Oklahoma City Ballet ready to launch its 2022-23 season

Oklahoma City Ballet is pleased to announce its 2022/23 Season, full of variety, innovation, and beauty.

The season will begin with the third annual Ballet Under the Stars presented by Express Employment International, a free community performance held at Scissortail Park on Saturday, September 17, 2022. Featuring excerpts from classical ballet and modern dance, the evening will include 12 short works performed by professional dancers, OU School of Dance students, and students from the Oklahoma City Ballet Yvonne Chouteau School.

Guests are encouraged to come early to Ballet Under the Stars to get a great spot on the lawn and to take part in family-friendly activities starting at 5:30, plus a 6:30 family dance class. Tickets or reservations are not required.

Oklahoma City Ballet will return to the Civic Center Music Hall for Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, October 21-23 with live music from OKCPHIL and Canterbury Voices. Lady of the Camellias was adapted from Alexandre Dumas’ French novel which also inspired the opera La Traviata and the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! This stunning production is filled with romance, action, forbidden love, beauty, and tragedy.

The Nutcracker, presented by Devon Energy, will return for ten performances in December including a sensory-friendly version of the family-favorite tale. With all new choreography from the Ballet’s Acting Artistic Director, Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, this production will also feature the return of some favorite characters. OKCPHIL will play the familiar Tchaikovsky score along with vocal accompaniment from Canterbury Voices.

The sensory-friendly version of The Nutcracker will be December 15 at 6:00. This performance will offer a more relaxed environment for children and adults with sensory sensitivities, and may also be a great way to introduce ballet to your little one. Tickets to this performance will go on sale November 1.

February 10-12, 2022, Oklahoma City Ballet will present Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye’s world premiere of Cinderella. This massive production will feature over 100 roles for professional dancers and students, including the comical stepsisters guaranteed to fill the theater with laughter. OKCPHIL will play the gorgeous Prokofiev score live at each performance.

Future Voices: A Choreographic Showcase will return for its fourth year, March 9-12, in the Inasmuch Foundation Theater at Oklahoma City Ballet’s Susan E. Brackett Dance Center. Future Voices features about 8-10 new pieces, all 10 minutes or less, by Oklahoma City Ballet faculty and dancers. Each choreographer will chose their own music, dancers, and costumes to
accompany their choreography.

The Civic Center season will close with Shorts, May 5-7. Shorts features three iconic ballets from some of ballet’s greatest choreographers all in one performance. They include: Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations, a happy classical piece featuring Verdi’s opera-ballet music; George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, a blend of ballet and American folk dancing; and Twyla Tharp’s The Golden Section with music by David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame).

In partnership with Oklahoma Contemporary, Oklahoma City Ballet will conclude the season with Out of the Box, June 23-25, at OK Contemporary’s Te Ata Theater. This innovative program will feature world premiere short works by choreographers Rena Butler and Larry Keigwin. For the first time ever, this performance will be “pay what you can,” in an effort to eliminate any financial barriers to the audience. Out of the Box will have three performances plus a family matinee and movement class on Saturday, June 24, 2023.

“We are thrilled to present such a versatile, vibrant, and collaborative 51st season. With dance that spans over a half a century of choreographic work, we will be bringing all that our art form has to offer. From classicism, to cutting edge contemporary, and tragic romance, to bellylaughing humor, our 2022/23 Season is not one to miss,” remarked Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, Acting
Artistic Director. “We hope to see you at the ballet this season.”

Visit okcballet.org for more information on each production. Season subscriptions and single tickets are available now by calling (405) 848-8637 or visiting www.okcballet.org. Tickets to the sensory-friendly version of The Nutcracker go on sale November 1, 2022. Season Subscribers receive extra benefits like discounts, first choice of seats, free exchanges, and more.