Orlando Ballet’s mixed-repertory program eschews familiar story ballets in favor of diverse shorter-form pieces. This year, the program will include George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante; Heath Gill’s Confronting Genius; and Mark Godden’s Angels in the Architecture. | Courtesy Israel Zavaleta Escobedo Photography
Hardcore dance aficionados always look forward to Orlando Ballet’s mixed-repertory program, which eschews familiar story ballets in favor of diverse and thought-provoking shorter-form pieces.
This year, that agenda is fulfilled by Balanchine, Godden, Gill, a triptych that showcases some truly visionary choreographers and their distinctive interpretations of our shared cultural heritage. Performances will be in Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center on Friday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 28, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 29, at 2 p.m.
First up is Allegro Brillante, the challenging, high-velocity work that the legendary George Balanchine masterminded in 1956 for the New York City Ballet. Maria Tallchief—who was Balanchine’s ex-wife and the prima ballerina for whom the leading role was created—described the work as having “an expansive Russian romanticism.”
With a soundtrack of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto Number 3 as its foundation, Allegro Brillante is a creative repository for what Balanchine famously called “everything I know about classical ballet—in 13 minutes.”
Next up is Confronting Genius, a contemporary musing on the nature of creativity in which modern-day choreographer Heath Gill—now rehearsal director for Orlando Ballet—leads a male and female dancer through the chaotic, brilliant and emotional process of artistic creation.
Only half of Confronting Genius has a musical soundtrack—which includes everything from Paganini to Tom Waits—while the rest is set to spoken-word recordings. That means the performers must find their footing (so to speak) in the rhythm of language.
Finally, there’s Angels in the Architecture, Texas-born, Canada-based Mark Godden’s tribute to North American Shaker culture. (The term “angels in the architecture,” by the way, is used across music, literature and history to describe a hidden or divine presence within a physical or creative structure.)
Dancers in Angels in the Architecture, which runs about 30 minutes, cavort with brooms, chairs and other totems of the simple yet industrious Shaker life, in time to the strains of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Symphony.
Jorden Morris, artistic director of Orlando Ballet, has a personal connection to all three pieces: He performed in Allegro Brillante and Angels in the Architecture when they were presented by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. And his working relationship with Gill has stretched from the latter’s days of dancing with Atlanta Ballet.
(Orlando Ballet previously staged Confronting Genius in 2022 in a humbler, more stripped-down performance at Harriett’s Ballet Center in Loch Haven Cultural Park; this rendition will benefit from some more elaborate set pieces and lighting.)
“There’s going to be some really interesting visuals for the audience, as well as really strong dance,” promises Morris. “You can push the boundaries of dance pretty far, and this is a great example of just how far we’ve pushed them over the last 40, 50 years.”
Dr. Phillips Center is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. For more information, call or visit the website.
