This community favorite production presents new works by Louisville Ballet Artists in collaboration with Louisville Youth Group and Pandora Productions. Performed live inside Louisville Ballet’s Main Street Studios, located at 315 E Main Street. Seating is very limited and tickets are $35 each.
An annual choreographer’s showcase, #CHORSHOW presents five new works by Louisville Ballet Artists. Themes explored in this season’s innovative production include: heroes and resilience; breaking free from the binary world; the burden of what we inherit through the lens of an imagined post-apocalyptic society; the struggle that lies between the human as an artist and the artist as a human; and examining how people – especially in queer communities – are bonded by more than blood.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR #CHORSHOW COLLABORATORS – Mollie Murk, Michael J. Drury (Pandora Productions Artistic Director), Tyler Tate, Allie Fireel, Jason Cooper, and LYG Executive Director, Elana Rosenberg.
A pop-up shop featuring local LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ friendly artists, small businesses and nonprofit organizations will be open during pre-show and intermission. Audience members can enjoy free coffee provided by Heine Brothers and a cash bar provided by Wiltshire Pantry Catering. Find out more about our local vendors here.
We will also have limited-edition Louisville Ballet “Dance with Pride” T-shirts from Dirty Tease, #CHORSHOW stickers, vintage posters, and more for sale – ONLY available at #CHORSHOW performances!
HUMAN | DANCER
Choreography by JonMarie Johnson
Music by Felix Mendelssohn: “Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 – I. Molto allegro con fuoco,” “Variations sérieuses, Op. 54,” “Variation XIV: Adagio”
Dramaturgy by Mollie Murk, Pandora Productions
In collaboration with Louisville Youth Group
Floral design by Bailey Wynn, Bloomed Roots
Cast: Ida Soranno, Claire Churchill, Anna Ford, Elizabeth Hines, Addison Mathes, Jordan Noblett, Ava Ownby, Chloe Puffer, Gabrielle Savka, Charlotte Van Ermen, Amber Wickey
How can the duality of both dancer and human coexist when dancers prioritize their art over their human needs? This dramatic question will be explored through the classical lens and Balanchine’s long-lasting choreographic manners. As the cast is predominantly composed of Studio Company dancers, the work provides aspiring company artists with the opportunity to find and feature their artistic voices.
TIES THAT BIND
Choreography by Justin Michael Hogan
Music by Keaton Henson: “Initium” and “Breathing Out”
Dramaturgy by Michael J. Drury, Pandora Productions
In collaboration with Louisville Youth Group
Cast: Sarah Bradley, Alexis Breen, Kelsey Corder, Lexa Daniels, Caleb Emory, Mark Krieger, Caitlin Kowalski, Tarique Logan, Danika McNees, Paige Riffer, Ryo Suzuki
“Heroes didn’t leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn’t wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else’s. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back.” – Jodi Picoult
The power that community has on our capacity to be empathetic, resilient people has found no greater example in my life than through the short time I was able to spend with a few of Louisville Youth Groups members. They serve as an inspiration and an example.
BARRIER
Choreography by Brandon Ragland
Music by Ludovico Einaudi: “Choros,” “‘The Third Murder’ – Main Theme,” “Brothers,” “Orbits,” and “Experience”
Dramaturgy by Tyler Tate, Pandora Productions
In collaboration with Louisville Youth Group
Cast: Leigh Anne Albrechta, Emmarose Atwood, Lexa Daniels, Caitlin Kowalski, Minh-Tuan Nguyen, Jordan Noblett, Aleksandr Schroeder, Daniel Scofield, David Senti, Ashley Thursby
BARRIER explores a queer person’s journey through a world governed by binaries and labels. How will they navigate heteronormativity and gain clarity regarding their self-identity and sexuality? My ballet examines this question for all genders, highlighting how experiences of gender-binary and heteronormative restriction can be transformed and inspire a person’s journey to radical self-love.
THE BLOOD PROJECT
Choreography by Sanjay Saverimuttu
Music by Molly Joyce: “Less is More,” “Lean Back and Release,” and “Shapeshifter”
Dramaturgy by Allie Fireel, Pandora Productions
Voice actors: Mollie Murk, Allie Fireel, Ben Gierhart, Clarity Hogan, Ashley Cabrera, Sarah Elston, Nick Willis, Jason Cooper
In collaboration with Louisville Youth Group
Cast: Elizabeth Abbick, Natalia Ashikhmina, Emmarose Atwood, Mark Krieger, Aleksandr Schroeder, David Senti, Ryo Suzuki, Brienne Wiltsie
The Blood Project is a choreographic work that explores the many unique ways we humans are connected through the concept of blood. Blood is not just a representation of life and death. It is a connection to our biological family – whether it’s a sense of duty to one’s family/culture, a rejection of it, or a search to find out more of where we come from. Blood can come with stigma as it does for individuals who menstruate or gay men who are still associated as carriers of HIV. It can also be a symbol of scars from violence done by others or ourselves. This work explores all of these various interweaving relationships to showcase how we, especially LGBTQ people, are bonded by more than just blood. It’s these relationships that are essential for our survival.
ALL WE KNOW IS RUST
Choreography by Christian Chester
Music by Dick Dale: “Bandito,” “Esperanza,” “Speardance,” “Gypsy Fire,” and “Scalped”
Dramaturgy by Jason Cooper, Pandora Productions
In collaboration with Louisville Youth Group
Cast: Sarah Bradley, Adrah Cook, Tarique Logan, Sameer Rhodes, Claire Schoellerman, Daniel Scofield, Gaven Stevens, Amber Wickey
The music of Dick Dale has always driven me to express energy and move. I decided to create something that would speak to the stress that the younger generation feels due to the rising cost of living, and how they don’t always have a defined way to relieve that stress – and that made me think about living after an apocalypse, because that’s what it feels like to have all this stress with no outlet. I decided the story I would tell would be about a semblance of society after an apocalypse: where the conventions and stigmas of how people identify, and who they can love, take a back seat to survival, where existence is both a blessing and a curse.
Rehearsal Assistants
Mikelle Bruzina, Robert Curran, Helen Daigle and Harald Uwe Kern
PRODUCTION TEAM
Lighting Design
Jesse AlFord
Costume Design
Molly Duke
Sound Design
Laura Ellis
Technical Director
Brian Sherman
Stage Manager
Kim Aycock
Assistant Stage Manager
Moira Cassiday
Costume Shop
Joei Baldwin,Teresa Greer, and Katie Joachim
Click here for a complete listing of Louisville Ballet Company + Studio Company Dancers, Artistic + Production Staff, and Administrative Team.
For over 25 years, Pandora Productions has been the only theatre company in the Louisville Metro area and most of Kentucky exclusively dedicated and most trusted to tell the stories of the LGBTQ+ communities. Born from a small, crazy idea of three artists who wanted to create a musical based on the myth of Pandora, the company has grown to be a shining star in the Louisville arts firmament. Performing a 5 show mainstage season in the Henry Clay Theatre, the company presents bold, cutting edge, award winning musicals, dramas and comedies as well as hosted two national new play competitions. The company celebrates local, regional and national playwrights writing on LGBTQ+ themes with our PlayDates with Pandora series and brand new Intersections project. Under the leadership of the company’s long time Producing Artistic Director, Michael J. Drury, the company has enjoyed fast growth, artistic achievement and prominence in Louisville and nationally.
Louisville Youth Group (LYG) is the primary LGBTQIA+ nonprofit community serving QTBIPoC/LGBTQIA+ youth in Kentuckiana. We provide a brave space for gender and sexuality diverse young adults to grow their identities, learn leadership skills and develop the tools needed to both thrive personally and to act as agents of change in their communities. Louisville Youth Group is a place where you can be loved, a place where you can be encouraged, and a place where you won’t be shamed. When you feel like your voice has been taken from you, LYG is about helping you find that voice and take it back.
Louisville Ballet, led by Executive Director Philip Koester and Artistic Director Robert Curran, is an evolved but accessible ballet company committed to boldly and beautifully communicating artistic stories both classic and new. We exist to move, to evoke emotion, to provoke thought, and to challenge perceptions. We are artists, athletes, activists, inventors, and inspirers. Louisville Ballet has been one of the nation’s leading regional ballet companies since 1952. As the Official State Ballet of Kentucky, Louisville Ballet has worked with some of ballet’s brightest lights including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Twyla Tharp, and Wendy Whelan, performed for tens of thousands of people and reached over 20,000 school children throughout the commonwealth with educational programs annually. Make a contribution today to support the artistry of YOUR Louisville Ballet.
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