BalletX Presents Summer Series 2019

BalletX, led by Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox, is announcing the conclusion of its critically-acclaimed 2018-19 season with a 13-performance run of Summer Series 2019 at The Wilma Theater, July 10-21.

The season finale performances will feature the world premiere of The Little Prince, a full-length story ballet for the whole family by choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's classic novella.

Tickets are available online at www.BalletX.org, by phone at 215-546-7824, or in-person at 265 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

"BalletX was the first U.S. company to commission Annabelle's work over a decade ago. Her beautiful, creative voice has made her one of the most sought-after choreographers of our time. I love working with Annabelle, which is why this will be her fifth creation for BalletX," said Cox.

"There are certain books you read when you're young that stay with you for all your life, and The Little Prince is certainly one of them," says Lopez Ochoa. When asked what makes it a timeless story for all ages, she emphasizes the theme that resonates with her most is the value the narrative places on imagination - even as one grows older and wiser. "Each time I enter the studio, I try to call upon my inner child and let it play freely," she says.

Seeking like-minded artists for The Little Prince, Lopez Ochoa enlisted composer Peter Salem, best known for his soundtrack work on the BBC TV series Call the Midwife, and dramaturgist Nancy Meckler, a theater director whose credits include productions with the Kennedy Center, Shakespeare's Globe, and Shared Experience, where she was Artistic Director for twenty-two years.

Both Salem and Meckler were part of the creative team behind Lopez Ochoa's 2012 adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, for which she earned the UK's Critics' Circle National Award for Best Classical Choreography.

Salem will play an integral role in the staging of The Little Prince, performing his original music live onstage as a one-man band alongside the dancers. Other collaborating artists on the production include set designer Matt Saunders, costume designer Danielle Truss, and lighting designer Michael Korsch.

Lopez Ochoa has choreographed on over 50 companies worldwide, creating four previous works on BalletX: 2016's Bonzi, 2011's Castrati and Bare, and 2008's Still@Life. Dance Europe Magazine named her recent works Ecdysis and Last Resistance the Best Premieres of 2017 and 2018 respectively, and Dance Magazine included her interpretation of A Streetcar Named Desire in its Best of Dance 2017. In 2019, Lopez Ochoa was named the recipient of the prestigious Jacob's Pillow Dance Award.

Following the world premiere of The Little Prince in Philadelphia, BalletX will take the production on the road, performing it at the Vail Dance Festival in Colorado on July 30.