Ballet Theatre of Maryland Presents MOMENTUM This Month

Ballet Theatre of Maryland will present Momentum at Maryland Hall (Feb 25-27) and PGCC Center for Performing Arts (Mar 12). This mixed-repertory production features an excerpt from Paquita's Grand Pas Classique, a restaging of Forever You by BTM's founding artistic director Edward Stewart, world premieres by Lindsey Bell and Isaac Martinez, and The Little Slippers, Roman Mykyta's original adaptation of a Ukrainian story.

Says Artistic Director Nicole Kelsch, "This year's Momentum is an opportunity to celebrate the past and present of Ballet Theatre of Maryland's repertoire. We are excited to bring back a piece by Eddie Stewart that hasn't been performed since his tenure as director. Additionally, I am thrilled that our company dancers Lindsey Bell and Isaac Martinez as well as former BTM dancer Roman Mykyta are staging world-premiere works created just for our company."

Bell's piece, Sanctuary in Chaos, delves into the sense of inner peace found amid life's chaos and is set to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. Constellations, by Martinez, features music arranged and performed live by violinist Daniel James Fecteau. Mykyta's The Little Slippers, with music by Tchaikovsky, is a comedic romp based on a short Ukrainian story by Nikolai Gogol. In Ukrainian and Russian Literature, Gogol holds the equivalent place as Poe for developing the Romantic-Horror genre albeit undercut by colloquial humor and cast with bright, unneurotic characters. In Mykyta's streamlined adaptation, Vakula, a blacksmith, risks himself on a wild adventure to prove himself to his sweetheart Oxsana; along the way he will battle the devil and meet Catherine the Great.

Mykyta says, "I am thrilled to be participating in Momentum a second year. Setting this ballet on the current dancers, my goal was to showcase the range of the company - technically, dramatically, and artistically. I am excited to bring a new narrative ballet to the stage; my goal is to offer a fresh take on timeless traditions. On another note, I am also happy to offer audiences an image of Ukrainian culture; I believe music, dance and folklore can reach the soul."

Experience Ballet Theatre of Maryland's Momentum at Maryland Hall on Friday, February 25th at 7:30; Saturday, February 26th at 7; and Sunday, February 27th at 2. Per Maryland Hall's regulations, audience members will be required to wear a mask. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $28 each for in-person tickets and $25 for the virtual livestream. Next month, catch Momentum at PGCC Center for Performing Arts on Saturday, March 12th with tickets starting at $15. At this time, PGCC requires patrons to wear a mask and show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result. For more information, visit balletmaryland.org/momentum.