Festival Ballet Providence Partners With RISD Museum For The First Time With “Off The Wall”

For the first time ever, Festival Ballet Providence presents its first program of the 2022-2023 Season, Off The Wall, a unique collaboration with the RISD Museum.

This program features a trio of new works inspired by works from the RISD Museum collection, exploring and interpreting elements of visual art through dance. Off The Wall takes place at the Woodman Center on the campus of Moses Brown School, Providence RI, with performances October 21-23, 2022.

"I've always been a big proponent of arts institutions working with one another, sharing knowledge and creativity, and expanding the worlds of the audiences each serve," said Kathleen Breen Combes, FBP's Director. "When I approached RISD Museum they were so generous in opening their collection to us and letting our choreographers explore this massive body of artwork."

Three renowned choreographers are creating new works on the company, Andrea Schermoly, Yusha-Marie Sorzano, and FBP's own Artistic Curator Yury Yanowsky. "RISD Museum has more than 100,000 items in the collection, a mere fraction of what is on display at any given time," said Sarah Ganz Blythe, Interim Director of RISD Museum, adding, "I'm so thrilled that the choreographers were given access to everything and able to explore on their own, and delighted with the works they selected."

"RISD Museum has more than 100,000 items in the collection to inspire innovative creators across disciplines" said Sarah Ganz Blythe, Interim Director of RISD Museum, adding, "I'm so thrilled that the choreographers were in conversation with our curators and able to explore the collection virtually and in person on their own. I am delighted with the works they selected."

Andrea Schermoly, currently the resident choreographer for Louisville Ballet, has created works for major companies including Kansas City Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Theatre Afrikan, Cape Dance Company, Ballet Met, among many others. Her new work will be inspired by a vibrant 1981 abstract work called Gather by English artist Bridget Riley, renowned for her use of geometric patterns and color, particularly vertical stripes in bold colors.

Inspiration for choreographer Yusha-Marie Sorzano-who is currently a dancer with Camille A. Brown & Dancers and has performed principal roles with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater-came from modernist painter Rufino Tamayo and his 1938 work Two Women. Tamayo, known for surrealist inspired Mexican folk art, uses muted colors to depict two women walking outdoors in long dresses.

FBP Artistic Curator and former Boston Ballet principal dancer Yury Yanowsky selected a 1964 portrait of Jackie Kennedy by Eugene Feldman, entitled Friend's Wife (Mrs. JFK) as his inspiration; the dark and haunting lithograph depicts the mourning first lady as soft pools of light surrounded by darkness.

As a special bonus, the evening will also feature an artifact of dance, the iconic Pas de Quatre. This charming chamber work, the zenith of romanticism for classical ballet, brings to life a lithograph from the original work depicting the four most famous ballerinas of the year it was created: 1845.

"The curated evening of dance is so elegantly reflective of ballet's past and its bright and bold future, and I'm so proud of our choreographers and dancers for the work they are doing to bring art to life for our audience," Breen Combes said.

Tickets for Off The Wall start at $35 and can be purchased online, by phone or in person at FBP's Hope Street studios.

For more information on Off the Wall visit www.festivalballetprovidence.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.