Based in Philadelphia, BalletX is one of the nation’s premier contemporary ballet companies, known for commissioning choreographers from around the world to create new ballets that are “fresh, inclusive, and connect to what people want,” according to Philadelphia Citizen. 

To kick off the spring series, BalletX returns May 4 and 5 at the TD Pavilion at The Mann to present its contemporary ballet at 7:30pm.

The main performances will include a world premiere by Amy Hall Garner titled Switching the Groove, Trey McIntyre’s Big Ones set to music by Amy Winehouse, and Justin Peck’s Become a Mountain performed to live music by composer Dan Deacon. BalletX will also offer a special free community pre-show and picnic on May 4 and 5 starting at 6:00pm featuring the company’s youth outreach program, the Dance eXchange Dream Team, and more. 

“This series is all about bringing the community together,” says Christine Cox, Artistic & Executive Director of BalletX. “I wanted to program pieces that would fill up the beautiful Mann campus. I hope that audiences will be taken on a journey that brings curiosity and a newfound or deeper love for ballet.”

International dance superstar Amy Hall Garner joins the BalletX spring series to debut her world premiere titled Switching the Groove. Her work has been praised internationally and commissioned by Ailey II, ABT Studio Company, Collage Dance Collective, The Juilliard School, and more. Garner personally coached Grammy Award winner Beyoncé. She is currently an adjunct professor at New York University’s New Studio on Broadway at Tisch School of the Arts. Amy returns to BalletX after the success of her dance film New Heights, a collaboration with Mural Arts in 2020. 

Garner’s work will be accompanied by Trey McIntyre’s Big Ones which originally premiered on BalletX in 2016 and was set to music by Amy Winehouse. This show-stopping piece was deemed “funny, touching, poignant, stirring” by The New York Times. This performance is one of more than 100 pieces that McIntyre has produced for leading organizations such as the American Ballet Theater, the New York Ballet, The Washington Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet, and more throughout his more than 30 years in the dance industry. 

Another beloved work, Justin Pecks’ Become a Mountain, originally premiered on BalletX in 2022, will be presented during the spring series at the Mann Center. Created by Justin Peck for Juilliard’s Senior Class of 2022, Become a Mountain is a dance that simulates the arc of a mountain climb, unfolding in three parts: a climb to a summit, the emboldened feeling of reaching the peak, and finally, the adrenaline rush of sliding down the other side. Throughout this journey, the dance weaves in explorations of human connectivity, personal reflection, and the uncertainty of what is uncharted.

Each performance for the spring series 2023 will be approximately 120 minutes, including one intermission. For tickets, student discounts, and more information, contact the BalletX Box Office at 215-225-5389 x250 or [email protected]. More information is also available at BalletX.org.