The Washington Ballet’s 2019-2020 season promises to be an interesting mix of classical and contemporary ballets, and will without a doubt delight both hard-core traditionalists and dance lovers seeking adventurous contemporary works.
The season runs from October 2019 through May 2020 at several venues across town. It will be artistic director Julie Kent’s fourth season leading the company and it is clear that the ballets presented were chosen to build on her ongoing efforts to further develop the company into a premier classical ballet troupe that can dazzle in 19th century Petipa classics, ballets by 20th century masters like George Balanchine, and the works of contemporary star choreographers like Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.
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In total, the season includes three newly commissioned works in its NEXTsteps program; two of the world’s most celebrated full-length classic story ballets, Swan Lake and Coppélia; much-celebrated ballets by George Balanchine and Sir Frederick Ashton in BALANCHINE + ASHTON; and the company’s beloved and unique production of the holiday classic, The Nutcracker.
The season opens on October 23, 2019 at the Harman Center for the Arts with NEXTsteps, a contemporary program running through October 27 that will showcase new, never-before-seen ballets by globally recognized choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, John Heginbotham, and Jessica Lang.
That’s followed with five weeks of performances of the company’s popular, DC-centric The Nutcracker beginning on the weekend of November 23 through 24, 2019 at THEARC Theater, and then moving to the Warner Theatre downtown from November 30 through December 29.
Set in historic Georgetown to Tchaikovsky’s magical score with George Washington as the heroic Nutcracker and houseguests like Frederick Douglass, John Paul Jones, and Harriet Tubman, the company’s Nutcracker includes over 100 dancers including students and trainees from the Washington School of Ballet, and offers a charming take on this old Christmastime warhorse of a ballet.
The company is holding several special events throughout its Nutcracker run including Family Day on Sunday, December 1, 2019 where attendees of that day’s matinee can come early for pre-performance activities for children of all ages. Other events include Military Appreciation Night on December 4, 2019 for U.S. service men and women and their families; and Nutcracker Breakfast with the Sugar Plum Fairy and Nutcracker Tea Party both on December 8, 2019. Some of these special events require additional tickets and some do not, so it’s best to contact the Washington Ballet to learn more.
The company starts off 2020 with its BALANCHINE + ASHTON program, which runs from February 19-23, 2020 at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater.
This much-anticipated program features masterworks by two of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century: The Russia-born George Balanchine and the British Sir Frederick Ashton, ballet heavyweights born in the same year (1904) who knew and appreciated each other’s work during their lifetimes.
The program highlights the contrasting and complimentary styles of these two iconic choreographers. Ashton’s Birthday Offering, a classic ballet he made in 1956 to celebrate the Royal Ballet’s 25th anniversary and which is rarely performed here, shares billing with Balanchine’s popular, jazzy and often performed Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, which he created in 1936 for the Rodgers and Hart musical On Your Toes.
Both are new to the Washington Ballet and will provide the dancers with a chance to shine in deeply different styles. The program also includes Balanchine’s pure dance extravaganza, Allegro Brillante, and Ashton’s somber Meditation for Thais, a hauntingly romantic duet set to composer Jules Massenet’s familiar piece of music, Méditation religieuse from the opera, Thais.
The Washington Ballet closes its season with two full-length 19th century ballets from the classical canon including what is arguably its most important: Swan Lake, a dramatic story ballet set to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky that is known for testing the mettle of even the most technically and artistically skilled dancers.
When performed with the correct dramatic focus and seriousness, the ballet can bring an audience to tears. During her years as a celebrated principal ballerina with American Ballet Theatre, Kent accomplished that feat many times in this ballet so it will be interesting to see the ways in which she passes on her intimate knowledge of the work to her Washington Ballet charges.
Swan Lake runs for two weeks from April 9-19, 2020 at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, and as they did with this year’s highly acclaimed and sold-out production of Sleeping Beauty, I have high hopes Kent, and her husband and artistic associate Victor Barbee, will take their dancers to new heights of skill and artistry through this quintessential Marius Petipa ballet.
The ambitious season concludes with Coppélia, another classic but this time a kid-friendly story ballet that in the right hands can be just as much fun for the grownups in the audience. Coppélia runs from May 13-17, 2020 at the Warner Theatre.
Season subscriptions now are available.
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