Creative Convergence

Creative Convergence

Pre-performance Talk, 45 minutes prior to each performance 

You Are Here, choreographed by internationally acclaimed choreographer Gina Patterson, makes its Dayton premiere, having had its world premiere with Cincinnati Ballet in September 2013. You Are Here is an emotional ballet that works to convey the pulling sense of loss and human determination. Cincinnati.com says of the 2013 You Are Here premiere that Gina Patterson begins the ballet quietly but then “…kicks the work into a higher emotional gear. Forceful and swirling, it is as if she has somehow harnessed breath itself; gasping, panting, sighing. It is an endless series of surprises.”

Then 5 Flights Up, a Dayton Ballet favorite, returns to the Victoria Theatre. Choreographed by Stephen Mills, 5 Flights Up has a true vaudeville flavor, with dancers costumed in 1930s-styled bathing suits. The ballet is set to the fun, quirky music of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, a band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when the resurgence of swing music was taking the world by storm. With the band’s eclectic fusion of Delta blues, jazz, and 1930s-era swing, the dancers deliver an action-packed, highly-entertaining ballet that is sure to be a "roaring-good time."

After intermission, Dayton Ballet then presents two brand-new works making their world premieres at the Victoria. The first ballet is choreographed by DeShona Pepper Robertson, a former dancer with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) and current Dance Director of Stivers School for the Arts. DeShona is not only an exciting instructor of dance but also an extremely powerful presence on stage, with an energy that is entirely contagious. As a former Dayton Ballet dance student, she returns to Dayton Ballet to deliver an inspirational piece sure to be filled with exuberance and to showcase her clear zest for life.

Then, in a very special collaboration between Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) and Dayton Ballet, Artistic Director Karen Russo Burke choreographs a brand-new ballet to a completely new piece of music composed by DPO’s Music Alive Composer-in-Residence Stella Sung. The music will be in the romanticism realm, both lyrical and joyous in its composition. Stella and Karen will work together, capitalizing on the energy and the uniqueness of each one of the dancers in the Dayton Ballet Company, to deliver a truly unique ballet that will showcase the talents of two incredible art forms. DPO Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will accompany the full Dayton Ballet company in a beautiful piece of work that will mark many firsts for the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance. It will be a night of dance and music that you will not want to miss.

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*The residency of Stella Sung is made possible through Music Alive, a residency program of the League of American Orchestras and New Music USA. This national program is designed to provide orchestras with resources and tools to support their presentation of new music to the public and build support for new music within their institutions. Funding for Music Alive is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund.

Links & Tags

The Schuster Center

Creative Convergence is taking place at The Schuster Center, which is located at 1 W 2nd St in Dayton. The Schuster Center - Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center - providing a world-class facility for the best in local, national and international performing artists. Can accommodate up to 2,300 for meetings or 500 banquets. - read more

Dayton Performing Arts Alliance

Dayton Performing Arts Alliance - The Philharmonic, Ballet, and Opera create art that celebrates life in the Dayton community. - read more