Olympic Ballet Theatre presents new works in Debuts

Rehearsal for 2024 Debuts at Olympic Ballet Theatre

Eva Stone and OBT trainee Ali Walters in rehearsal for "Keep Me In Mind" (photo by Katya Turnbow)

Olympic Ballet Theatre presents new works in Debuts

Featuring works by Norbert De La Cruz III and Eva Stone

Two Performances

February 17, 2024, at 7 PM

February 18, 2024, at 5 PM

Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA)

410 4th Ave N, Edmonds, WA 98020

Olympic Ballet Theatre (OBT) continues its 2023-2024 performance season with DEBUTS in February, presenting new works by contemporary choreographers. This production features Luna by Norbert De La Cruz III and Keep Me in Mind by Eva Stone.

“This is OBT’s third annual production of Debuts, and every year we look forward to bringing creative new works to our audience with this rep,” said artistic directors Mara Vinson and Oleg Gorboulev. 

“Some of OBT’s patrons saw a sneak peek of Eva Stone’s tantalizing piece during our Autumn Auction & Dinner last November, and we can’t wait to present the full premiere in February. 

"We are also thrilled to see OBT dancers work again with Norbert De La Cruz III, whose dramatic work, Until the Mermaid Drags You Under, was featured in the first production of Debuts in 2022. It is an honor to collaborate with both of these outstanding choreographers and to share the joy of contemporary ballet with our patrons.”

This production will include a “Meet the Artists” Q&A session on Saturday, February 17, 2024, immediately following the performance. Audience members will have an exciting opportunity to meet both choreographers and learn more about their creative process of bringing new works to life on stage.

ABOUT DEBUTS

Luna
Choreography: Norbert De La Cruz III
Music: Original score by Nathan Prillaman
Premiere: 2017, New York City Ballet

Luna was created for the dancers at the New York City Ballet for the NY Choreographic Institute in 2017. 

In collaboration with composer and film producer Nathan Prillaman, Luna is a nebulous dance piece that was born out of a search for enchantment, wonder, and surrealism in a challenging world. Luna was the first ballet Norbert created upon forgoing his performance career, and in some ways, he wanted to unearth the gravity of this departure and relaunch his imagination through the lucidity of fantasy. 

Through fluid neo-classical vocabulary, Luna oscillates within seraphic energies between Earth and the Moon, foregrounding the ballerina as a conduit into the divine. Part ceremonial and part spiritual, the dance mirrors the magnetism between people and their sacred relationships. 

The piece orbits from idea to idea, melding from one constellation to another. It invites the audience to make associations between earthly desires and holding onto a dreamworld, gracefully shifting between the rigorous and the beautiful and from virtuosity into tranquility.

Keep Me in Mind
Choreography: Eva Stone
Music: Peggy Lee
Premiere: Olympic Ballet Theatre

Seattle-based choreographer/producer Eva Stone creates a glamorous and seductive world in her latest work Keep Me in Mind, set to the music of legendary singer and songwriter Peggy Lee. Stone digs deep into the methods of persuasion and attraction alongside a lush musical exploration of Lee’s tempting songs. Using a variety of dance styles from modern jazz to Neo-classical ballet, Stone offers up a moving and memorable journey of desire, memory, and longing.

TICKETS INFORMATION

DEBUTS will run two performances at the Edmonds Center for the Arts on February 17 and February 18,  2024. Tickets range from $24 to $45 and can be purchased at HERE or at the box office 425-774-7570. 

For more information, contact OBT at dance@olympicballet.org or visit their website 

Olympic Ballet Theatre’s 2023-2024 season is proudly sponsored by ArtsFund, the Edmonds Arts Commission, the City of Everett Cultural Arts Commission, The City of Everett Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and Seattle NorthCountry.