In a small company like ours, it's all about the dancers. Sometimes, injuries force us to do extensive re-shuffling of our casts. Other times it gives us a chance to present you a new dancer.

This fall, for instance, we're sad that Emily SoRelle Adams will miss our performances due to an ankle injury. But we're lucky to have found a replacement in Andrea Spiridonakos (photo). Andrea just relocated to New York after twelve years at Miami City Ballet. In Miami, where she was a soloist, she performed leading roles in ballets by Balanchine, Tharp and Forsythe; in our September performances, you will get a chance to see her in Romantic Pieces and Echoes.

 

If it is true that summer is the time to let go of all inhibitions and try something new, then we had a perfect summer: we performed at the Bermuda Mambo Nights. Yes - Mambo. Leaving Stockhausen music and measured ballet steps at home, we threw ourselves into caliente rhythms and appeared alongside some of the fiercest salsa dancers. (Photo: Vanessa Woods and Lauren Toole, in front of a Mambo Nights sign in Bermuda.)

The first thing we learned: we need more glitter! Among the splashily costumed Latin dancers, our ballet dresses made us look like the poor cousins. The second thing: a simple 'arabesque' can bring the house down, if it is accompanied by driving rhythms.

The experience was priceless; getting to know the Salsa pros, the welcoming Bermudians, and the stunning, stunning beaches on the island! Our only regret was that only two of our dancers got to go... We hope next time it will be more!

Back in New York, the phone rang: the Downtown Dance Festival had a last-minute cancellation - would we be available to perform that weekend? And so New York City too got to see NCB from their new-found Latin side, on a miraculously rain-free Saturday afternoon, under the trees in Battery Park.

A perfect summer indeed.

(In case you are wondering: no, we will not perform our Latin ballets during our regular season. What happens in the summer, stays in the summer.)

For the fifth summer in a row, Constantine Baecher spent his time off from the Royal Danish Ballet in New York to create a new work for us.

 

This time, instead of using an existing score, he chose to collaborate with Danish composer Martin Stauning (photo). The two had collaborated before, on Baecher's The Ungentle Guest, which premiered at the Royal Danish Ballet in 2008.

That alone would promise an interesting new ballet. But Stauning is not just any composer: he used to be a dancer himself, performing with the Royal Danish Ballet until 2007. And that is indeed a pretty rare occurrence: a dancer turned composer.

His music is unapologetic, a striking vision for Baecher to build on. Driving rhythms, bold harmonies, and dramatic contrasts. In response, Baecher created a challenging ballet pushing the dancers to their limits. A new work to look forward to!

Back-to-school time is sale time, and NCB is no exception. To celebrate our season opening and our Philadelphia premiere (and to free up much-needed storage space in our cramped office!) we have launched a fall poster sale.

For a limited time, you can get the NCB poster (photo) for only $9.95 (that's over 50% off). Don't wait - it's a beautiful poster, 18" by 24" on coated high-quality paper, and every cent of the sale price will support our fall season!