These year’s DanceWorks will be in the James Levin Theatre performing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7pm.

Please note: The James Levin Theatre is currently not handicap accessible

Week #1: April 19 – 28 Verb Ballets

Carmen: Story of Passion

Verb Ballets Director Dr. Margaret Carlson
Choreographed by: Richard Dickinson

Possession. Passion. The sights, tastes and beauty of Spain. The story moves to Carmen in this timeless, contemporary ballet. Conceived as theatre-in-the-round, and full of drama, simplicity, and pathos, choreographer Richard Dickinson (Ohio Ballet) creates a new production that is sure to generate heat. With music based on the opera version, focusing on string and percussion, join us for a laid-bare Carmen as Verb Ballets return to Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks series in a reimagining that is not to be missed!

Company Bio: Verb Ballets’ mission is to ignite audience passion and participation in contemporary dance through performance, outreach programs and community engagement. Verb, Northeast Ohio’s contemporary dance company, and its “best in class” professional dancers, under the leadership of Director Dr. Margaret Carlson, is a nationally recognized leader in performing dance works of the highest caliber; a catalyst to promote learning, nurture wellness and encourage dialogue about the dance art form. The company strives to be a thought leader in cultivating dance appreciation and support, and serves to help make Northeast Ohio a national destination for the arts. Verb Ballets was named one of 5 “Great Tiny Troupes” in America by Dance Magazine, the country’s leading news magazine covering dance. The Plain Dealer recently hailed Verb Ballets as “vibrant…bold…poetic…bursts of passion…” For more information about Verb Ballets please call our office in Shaker Heights, Ohio, at 216.397.3757 or visit our website at www.verbballets.org.

With this season’s theme “Dances Tell Our Stories”, the company weaves together the amazing journeys of heroes, villains, tribes, rebels, choreographers, and dancers.

“Verb Ballets has a way of upping the ante and hitting the jackpot…every time they perform.” – Elsa Johnson & Victor Lucas, Coolcleveland.com

Artist’s Bio:
Richard Dickinson (Choreographer) a former dancer with Ohio Ballet in Akron, OH, Dickinson’s association with that company began in 1988. He later became ballet master and director of company touring. Richard has served as Artistic Associate for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He currently is an adjunct professor at Youngstown State University; co-director of State Street Ballet’s Summer Intensive (located in Santa Barbara, CA), and Artistic Director of Ballet Western Reserve, also located in Youngstown, OH. He was most recently the Artistic Director of Great Lakes Festival Ballet (Warren, OH), and Dickinson has also directed Boston Ballet II and was a soloist with Boston Ballet for eight years. At age fifteen, he joined the Pasadena Dance Theatre and was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Emerging Choreographer Award for a work premiered by the same company. He performed in the PBS television production of “Frankie and Johnny” with the Chicago Ballet and danced principal roles in Asian, European and American tours with Rudolf Nureyev and the Boston Ballet. In addition to an extensive dance career, including principal and soloist roles with Ohio Ballet, Boston Ballet, Honolulu City Ballet, various regional companies and Chamber Dance Theatre in Milwaukee, where he was Artistic Director, Dickinson has adjudicated four Regional Dance America festivals held throughout the United States. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Contemporary Dance from Case Western Reserve University in 2005.

See Verb Ballets on YouTube

Verb Ballet’s “Volver Volver”

Heinz Poll’s “Bolero”.

Mark Tomasic’s “shift”, which had its World Premiere at CPT’s DanceWorks in 2009.

Troy McCarty’s “Volver, Volver”, which had its World Premiere at CPT’s DanceWorks in 2009.

Pamela Pribisco’s “Peter and the Wolf”, a company World Premiere from December 2008.

Heinz Poll’s “Andante Sostenuto”.

Ulysses Dove’s, “Vespers”, in a piece on Ideastream/WVIZ’s “Applause”.