility. You can find more information at charlotteballet.org/subscribe/.
Here’s what you can expect to see next season:
Sept. 26-Oct. 3, Knight Theater: “The Most Incredible Thing.” The production that reached Charlotte in 2018 brought technical headaches behind the scenes but eye-popping pleasure out front. Javier de Frutos did the choreography, Pet Shop Boys wrote the music and Hans Christian Andersen provided the story: a fairy tale about a king who promises his daughter’s hand to the person who can invent the most incredible thing in his realm. This funny, romantic yet pointed social satire isn’t meant for kids younger than middle schoolers.
Nov. 6-8, McBride-Bonnefoux Center for Dance: “Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure.” Choreographers Robyn Mineko Williams and Terence Marling have adapted Crockett Johnson’s 1955 children’s story as an introduction to contemporary dance. It’s about a boy whose magical purple crayon allows him to draw anything that comes to his mind, which can lead to fun but also to problems.
Dec. 4-27, Belk Theater: “The Nutcracker.” Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s choreography gets its annual outing, and the Charlotte Symphony plays Tchaikovsky’s music live.
Jan. 22-Feb. 13, Center for Dance: “Innovative Works.” For this show, Muir always gives choreographers their heads and a theme that loosely knits works together. This time, she wants them to take inspiration from designs, music, politics and literature that come from the 1970s or were informed by that decade. That assignment will yield new works by Rena Butler, who won a 2019 Princess Grace Award for choreography, resident choreographer Sasha Janes, and a third person to be announced later.
March 12-21, Knight Theater: “Cinderella.” Even before British choreographer Matthew Hart had brought in his slimmed-down adaptation of “Sleeping Beauty” this season, Muir committed to a second offering for next year. It, too, will run about 90 minutes, compressing the action for kids’ shorter attention spans but retaining all the essential characters, settings and events. He has done “Beauty” elsewhere, but “Cinderella” will be a world premiere in Charlotte.
April 22-24, Belk Theater, “Spring Works 50.” The company joins the Charlotte Symphony, which will play all pieces live. Muir honors Lindgren’s UNCSA history by inviting Susan Jaffe, the current dean of dance, to create a work. Aiello’s ferocious “The Rite of Spring” will come out of the repertory closet with re-imagined designs. (Surely they’ll keep the white body paint?) Val Caniparoli’s “Ibsen’s House,” a dramatic work driven by female characters, will round out the show. This program, too, will have adult themes and is aimed at middle schoolers and above.
May 20-22, Center for Dance: “Choreographic Lab.” What started as a one-day outing for aspiring dancemakers, many of them from the company, has become a three-day weekend highlighting talent across Charlotte’s dance community. (It’s an add-on for subscribers.) If you wonder who may help Charlotte Ballet surge forward for another half-century, you could find an answer here.
This story is part of an Observer underwriting project with the Thrive Campaign for the Arts, supporting arts journalism in Charlotte.
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