Performances
FREE!
May 28, 2021
6:00 pm
May 29, 2021
2:00 & 6:00 pm
May 30, 2021
2:00 pm
A Midsummer NIght’s Dream
Free outdoor performances at The Highland Bowl
May 28, 29, & 30, 2021
Rochester City Ballet will make its triumphant and long-awaited return to Live-in Person performances by mounting a fully produced staging of Artistic Director Robert Gardner’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This coming Memorial Day weekend, fall under the spell of a moonlit evening in Elizabethan England, filled with star-crossed lovers and delightfully comic characters.
From the classic mischief-maker Puck to the beautiful fairy Titania under a love spell gone wrong, it’s Shakespeare’s finest comedy told in dance and mime.
The company dancers along with students from the Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education will bring this family-friendly adaptation of the delightful and fantastical Shakespearean classic to the Highland Bowl. Though our audience sizes will be restricted due to continued vigilance surrounding COVID-19, all four anticipated performances that weekend will be FREE community events.
I am so excited about the prospect of bringing live dance performances back to our community, after being off stage for over a year! I believe this project fits perfectly with the State’s Pop Up performance plan to “bring arts and culture back to life”. This production – as currently planned – is an opportunity for our company and our legacy to re-establish itself as we emerge from this shuttered darkness of pandemic and crisis. By offering this performance as a “community event”, we offer a beacon of hope that can be shared by many and proves to future partners and supporters that we remain strong and dedicated to our mission. – Robert Gardner, Artistic Director
Performances will be May 28th at 6 pm, May 29th at 2pm and 6pm and May 30th at 2pm. Even though these shows are free, reservations are required as each show has a limited capacity. Health screening and masks are required to enter.
Click on the buttons at the left to make reservations. Of course, any donation in support of RCB will be gratefully accepted!
“New Works” – April 24 & 25, 2021
A showcase of world premieres & new to Rochester City Ballet repertoire
Click on the buttons at your left to purchase tickets!
System : Start
World Premiere
Choreographed by Rochester City Ballet company member, J. Wyatt Pendleton, he speaks about his ballet: “The inspiration for “System : Start” comes from ideas of being comfortable in your own skin and ideas of home. I found the music while playing video games and just fell in love with the rhythms and depth that it had.”
Act III pas de deus from the ballet Sylvia
Rochester City Ballet premiere
Premiered at the Palais Garnier in 1876, Sylvia is a full-length ballet set to music by Léo Delibes. The challenging pas de deux from the third act features Aminta, a shephard, that has fallen for the nymph Sylvia.
To learn more about the ballet Sylvia, click here.
TERMINUS
World Premiere
Choreographed by guest artist Katarzyna Skarpetowska and set to music by David Wohl, a composer known for fusing electronic sounds with acoustic instruments, this piece responds to changes in human interactions necessitated and accentuated by the global pandemic.
Digitally
March 12-21, 2021
Green Eggs & Ham
Rochester City ballet presents a charming retelling of Green Eggs and Ham – based on the popular Dr. Seuss book by the same name and features Sam-I-Am and the discourteous narrator. Original choreography by David Palmer incorporates American Sign Language for a rounded visual and educational viewing experience!
Follow the Rose is included in this streaming package, from a recording of its Rochester premiere in the same original production with Green Eggs and Ham, in February 2017. Modeled after the traditional Italian “Comedia dell’Arte,” this piece emphasizes pantomime and exaggerated expression to tell the story of a performing troupe overwrought with the pleasant aroma of a Rose that mysteriously appears and makes its way through this loveable cast of characters. Airigami provided the scenery and set dressing for the original performance at the Nazareth College Arts Center, including the over-sized balloon Rose!
This family-friendly production is sure to please dance and story-lovers of all ages!
Digitally
February 12-21, 2021
Sleeping Beauty
Based on a 13th century legend adapted by the Brothers Grimm, the ballet tells the story of a cursed princess saved by true love. Other classic characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, the Blue Bird, and Puss & Boots appear in the celebration.
Please join us for this tour de force of ballet. Note: traditionally Sleeping Beauty can be more than three hours. RCB has adapted this ballet to keep it under two hours and appropriate for our youngest fans. We will begin the story when the Prince meets the Lilac Fairy in the forest and will include the classic Aurora’s Wedding as our second act.
Digitally
January 15-31, 2021
Dangerous Liaisons
This sophisticated drama of love and intrigue is based on the Pierre Choderlos de Laclos novel of the same name. David Palmer’s original choreography with the Washington Ballet was brought to Rochester’s ballet-loving community, at the Nazareth College Arts Center, in March 2019. Enjoy this twisted plot of seduction, betrayal, conquest, and heartbreak set to Vivaldi’s iconic The Four Seasons concerti.
Thanksgiving through
Christmas Eve
New Years Day!
The Nutcracker
A Virtual Performance
Rochester City Ballet’s holiday favorite “The Nutcracker” will be coming to your home virtually this season. While we will miss performing at the Eastman Theater, with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bach Children’s Choir, you can experience this family tradition at home – sharing the magic and beauty of this wonderful production with family and friends near and far. The performance will be streamed from Thanksgiving Day until Christmas Eve. Be sure to gather your favorite holiday treats as you sit back, relax, and begin your holiday season with this magical production.
Saturday,
October 24, 2020
Ballet Reawakened
Live Virtual Fundraising Event
Hosted by Diane Chevron
Online silent auction
Virtual meet & greet with the Company following the performance
RCB merchandise
And more!
An American Concerto
World premiere
Robert Gardner draws on inspiration from the challenges and devastations of isolation throughout this time of pandemic to create this original work set to Gwyneth Walker’s composition of the same name. In his inaugural season with Rochester City Ballet, Gardner premieres this timely piece as an exploration of relationships and individual revelation.
Rochester City Ballet premiere
A concert version of the original full-length ballet, set to an orchestration of beloved Gershwin tunes arranged by Hershy Kay – Be transported to the romance and vibrance of New York City’s bustling night time scenery! RCB is working with Balanchine Repetiteur Deborah Wingert to bring Mr. Balanchine’s vision and classic choreography to Rochester’s audiences for the first time since 2013.
Salvatore Aiello’s The Waiting Room
Rochester City Ballet premiere
This evocative contemporary piece set to music of Arvo Pärt meets our current moment of global pandemic with relevance and emotion. As the three women portrayed in this piece grapple with the anxiety and tumult of unknowing, they are strengthened by each other. Repetiteur and Curator for the Salvatore Aiello Trust Jerri Kumery stages and coaches this exceptional work for our company members.