BalletX Will Host Festival at the Mann

 BalletX will make its return to the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Fairmount Park for a two-day celebration of art, community and the power of dance – the 2025 Festival at the Mann running May 2-3. 

The event will feature the highly anticipated world premiere of Maslow’s Peak by Jennifer Archibald, along with incredible pre-show performances by local youth arts organizations and much more.

“The Festival at the Mann was created to bring extraordinary dance to the widest possible audience, breaking down barriers to access and celebrating the power of movement to unite communities,” says Artistic & Executive Director, Christine Cox. “I am thrilled to bring Jennifer Archibald’s Maslow’s Peak to life, and excited to work with her extraordinary design team to transform the iconic Mann Center stage. This is one of the biggest projects we have ever produced and we are incredibly grateful for the support from the Pew Center for Arts and Humanities in helping us deliver an unforgettable experience that sparks conversation and inspires audiences of all ages.”

The 70 minute crown jewel of this year’s Festival at the Mann is a bold new ballet by Jennifer Archibald, a visionary choreographer known for her fusion of ballet and hip-hop, featuring the largest production ever created by BalletX on a scale grand enough for the Mann Center’s 22 acre campus and 4500 person capacity TD Pavilion. 

The world premiere, inspired by William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, is a powerful exploration of human nature and survival and was crafted over 2 years during an intimate residency with BalletX and its company of dancers. Combining physical prowess and emotional vulnerability with charged subject matter, the piece extrapolates psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs.

Maslow’s Peak presents Archibald's first attempt to employ this “documentary-style” approach to connect a work of fiction with current events. Featuring an all-star team of International Artists, including award-winning director and designer Guy de Lancey, Costume Designer Emily Morgan, and lighting designer Julie Ballard, this powerful and thought provoking work will transform the Mann’s stage like never before.

What is the Festival at the Mann?

At a time when access to the arts is shrinking in many cities, BalletX is proving that one company can uplift both its local community and the national dance landscape – giving Philadelphia audiences a front-row seat to the same caliber of work seen on the world’s biggest stages.

A hallmark of the Festival at the Mann is its deep commitment to young artists. Each evening, BalletX partners with local youth arts organizations to present special pre-show performances, giving students the rare opportunity to perform in a professional setting. Participants have included Bucks County Dance Center, Esperanza Academy Dance Ensemble, IM Dance Academy, Living Arts Dance, Philadelphia Dance Academy, Dance Stop Education Center, Metropolitan Ballet Academy, and more.

Families are invited to picnic on the Mann's campus and immerse themselves in local live arts before each performance. The result is a full weekend of innovation, movement, art, and live music set against the backdrop of Fairmount Park and the Philadelphia skyline. The location allows BalletX the privilege of showcasing its work directly for the communities who help inspire it. The company has created a single, flat-rate $25 ticket in order to invite brand new audiences to front center. For fans interested in exclusive upgrades, including merchandise bundles, a pre-show wine reception, backstage artist access and more, there are three unique tiers starting at a price similar to a BalletX performance series ticket.

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