The Washington Ballet Concludes Season With BEYOND BOUNDARIES

The Washington Ballet will conclude their season with a program of dance works curated by internationally acclaimed choreographer, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. “Beyond Boundaries” will captivate audiences at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Eisenhower Theater, May 22-26, 2024. In selecting both additional choreographers Chanel DaSilva & Houston Thomas to be part of the the Beyond Boundaries program, curator Annabelle Lopez Ochoa says she "was looking to introduce a new choreographic voice to the dancers of The Washington Ballet and a new signature to the audiences of Washington DC." 

Colōrem had its world premiere in 2022 by the Joffrey Ballet. Hailed by the Chicago Sun Times for its inventive movement and choreographic vision, the work by Chanel DaSilva was also the Joffrey’s first mainstage work created by a Black woman. DaSilva has re-staged this ensemble piece for The Washington Ballet. Cristina Spinei’s music is almost percussive and features a marimba, piano and vibraphone.

Houston Thomas is a young African American choreographer who created his first work in 2018. He began his dance training with The Joffrey Ballet and later at the School of American Ballet in New York. His professional dance career took him to Germany where he performed for 10 years with Semperoper Ballett and rose to the rank of Second Soloist. Houston Thomas will present a new World Premiere, A Dancer’s Prayer in this program.

Delusional Beauty, choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, was originally commissioned by TWB in 2019 as part of the Company’s NEXTsteps initiative, presenting new works that defined the art form in the 21st Century. Delusional Beauty was inspired by the painting Femme à la tête de fleurs (Woman with a Head of Flowers) by surrealist artist Salvador Dali. Stunning costuming and minimal set design bring the woman with the head of flowers and butterflies to life for a mesmerizing 30 minutes as she twists and turns and maneuvers on stage in shiny golden gown.  A new cast of dancers will re-create this highly lauded piece.

The Washington Ballet (TWB) was founded as The Washington School of Ballet in 19propels incorporated as a professional company in 1976 to serve a three-part mission: ensuring excellence in its professional performance company; growing the next generation of dancers through its school, professional training programs, and Studio Company; and serving the community in which it resides through community engagement programs propel TWB to a more prominent place within the nation’s capital and beyond.

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