New Orleans Ballet Association Announces 2022-23 Main Stage Season

The New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) announces its 2022-23 Main Stage Dance Season at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts and Freda Lupin Memorial Hall, NOCCA. NOBA's curation of vibrant, culturally-significant, captivating and awe-inspiring dance offerings represent the best and brightest of what the dance world has to offer today, beginning on October 22, 2022, with Kyiv City Ballet who makes their U.S. touring debut, continuing with Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE, the return of New Orleans favorite Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the acrobatic and visually stunning MOMIX dance company with their interpretation of the beloved Alice in Wonderland story and concluding with the magnificent national company from the country of Georgia, the State Ballet of Georgia, accompanied by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Launching on October 22, 2022, NOBA begins the season with Kyiv City Ballet. Amid a greater struggle, the exemplary dancers of Ukraine's Kyiv City Ballet are a "voice of resistance" (National Geographic) on the global stage, bringing light and joy in the darkness to audiences worldwide. On February 23, the company unknowingly boarded what would be one of the last flights out of Ukraine for a long-planned tour. They have since not been able to return home and have been sheltered by France, performing throughout the country and in Europe. Marking their first performances in the U.S., this magnificent company, under the direction of former Mariinsky Theater artist Ivan Kozlov, brings "Tribute to Peace," a program of works by Ukrainian choreographers. "Touring the States for the first time with a range of ballets makes an important global statement. It demonstrates the resilience of the Ukrainian people," states Kozlov. From classical ballet to Ukrainian folk dance, this inspiring evening that showcases the very best of this country's rich cultural heritage will feature two of the top prima ballerinas of Ukraine - Krystina Kadashevych and Oksana Bondarenko - and Vsevolod Maevskiy, formerly with St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Ballet. In a show of support and solidarity with these artists, audiences will be uplifted by their talent and sheer determination to continue through such vast adversity.

Performing November 4 and 5, 2022, audience favorite Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE returns to New Orleans with a new program. For over 30 years, Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE has deeply moved audiences worldwide with masterfully created dances that are "richly expressive and endlessly kinetic" (The New York Times) performed by superbly articulate dancers. "No major choreographer has worked harder to bring spiritual awareness to the human heart than Ronald K. Brown. His dances concern our struggle to find love and connection, where compassion alone can ease the grueling physical journey of life" (The Washington Post). Following their sold-out performances in 2017, the company returns to New Orleans with a program of works including Brown's latest dance, the "Equality of Night and Day," called "a quietly stunning work of art" (The Boston Globe) that features an original score by acclaimed jazz pioneer Jason Moran, set to spoken word by Angela Davis. In the wildly popular "Grace," originally choreographed in 1999 for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and now considered a masterpiece in the Ailey repertory, Brown sets his signature style to the music of Duke Ellington, Roy Davis Jr., Fela Kuti, Jimmy McPhail and Jennifer Holliday. "Breathtaking and life-sustaining and hopeful" boasts The Boston Globe.

On January 28, 2023, for "the funniest night you will ever have at the ballet" (The Sunday Times, UK), don't miss the long-awaited return (last presented by NOBA in 2010) of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo in a hilarious new program. Since 1974, this lovable all-male ballet company has been a major dance phenomenon throughout the world, performing parodies of ballet classics from Swan Lake to Les Sylphides en pointe and in tutus to contemporary masterpieces - all with awe-inspiring virtuosity. Expertly blending humor with extraordinary athletic artistry, The Trocks are "one of the great comic creations of the American stage" (San Francisco Chronicle) and guaranteed to bring audiences to their feet with "pure joy" (The Seattle Times). "A guaranteed hoot for people who know nothing of ballet and an absolute must for those who think they know the originals," proclaims the Sydney Star Observer.

NOBA's 2022-23 season continues on March 11, 2023, with the return of MOMIX, known internationally for presenting works of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton that has been dazzling New Orleans audiences to sell-out crowds since 1993. Travel down the rabbit hole MOMIX-style with Pendleton's newest creation, ALICE, inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland. As Alice's body grows and shrinks and grows again, Pendleton's dancers extend themselves by means of props, ropes and other dancers. "I don't intend to retell the whole Alice story," Pendleton says, "but to use it as a taking off point for invention." Full of imagery and absurd logic, the ALICE story lets the imagination run and play with the fusion of dancing, lighting, music, costumes and projected imagery; audiences will be taken on a journey that is magical, mysterious, fun, eccentric and much more. A feast of visual splendor and creative movement, ALICE reveals that nothing in MOMIX's world is as it seems. "A triumph of imagination, illusions, and special effects" declares The Wonderful World of Dance.

Making its New Orleans debut (one of only four cities nationwide), the State Ballet of Georgia concludes NOBA's star-studded season on April 22, 2023. The acclaimed national company of the former Soviet republic tours internationally yet is not often seen in the United States. Based in the Opera and Ballet State Theatre in the capital city of Tbilisi, this stunning company of "versatile and accomplished" dancers (The New York Times) has soared under the bold artistic direction of world-renowned dancer Nina Ananiashvili (former prima ballerina with Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre) who returned home to her native country in 2004 to lead the company. Accompanied by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, this rare evening features two of Georgian-American choreographer George Balanchine's greatest masterpieces, Serenade and Concerto Barocco. Using traditional Georgian music, the rousing finale is a work created for the company by Yuri Possokhov, the Ukraine-born dancer and international choreographer. "The sheer polish of the men is striking" (The New York Times).

NOBA'S 2022-23 MAIN STAGE SEASON AT A GLANCE

· Kyiv City Ballet: Saturday, October 22, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater (New Orleans, LA)

· Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE: Friday, November 4, 2022, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. at the Freda Lupin Memorial Hall, NOCCA (New Orleans, LA)

· Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo: Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater (New Orleans, LA)

· MOMIX in ALICE: Saturday, March 11, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater (New Orleans, LA)

· State Ballet of Georgia: Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 7:30 p.m at the Mahalia Jackson Theater (New Orleans, LA)

TICKET INFORMATION

NOBA's 2022-23 Main Stage Season offers three options for subscription. Subscribers also enjoy a variety of additional perks included in the price of the subscription which can be found here. All subscription packages will be available to the public for purchase on August 11, 2022, online at www.nobadance.com. Discounts are available for students with a valid student ID.

Grand Plus Series Season Subscription: up to 25% off all five productions in the season, plus the most comprehensive benefits package. Prices range from $179 to $599 depending on seat location.

Grand Series Season Subscription: up to 20% off four productions (this subscription level does not include Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE), plus a robust assortment of benefits. Prices range from $136 to $580 depending on seat location.

Build Your Own Season Subscription: up to 15% off three productions of your choosing, plus additional benefits. Prices vary based on production choices and seat locations.

Subscribers benefit from being the first to purchase tickets to this season's offerings or take advantage of best available seating. Individual tickets for all five productions will be available for purchase beginning September 6, 2022. For the most up-to-date ticketing information, and to learn more about subscribing and individual ticket on-sale dates, join our email list and visit www.nobadance.com.

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