Festival Ballet Providence to Return with UP CLOSE ON HOPE

Festival Ballet Providence popular series, Up Close on Hope returns with an exciting new program February 11-20, 2022 in the company's acclaimed Black Box Theatre, 825 Hope Street on the East Side of Providence. This innovative series provides audiences with a unique perspective on dance-a visual feast of movement, athleticism, and creativity. The show features two world premieres along with classical and contemporary works. Click here for more information and tickets.

Kathleen Breen Combes, Director of FBP said, "We are thrilled to open our Black Box theatre once again, where audiences feel a sense of proximity that you don't get in a larger venue." She continued, "We are especially excited to present new works by bold and innovative choreographers, continuing a season that has featured bold works by our most diverse lineup of choreographic voices."

Ja' Malik is the founder of Harlem-based Ballet Boy Productions @balletboyproductions, an arts organization he established in response to the growing number of deaths in America of young black men. His new neo-classical piece will feature three couples and one soloist, and will be set to the contemporary music of Peter Greyson and Max Richter.

Paulo Arrais, a principal dancer with the Boston Ballet, is the recipient of many awards, including a prize from the New York Choreographic Institute, and named one of El Mundo's "30 under 30." Arrais' piece, a gender fluid pas de deux set to an excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lane, will feature same sex pairings in certain casts. The new work is based on a digital piece he created during the pandemic for the Boston Ballet.

The program also features classical selections including the iconic Pas de Quatre, a classical mainstay for four women, showcasing technique, virtuosity, and grace. Also included, a reprise of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Returning Points, one of the acclaimed choreographer's contemporary masterworks which was performed by FBP in its 2021 fall program. This intimate space will offer audiences new insight into this internationally celebrated piece.

All performances require mask wearing by audiences, proof of the Covid vaccine or proof of a negative Covid test. A special reduced capacity show will be presented on February 18, accommodating groups of up to 4 with a reduced capacity of 40 people total.

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