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 #5: APRIL 18 – 20 VERB BALLETS

THE RITE OF SPRING: THE BRIDE UNSEEN

Verb Ballets Director Dr. Margaret Carlson
Choreographer Richard Dickinson

The Rite of Spring originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky shattered expectations and was a milestone in performance history in Paris 100 years ago. Verb Ballets will take to the stage with an evening work featuring a modern interpretation ofThe Rite of Spring choreographed by Richard Dickinson. The new ballet titled, The Rite of Spring: The Bride Unseen, reinvents the story of pagan sacrifice as the bride surrenders, her dreams to appease her family and succumbs to the pressure of an arranged marriage. The ballet explores the interpersonal relationships of a quirky family and the influence they play in the family paradigm. Someone will be sacrificed. Who – is the question.

Verb Ballets ignites audience passion and participation in contemporary dance. Under the leadership of Director, Dr. Margaret Carlson, Verb strives to support and foster emerging talent, to present excellence in contemporary choreographers, and to revive and honor modern dance classics. The company strives to be a thought leader in cultivating dance appreciation and support through education and outreach programs. In growing audience appreciation for dance Verb Ballets helps make northeast Ohio a national destination for the arts.

“Dashes preconceptions …with keen dramatic power.” – The Plain Dealer
“Verb Ballets has a way of upping the ante and hitting the jackpot…every time they perform.” –CoolCleveland.com “The Verb dancers were vibrantly attuned…” – The Plain Dealer
“Verb Ballets one of five Great Tiny Troupes in America.” – Dance Magazine 2008

www.verbballets.org

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Richard Dickinson, MFA (Choreographer, Rehearsal Director and Education & Outreach), 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 Rehearsal Director for Verb Ballets. He was most recently the Artistic Director of Ballet Western Reserve, in Youngstown, OH and?the Artistic Director of Great Lakes Festival Ballet (Warren, OH). 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.