Oklahoma City Ballet is pleased to announce its plans for the 2021/22 Season, their 50th anniversary season. After an abbreviated season due to the pandemic, Oklahoma City Ballet is excited about the year to come.
The season will begin with Ballet Under the Stars, a free community performance to be held at Scissortail Park on September 10, 2021. Ballet Under the Stars was created during the pandemic, as a way to perform for the community in a safe, outdoor venue, but after seeing the 3,000+ in attendance, Oklahoma City Ballet plans to make this an annual event. “When I saw so many families come out, and so many children dancing along to the performance, I knew we would have to do this every year,” commented Artistic Director Robert Mills.
Ballet Under the Stars will feature excerpts from classical and modern ballet performed by both professional dancers and our pre-professional students. New this year will be pre-performance dance class for young children and anyone new to ballet. Bring a blanket, your picnic basket, family, and friends to watch spectacular dancers amongst the backdrop of downtown Oklahoma City. The pre-performance dance class will be at 6:00 p.m. and the performance at 6:30 p.m. Tickets or reservations are not required.
Oklahoma City Ballet will return to the Civic Center for Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland), October 22-24 with live music from the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. ALICE made its Oklahoma City debut in 2018 and wowed audiences with its frenetic, colorful, and sometimes trippy take on the famous story.
In December, everyone’s favorite holiday tradition of The Nutcracker, presented by Devon Energy, will return for eight performances. The Oklahoma City Philharmonic will play the familiar Tchaikovsky score, and new this year will be vocal accompaniment from Canterbury Voices. “I have wanted to incorporate our friends at Canterbury Voices in his production for years, and there is no better time than our 50th anniversary season,” said Mills.
February 18-20, 2022, Oklahoma City Ballet will present a mixed bill entitled Made in the U.S.A. A mixed bill is a showcase of several shorter ballets, and in this case, Made in the U.S.A will feature four ballets created in the United States by American choreographers. The mixed bill includes Jessica Lang’s To Familiar Spaces in Dream, Jerome Robbins’ 2 & 3 Part Inventions, a world premiere by Nicolo Fonte, and Variations for Six created by former Artistic Director of Oklahoma City Ballet, Bryan Pitts. Mills says, “Variations for Six is a favorite work of mine and it was also the first ballet I danced with this company when I joined as a dancer over 25 years ago.”
Future Voices: A Choreographic Showcase will return for its third year March 17-20 in the Inasmuch Foundation Theater at the Ballet’s Susan E. Brackett Dance Center. Future Voices features about ten short works choreographed by both dance professionals and Oklahoma City Ballet dancers. Additionally, Denver-based choreographer Sarah Tallman will create a fresh new work for this production. Each choreographer will chose their own music, dancers, and costumes to accompany their choreography.
The 50th Anniversary season will close with The Sleeping Beauty, May 6-8, conveniently performed over Mother’s Day weekend. This grand production will include live music from the Oklahoma City Philharmonic playing Tchaikovsky’s famous score. The Sleeping Beauty is one of the greatest, most treasured story ballets of all time and one of the most challenging roles for a principal ballerina. “We want to end this landmark season with something timeless and opulent, and The Sleeping Beauty is the epitome of classical ballet,” said Mills.
Season tickets are available now by calling (405) 848-8637 or visiting www.okcballet.org. Single tickets to all performances other than The Nutcracker will go on sale September 7, 2021. Season Subscribers receive extra benefits like discounts, first choice of seats, free exchanges, and more.